"Take Zvezdin"

The West last week got an exceptionally entertaining glimpse of the Soviet art world. The source: the Moscow newspaper Soviet Culture. Reporting on the Kharkov Art Factory, which produces hand-painted copies of popular Russian pictures, the paper told how Factory Director G. V. Avrutin called a meeting to raise production. Said Avrutin: "Seven hours for a canvas of 57 by 84 centimeters [22 in. by 43 in.]? There is no need to waste so much time." Avrutin turned for an example to the task of copying Morning in the Pine Forest, a 19th century favorite by Ivan Shishkin. "The depth of the forest takes two hours; one more hour for the broken trees; for the pink sky, one additional hour. The four bears require not more than 15 minutes each. For general touching up, one hour more. The total," he finished, "makes six hours. This will be our new norm."

Then, according to Soviet Culture, a young artist stood up. How, he wanted to know, can you paint a little bear in 15 minutes and still make him lovable? The director replied sharply: "Quantity transforms itself into quality...Take Zvezdin. For more than eight years the man has painted only Shishkin's Morning in the Pine Forest. Wake him up at any time in the night, and he will do the job better than Shishkin himself."

Director Avrutin's Stakhanovite methods produced more than 22,000 paintings this year, "but the quality, because of desperate hurry, is below any criticism." Concluded Soviet Culture sadly: "It is time for the Ministry of Culture of the Ukrainian Soviet Republic to take this factory under closer control."

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