Exlibris of I.Melnychuk 1980

Curator: Ah, here's Aksinin's "Exlibris of I.Melnychuk," a drawing rendered in ink dating back to 1980. Editor: Immediately, it whispers of esoteric secrets—a society I'm not privy to but desperately want to infiltrate. The stark blacks and grays, the geometrical faces, all humming with arcane knowledge. Curator: Aksinin had such a singular vision, even when crafting something functional like a bookplate. Look at the figures—they seem almost like caryatids, but holding not architecture, but this symbolic, elongated object... Perhaps a stylized clarinet, or some wind instrument? Editor: Definitely a wind instrument, and notice how each figure either listens or emits. The closed eyes receive wisdom, perhaps? And then the open mouths transmit that knowledge onwards like echoes through generations? It also feels quite like an occult glyph, meant to resonate on multiple planes of existence. Curator: Oh, I love that idea. This glyph speaks to both individual study and the communal experience of art—a single bookplate alluding to libraries filled with discourse! Plus, that almost painful darkness—it’s like accessing wisdom from deep within oneself. Editor: The darkness does provide an important element of contrast too, right? The eye goes naturally towards the lightest spaces. It uses stark binary thinking to suggest deeper interconnectedness and flow: listening, learning, playing. Perhaps an insight to the life's passion of I. Melnychuk as the person whom this book belongs to. I wonder, also, about this object within an oval. Eggs are an ancient symbol of fertility and birth and of protection; Aksinin really builds many layers in this "Exlibris." Curator: Absolutely. There is something generative, here. In a sense, it is also about the evolution of an idea and that there are figures along that stream to pick it up. One might get that sense of evolution as a musician practices and creates meaning. Editor: Indeed. Seeing how potent symbolism is distilled into such a small space truly enchants. Curator: Yes, it's a beautiful piece, all the more fascinating given its function as a humble bookplate. Thanks, Oleksandr Aksinin.