Still Life of a Woman

Somewhere on the internet a Canadian writer and educator named Micheal Ugulini explains that the month of October was so “enchanting and full of surprises” to the British war poet Edward Thomas, that the latter felt that no two Octobers were ever the same*.

He writes that the poem ‘October’, while a succinct celebration of the beauty and vibrancy of the month, offers a glimpse into a delicate moment in the poet’s otherwise life, shrouded by melancholy.

 But how does a man who chose to enlist himself in a war which he later died fighting able to capture the essence of a month that we generally tend to ignore? How does he nurture the innocence to celebrate nature despite the burdens of war and grief that consumed him?

An artist’s rendition: Edward Thomas’s October through the eyes of Olga Hunyadi

Thirty-six-year old, Olga Sushkova Hunyadi is no poet or war hero. She is a simple, small-town Russian artist who comes to Boston bearing burdens of her own and a gift that gracefully traverses through boundaries to paint the story of a woman. A still-life painter, a newly-wed mother, a friend, she gently glides the streets of this new land in the hopes of finding her space.

 Hunyadi’s still-life compositions that showcase women, surrounded by everyday objects as they sit by the window looking at the world outside, is a story of every woman conformed to the grace and femininity of a quiet, domestic life.

 “Joseph Brodsky, the Russian poet, says that there is nothing interesting or new outside of us,” she says. “By this he meant or at least as I interpret it, all of us have the world inside of us and every object around us including the people are a reflection of that complete world,” she explains.

 “His position is very close to me as an artist,” she says.

Lady with a gift of gold: Olga Sushkova Hunyadi poses with her paintings at the Book & Arts Store in Brookline, MA

The artist’s ability to embody the works of poets like Edward Thomas and Joseph Brodsky, who were successful in capturing the conflicting moods of a time of political unrest in Russia and England, to a narrative that depicts the flailing, fragility of the female form offer a sort of a contradiction to the fierceness of the color schemes of the paintings itself.

This contradiction speaks of the journey and the struggles Hunyadi’s has endured in her very life to blossom as an artist. “The women in my paintings are all in my image and to me they are all just objects. Brodsky says, objects are often more perfect and beautiful than humans and I agree with him,” says the woman of few words.

 The paintings that often draw comparisons to French and German impressionists, showcase urban landscapes of Russia and Italy, all places she has lived for the last 13 years in pursuit of her love for the art form. The method of adding pigments to heated beeswax - commonly known as encaustic technique - a style often associated with 17th century German painter Bejamin Calau* or the use of gold leaf, made famous by Austrian painter Gustav Klimt* are influences attributed to the time she spent learning in Dresden (Germany).

The still-life depictions of inanimate objects as a euphemism to a deeper emotion is Hunyadi’s way of making sense of the world around her. “Sometimes, it is better to look at object than at humans as there is nothing of moral kind in them,” she states, resonating the words of the late poet.

Perhaps it is this ability to create an extension of our emotions in a way that connects us to these poets and painters and artists everywhere that we call an artistic expression. Perhaps it is this art of communicating that differentiates us as a species from the rest. Perhaps this fascination to actualize is inherent to all of us. Perhaps its the voice that has the power to refuge man’s sanity in these troubled times. Perhaps it is the voice with a better story, a better human history.

-Manasa Joshyam

Citations

• Michael Ugulini. "Write a critical appreciation of Edward Thomas' poem 'October'." eNotes, 17 Aug. 2012, https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/write-critical-appreciation-poem-october-354411. Accessed 11 Sep. 2018.

• Benjamin Calau https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Calau

• Gustav Klimt https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_Klimt