Paola Volkova, a Russian art critic and the source of culture, was made recognizable by the program "Bridge over the Abyss" on the Kultura TV channel. Honored Artist of the Russian Federation read lectures about art in an accessible language. She also wrote scripts, reviews, articles and books.
The whole life of Paola Dmitrieva Volkova is devoted to art. She was happy to organize meetings with famous people, interesting to the public for communication, lectured to VGIK students, taught at scriptwriting courses.
The beginning of the creative path
The biography of the future celebrity began in 1930. A girl was born in Moscow on June 23. Nothing is known about childhood and parents. Volkova herself did not consider this topic interesting to outsiders. She said that among her ancestors were immigrants from Italy. Therefore, traditionally, girls received the name Paola. However, there is another version. According to her, my mother just liked this option, attracted attention while reading the book.
After school, the graduate continued her education at the Moscow State University. She graduated from the Faculty of Art History in 1953.
Since 1960, Volkova has been teaching. She taught courses in general history of art and material culture at VGIK. She was not much older than the students, but she managed to captivate them so much by explaining that she conquered both with incredible erudition and cheerful openness. The memory of the new teacher was incredible, easily memorizing and then reproducing any historical dates. Subsequently, Volkova's lectures were published in separate books.
Since 1979, the specialist has been invited to courses for screenwriters and directors. There Volkova was entrusted with teaching cultural studies and visual solutions. The teacher had a chance to work with both popular production designers and well-known film directors. Among her students are Alexander Mitta, Pavel Kaplevich, and Vadim Abdrashitov.
Successful endeavors
In the seventies and eighties Paola Dmitrievna organized lectures by Nathan Eidelman, Merab Mamardashvili, Lev Gumilyov and Georgy Gachev. Volkova herself was a student of the philosophers Gumilyov and Mamardashvili. She was well aware and repeatedly said that her teachers were of exceptional value for the entire world of culture.
The figure was on friendly terms with the famous director and poet Tonino Guerra. She acted as the compiler of e6 books published in Russia. Volkova also wrote introductory articles to them.
The Andrei Tarkovsky Foundation was founded on the initiative of the art critic. Volkova's merit in demonstrating to the whole world the entire scale of the creativity of a talented person. In 1989 Paola Dmitrievna became the head of the organization. She has held over 20 festivals and exhibitions abroad and in Russia. The director of his foundation was the greatest expert in the work of the great director. She has written dozens of articles and several books about the master.
At the suggestion of an energetic woman, a house-museum named after him was created in Tarkovsky's homeland. At the site of the last refuge of the activist in Paris, the Foundation installed a tombstone. Paola Dmitrievna never refused to lecture on the director's work and life.
In 1991, for her work, Volkova was awarded the title of Honored Art Worker of the RSFSR.
New achievements
In 2011 she proposed a series of programs "The Bridge over the Abyss". Volkova herself admitted that the idea itself came to her unexpectedly during the preparation of a scientific work on the history of European art. The book was called the same as the transmission later. It was based on lectures for students of the Higher Courses of Scriptwriters.
The idea of transforming the material into a TV show was submitted by one of the students. He offered to air the talks. It is no coincidence that the name of the cycle is the same as that of the book. The image of the bridge represented world culture, without which civilization would not have been possible.
The first program aired in 2011 on the Kultura TV channel. 12 episodes were filmed over 2 years. In each, the creator acted both in the role of the author and in the role of the host. She spoke about art in a language that was understandable to everyone. She revealed the mysteries of the messages and the secret signs hidden in great paintings. The cycle was a great success with the audience. After the first graduation, Paola Dmitrievna became famous. They listened to it, looked at it and read it.
The only book in the cycle, published during the lifetime of its author, became an instant bestseller. It opens not with the concepts of antiquity, but with a story about the Globe Theater and Stonehenge. Readers will immediately understand that English landmarks are inextricably linked to other cultural eras. Cultural phenomena, separate from those created before or after them, do not exist.
Even in the stories of dead civilizations, the author finds words to describe their charm and possibilities of interpretation. A striking example is the transformation of the cult of the bull from ancient Babylon to modern Spain. Multiple associations create three-dimensional pictures, reducing complex mathematical expressions to comprehensible equalities.
Most of the "bridges" diverge from antiquity. And the title of the work is a quote that confirms this. Even readers unfamiliar with the history of art will gladly familiarize themselves with the book.
Outcomes
The writer and the presenter could immediately interest a person. At the same time, her admirer was not just an expert who was keen on the topic of art, but also people who were extremely far from creativity.
Volkova is primarily not a writer, but a lecturer. And so she manages to constantly keep her attention to the story.
At the beginning of the two thousandth Paola Dmitrievna became a doctor of art history. Volkova constantly had new ideas. In 2012 she lectured at Skolkovo on the art of the Renaissance.
Volkov's personal life was not immediately arranged. Nothing is known about her first spouse. Mechanical scientist, professor Vadim Vladimirovich Gogosov, was her second husband. Acquaintance with the chosen one is described in the book “PAOLA. Paola Volkova's Alphabet”. In the marriage, two children were born, daughter Maria and son Vladimir.
Art critic, TV presenter and writer passed away in 2013, March 15.
