Culver City,
California
x
Bright Path
Date Made: 1990
Country: Soviet Union
Measurements: 90 cm x 60 cm; 35 7/16 in x 23 5/8 in
Ironically titled “Bright Path,” this work features a portrait of Lenin painted in dark shades of blue and black. Lenin looks directly at the viewer with a serious expression; his face is lit from the right, shading his left side, which emphasizes the half-human and half-skeleton regions of the face. His left, skeletal side no longer has an eye, but instead a dimly lit red hammer and sickle resides in the eye socket. The mixture of human and exposed skull features alludes to the dual nature of the communist leader, who was both revered for his ideological leadership and despised by those who disapproved of the social experiment of communism and its consequences.
Accession Number: 2009.053.011
Item Name: Painting
Credit Line: The Ferris Russian Collection, Donated by Tom and Jeri Ferris
Collection/Series: The Ferris Russian Collection, Donated by Tom and Jeri Ferris