My idol - Long Island 1944

Curator: Oh, this just sings of summer. It's like a memory surfacing from a childhood holiday. Editor: Yes, it has that sun-drenched, almost nostalgic quality. This is David Burliuk's "My Idol - Long Island," painted in 1944. He captures a bright, abundant scene through his distinctly energetic style. Curator: Burliuk was known as the "Father of Russian Futurism." He'd moved to the US by this time, right? Did the intensity of Futurism fade from his work? Editor: His American period saw a softening, perhaps. The raw energy is still present, but channeled. Note the folksy, naïve style. Burliuk embraces an almost childlike directness. Curator: Indeed, the symbolism here feels uncomplicated. A profusion of late-blooming flowers thrust from their vase, their reflections shimmer in the river nearby, life abounds. I note, too, the book and conch shell - like portals opening into thought, echoing earlier artistic production across time and cultures. Editor: I wonder about this idol suggested in the painting's title. Is the 'idol' the Long Island landscape, so abundant? Is it the domestic idyll by the shore he captures? Curator: Perhaps both. In terms of visual semiotics, water suggests a symbol of both change and stillness and the two bathers may play a role in a wider story which has escaped translation in art history over time. Perhaps that book shows one or another visual referent to further unlock Burliuk’s approach to personal hagiography. Editor: The book! You see the artist is placing himself firmly within a visual history, creating a dialogue with past masters to both honour them and lay claim to some of that visual legacy, himself. The choice of blooms may have alluded to certain ideals that resonated in public life. Curator: Looking at the way light catches the impasto, you get a true sense of Burliuk's almost manic energy in seizing hold of colour. This is the work of someone deeply committed to his craft. Editor: The piece does reveal a lot. On one hand, its style reflects an almost provincial vision and a retreat from vanguard modernity, yet it equally gestures to the place of an emigre artist attempting to redefine himself against that specific visual inheritance. Curator: A beautiful distillation. Now I'm thinking about the next Long Island summer. Editor: As am I. Let’s pack a basket for that Long Island beach.