Frescoes By Bogdanoff

Back in 1990, I was at an afternoon cocktail party in Hollywood, CA, which changed my life as an artist. On the east wall in the living room was a magnificent dyptic, which portrayed playful blue monkeys floating around antelope. In the background were curious shapes that resembled puzzle pieces. It appeared that the artwork was on stone or granite. I had never seen such work, and I was taken by the subject matter. It was my good fortune that the artist was at the party. I sat with him and we talked about his work. He told me his method for creating the work, which I wrote down on a cocktail napkin (which I still have to this day). However, he omitted the source he used for his magical subject matter. Sadly, he told me that he was retiring from the art world and moving to a remote part of Ireland. Speculation was that he was planning to drink himself to death. Known to be a hard drinker and self-destructive, this didn’t surprise those who knew him.

I left that party determined to try my hand at fresco secco, the method he used which is painting on a dry plaster surface.

Beverly Hills Public Library

Back in 1990, I didn’t have the luxury of Google, so I went to the Beverly Hills Library, which has an extraordinary art history section.

I had no idea what culture, civilization or timeline to look up, so I sat for hours on the second floor of the library going through every book available to find those monkeys and antelope.

I came upon a book called The Arts of Assyria, by André Parrot. The cover illustration had colors reminiscent of the blue monkey/antelope dyptic that I saw at the party. As I was perusing through it, I realized that I was way off-base. However, I was intrigued by an illustration of bronze winged ram-headed sphinxes, 8th century B.C., that I found on page 256 of the book. So I made a copy of the image and, using it as inspiration, created my first fresco. That was in 1990. I remember, while breaking that fresco up in pieces on my kitchen counter, how strange it felt to be “vandalizing” a work of art that I had just created.

Bronze Relief

My Interpretation of the Winged Ram-Headed Sphinxes, 1990

Still very determined to find the monkeys and antelope, I went back to the library many times until one day I came upon the book by Dr. Nanno Marinatos entitled Art and Religion in Thera, Reconstructing a Bronze Age Society.

Art and Religion in Thera

Wary by this time that I’d find what I’ve been searching for, I perused through the pages. There were pictures of archaeological digs, pottery adorned with flowers and birds, illustrations of wall murals depicting decorative border shapes above storytelling paintings with stick figures and boats and fish, and landscape scenes. As I turned to page 115, I felt like I struck gold, for there I found a wall mural that depicted numerous blue monkey figures in various poses, with the fascinating background shapes, like puzzle pieces, which I saw in the dyptic that fateful day at the cocktail party.

After I got over my shock, I began to read about my finding: The Aegean island of Thera, which is now known as Santorini, contained a Bronze Age settlement called Akrotiri.

Ruins of Akrotiri

In 1500 B.C., the settlement was destroyed by an immense volcanic eruption. In the early 1900s, archaeologists discovered the buried settlement and digging ensued. They uncovered a palace room, which they later tagged as Room B6 (shrine) of sector B. Much of the remnants found in the shrine portray a family of blue monkeys climbing on the rocks of the island’s volcano. Also found at the site was a portion of a wall-painting with what appears to be the head of a dog. It is believed that the scene depicts the canine chasing the group of fleeing monkeys.

Room B6 (shrine) of sector B, Akrotiri

Post-restoration

The monkey theme is popular in frescoes throughout Crete and on Thera. It is believed that the monkey motif originated in Crete and was later incorporated in art found at Akrotiri. Artists from both locales used blue coloring to represent the monkey’s coat and skin. The monkeys almost have a human-like quality. It is understood that the monkeys were looked upon by the Minoans and the inhabitants of Thera as sacred animals and servants to the gods.

I left the library with xerox copies I made of the book. I couldn’t wait to create my first blue monkey fresco!

Blue Monkeys No. 1

Blue Monkeys No. 1, which is in my private collection, takes on the colors and abstract shapes of the folliage, however the monkeys themselves are a loose interpretation of the mural monkeys.

In Blue Monkeys No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5, I created frescoes to mirror the Akrotiri wall mural. Beginning with Blue Monkeys No. 6, I chose to create my own interpretation, which I continue to use today.

Blue Monkeys No. 3

Blue Monkeys Nos. 4 and 5

After I opened my gallery in 2002 and began to gain recognition for my work, my Blue Monkey Collection received considerable attention, and I got to be known as “The Blue Monkey Guy”. I was flattered, but I didn’t want to be locked-in by just my blue monkey frescoes. By this time I was producing frescoes based on numerous subject matter not related to monkeys. So, I decided to expand my series to include the Red Monkey Collection and the Green Monkey Collection. That appeared to work, and I became known as “The Fresco Guy”.

In creating my compositions for all of the Monkey Collections, I incorporate movements inspired by ballet and interpretive dance to project fluidity and grace through the monkeys’ torsos, arms and legs. I’ve designed the tails to convey the monkeys’ actions and moods. I work in abstract shapes and designs to enhance the scene and interact with the monkeys. Many of my backgrounds have a subtle shift in color midway between the top and bottom, to give the impression of landscape and sky or, in some instances, the illusion of dusk. My goal is to provide the viewer with an animal unlike any seen in captivity or imagined by anthropologists or zoologists, neither primate nor human, evoking a presence that is mysterious, sensuous and timeless.

Due to the popularity of my monkeys, I began a series of giclée prints. My first series of these archival works were of my blue monkeys, and then I later expanded the collections to include other selected works I’ve created throughout the years. All include artist remarqué and seal.

Needless to say, I am eternally grateful for the Monkeys of Thera and the artists who created them back around 1500bc. These “servants to the gods” have been with me throughout my journey as a fresco secco artist. This is why I didn’t hesitate when deciding on the subject matter for my tattoos.

My Blue Monkey Tats

Thanks to that random day in 1990 at a Hollywood cocktail party, and thanks to Larry, I’m enjoying a life of fresco painting, which brings me tremendous joy to create.

Pilgrim Glam

Okay, so you’re probably asking yourselves “What does Thanksgiving have to do with Greek frescoes and pottery from 1500BC?” Well, not much on the surface. I mean, the Mayflower did not have a swank ballroom with ornate painted walls or ceilings, and meals were not served in decorative painted bowls. My intent is not to make light of the brave men, women and children who made that monumental crossing. I owe much gratitude to them. My partner’s ancestors were on that ship. So, what am I talking about? First, let’s look at the fundamental meaning of Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving Day is a harvest festival. Traditionally, it is a time to give thanks for the harvest and express gratitude in general. It is a holiday celebrated primarily in Canada and the United States. While perhaps religious in origin, Thanksgiving is now primarily identified as a secular holiday.

The first Thanksgiving was celebrated to give thanks to God and the Native Americans for helping the pilgrims survive the brutal winter. Although half of the pilgrims who arrived on the Mayflower had already died, many more would have had it not been for the native Americans teaching the pilgrims to harvest foods. The first Thanksgiving feast lasted three whole days providing enough food for 53 pilgrims and 90 Indians.

So, harvesting and celebrating was a large part of what Thanksgiving represented in the beginning. Now I can segue into my topic by introducing you to a group of frescoes located on the north and east walls in room 3, Xeste 3 at the settlement of Akrotiri. On the upper story the subject of the composition is crocus (saffron) gathering.

Sketch of the adyton fresco, north and east walls, upper floor, room 3, Xeste 3

Dominating the scene on the north wall is a female figure seated on the tripartite platform and flanked by two exotic animals, a monkey and a griffin. Historians are certain that this figure is a goddess, and some further believe that she is the ‘Mistress of Animals.’

Fresco on the north wall

Close-up of seated goddess

She is physically separated from the human community by the platform, the tripartite form of which has definite religious connotations; also it is resting on incurved altars. The goddess is symbolically separated because her animal attendants are surreal, which creates a realm of the fantastic.

On the east wall, set in a rocky landscape scattered with clusters of crocus, women dressed in festive clothes and wearing expensive jewelry are collecting the valuable commodity of saffron and place them in baskets.

Fresco of saffron gatherers on the east wall, room 3, Xeste 3

Detail of saffron gatherer on the left

The figure on the left has rich black short and curly hair, which is held by a blue band on the forehead, except for two long ringlets down her back and a smaller forelock.

Detail of saffron gatherer on the right

The second figure, much younger in appearance and whose head is almost completely shorn, is trying to pluck crocus blossoms, with her two hands (both of which, incidentally, the artist has depicted as right hands), while gazing at the woman opposite with a lively and impatient expression, as if anxious for reassurance that she is performing the task correctly. Minoan artists depicted younger women with shaved heads, and painted the shaved sections blue.

Based on the jewelry that the women wear, we can deduce that this is a festival. And, because the women are harvesting the saffron, this fresco may be depicting a harvest celebration.

For the birds
When we think about Thanksgiving the first image that comes to mind is a turkey.

Thera did not have turkeys running around the island, but swallows were plentiful, as evidenced by the Fresco of the Lilies.

Fresco of the Lilies

Situated on the ground floor of room 2, the Fresco of the Lilies adorned 3 walls from floor to ceiling.

Detail from Fresco of the Lilies

Swallows fly amid stalks of red lilies. The slight bend of the stalks implies a gentle breeze. It is believed that the artist was attempting to express the beginning of spring. Because a millstone and sickle were discovered in room 2, the room is thought to have been a shrine where rites were practiced in relation to a harvest festival and/or the processing of grain.

Clay for Play
A fresco tells a story about what life was like back when it was originally created. Frescoes are invaluable tools for archeologists and historians because they are windows into the past. Another outstanding source for information is pottery. One notable example is the Harvester Vase from Agia Triada (”Holy Trinity”), a Minoan site in southern Crete.

Harvester Vase from the Minoan site of Agia Triada

The images on the vase depicts a procession which has been variously interpreted as a band of soldiers or marines returning in triumph from a victory, or as a body of harvesters marching in some sort of harvest thanksgiving festival. This interpretation seems, on the whole, the more probable of the two. In the middle of the procession is a figure, which appears to be quite different from his companions. He has not the usual pinched-in waist of the Cretans, but is quite normally developed, and he bears in his hand the sistrum, or metal rattle, which was one of the regular sacred musical instruments of the Egyptians. In all probability he is meant to represent an Egyptian priest, though what he is doing in a Cretan festival it is hard to tell. The three figures, possibly of women, who are following him, have their mouths wide open, and are evidently singing lustily.

Detail view of the harvester vase

One of the figures, that of an elderly man, who appears to be the chief of the party, is clad in a curious, capelike garment, which may be either a ceremonial robe or a wadded cuirass (a breastplate and backplate that were joined with either metal plates, leather or a combination of the two in order to form a more complete means of protection for the upper body). Apart from all questions of what kind of incident the artist meant to represent, the artistic value of his work is unquestionable. It has been said of this little vase that ‘not until the fifth century BC. should we find a sculptor capable of representing, with such absolute truth, a party of men in motion.’

Because the Fresco of the Lilies features swallows, and the room that the fresco was found is believed to be a harvest room or a shrine where rites were practiced in relation to a harvest festival, we can only deduct that the following example of pottery also represents a harvest.

Vase from Xeste 3

Found in Xeste 3, this artistic vase depicts flying swallows, lilies and crocuses. As in this work, crocuses are prominent in much of the landscape and nature Minoan art. Not only do they appear on the adyton frescoes but also on the costumes of women depicted in the frescoes earlier mentioned. This leads me to conclude that this vase was a part of the harvest celebration.

Conclusion
So, there you have it. I’ve tied Thanksgiving in with Minoan frescoes and pottery. The common thread is a harvest celebration. Of course, North Americans today have turned Thanksgiving into a celebration of gluttony.

It’s a celebration of overeating…

Fetch me a bromo

followed the next day (known as Black Friday) with overspending …

Paris fashion trendsetters

But, it’s also about getting together with family and friends, being grateful for what we have and enjoying life!

Happy Thanksgiving!