The year will be obviously interesting and full of new experiences for famous Bulgarian artist Ivan Yahnadjiev and his son Alexandar. The latter has graduated history of art from the University of Perugia, Italy. He has his own information agency, covering the events within the UN. His father Ivan Yahnadjiev is known as the founder of body art in Bulgaria – an avant-garde artist, an eccentric person and an optimistic analyst of life. His paintings are landscapes, still life, figure compositions and besides being part of the collection of Bulgaria’s National Art Gallery, they are honored by private collections in Greece, USA, Finland, France, Sweden, Japan etc.

The two artists had a joint performance at the EP in Brussels in 2017, where they “painted” the crisis in Europe. Also, the two showed their own exposition at the Italian consulate in NY. Ivan Yahnadjiev had strong impressions through meeting with interesting persons and finding himself at cultural events across the world’s cultural and financial capital in the course of a month. He managed to watch emblematic shows on Broadway, such as Hello, Dolly and the Chicago operetta; he attended blues nights and even a concert of Chick Corea.

“I was really impressed by the showcases’ design across the city – they were true works of art,” Ivan Yahnadjiev says on his meeting with the Big Apple. “I liked the manner of living, the way people from different nationalities live there together. There are plenty of construction sites – they have now started to dig, I saw buildings with up to 10 floors at the minus levels. I also saw the Statue of Liberty and the endless queues of people there – thousands per day. Some of them were even praying to the statue – I was stunned by that.”

Besides the world famous Guggenheim Museum the artist also visited renowned galleries:

“Their private collections are really impressive. The big galleries have been established by collectors through the donating of hundreds of paintings – masterpieces that we have studied about at our Academy of Art in Sofia. However, I saw the originals for the first time. I was also impressed by the fact that not only foreign tourists, but the Americans themselves visited the galleries a lot. I even shared my thoughts with a colleague, who responded: “Whenever we are in a state of crisis, the people always go to galleries. They are looking for peace or an answer to their problems.” The NY art is of really high level. There is art everywhere around. Everyone can make art – unlike in Bulgaria. Art is in everything – in food, behind showcases, in the famous skyscrapers and in the streets…”

Now Yahnadjiev’s glimpse at a NY school:

“Things went that way that I had to visit a school, as in Bulgaria I also work with children. The schools there have severe security measures and strong discipline. Art is educational priority there – one can see it through the wall-paintings and plastics all around. I believe there is this whole industry there, working for the young generation – and this is the future, in my opinion.”

More on the interesting transmigration forms of art:

“We attended this musical with the length of 90 minutes – they created music with nylon bags, newspapers, flesh-pots, sinks, binons and floor brushes. Then the floor itself was turned into a drum with microphones below with 9 young people dressed as beggars, who were rubbing sand into the floor, chasing each other. It was really impressive, as a new type of art is coming into the house. Street art is transferred onstage, but in a very artistic manner – it enters the human soul… In my opinion this thing has its future.”

English version: Zhivko Stanchev