Интервью с Юрием Гулитовым
«We learn not only according to guidelines and rules, there is another side of learning — we must be able to see…»
Graphic designer, founder and head of Gulitovdesign studio, previously art director of Kommersant newspaper, participant of numerous exhibitions, winner of international competitions, member of the Union of Designers and The Union of Artists of Russia.
Gulitov’s works are presented in The State Tretyakov Gallery, the Design Museum in Zurich, the Museum of Decorative and Applied Arts in Hamburg, the National Museum in Poznan, the Sevastopol Art Museum, the Center of Graphics in Eschirola and the Poster Museum in Arhus, in private collections.
Yuri Gulitov is characterized by an expressive style, a combination of professional techniques using elements of graphic «folklore». His interests include Cyrillic alphabet, calligraphy, experimental typography, and poster art.
«Уличная», шрифтовая гарнитура, жирное начертание, 1993. «Уличная», шрифтовая гарнитура, ультрасветлое начертание, 1995
About the style
Any designer has a handwriting, what makes him different from others, what he wants to do in his life. Everyone strives to be themselves and express their thoughts graphically — with the help of form, with the help of all those means that we possess.
«Easter poster», плакат к выставке Easter Poster в Dukley Gallery, г. Будва, Черногория, 2017. «Hope», плакат для пригласительного плакатного проекта в Ричмонде, Вирджиния, США, 2021
The world through the inscriptions on the glass
The scratched trolleybus windows are a small piece from a biography that appeared when I was still a student. In Sevastopol, where I was born and grew up, there was a period when absolutely all the windows in trolleybuses were so broken — you drive through them, through all these inscriptions you look at the world. Naturally, there was a graphic meaning that I liked.
«Ялта Джем», джазовый фестиваль GreenJazz Fest, плакат для джазового квартета Ялта Джем, 2017. «Пляж», плакат к персональной выставке живописи, 2008
Homemade graphics, sources of inspiration for the designer
homemade signs, inscriptions, some kind of graphics implementation into urban life. We learn not only according to guidelines and rules, there is another side of learning — we must be able to see, be able to choose, be able to combine all this into some kind of product, project. It gives them freshness, novelty. It is interesting.
«Заборная», шрифтовая гарнитура, негативное начертание, 1991
Cyrillic and postmodernism
The Cyrillic alphabet has not been fully disclosed, the nature of the Cyrillic alphabet is not fully understood, and therefore it is interesting to work with it. It is like an open form, you can do whatever you want — all sorts of experiments with the spaces between letters, with the letters themselves, finish something, refine, distort, spoil or, conversely, correctly identify some points.
I think that we live in postmodernism all the time, especially in art, this also applies to the Cyrillic alphabet. It is already postmodern in nature. We can use it at different levels, sort of lay it out, experiment. This is the very essence of postmodernism — lightness, openness in the structure itself.
«Сергей Рахманинов. Всенощное бдение», концертный плакат, 2002. «Иоганн Себастьян Бах. Страсти по Матфею», концертный плакат, 2003
«ЗОЛОТАЯ ПЧЕЛА 10», московская международная биеннале графического дизайна, 2012. «ЗОЛОТАЯ ПЧЕЛА 10», московская международная биеннале графического дизайна, главный биеннальный плакат, 2012
Design and contemporary art
Design is a part of the modern process in art. We see this in everyday objects that become part of the overall aesthetics of the space. We see the graphics that surround us and systematize the space. I think this is a new form of modern art, design has become a part of it.
In design engineering, just like in art, if an artist puts his soul into a work, it becomes a living, real work of art.
A poster is a genre where you can reveal yourself and show everyone how you work, how you see the world and what you offer. There are design stars, people who have made many interesting posters, discovered something, brought something serious to the artistic process. If you treat work and business this way, design is a contemporary art.
«Люди как люди, только с синдромом дауна», международная плакатная акция помощи детям с синдромом Дауна, 2007. «Global Financial Crisis», международная плакатная акция, специальная тема Биеннале плакат
«Каллиграфические ню», серия, 60×60 см, бумага, тушь, кисть, 2007
Super-tasks and self-development
The super task should be at all levels. Whether you’re making packaging or posters, painting or performance art. But globally, the ultimate task is to understand this visual world, how it works and what you have done for it. In general, the tasks are different every time, but everything adds up to a certain picture, which will be fully known only at the end.
«Юрий Гулитов и студенты. Шрифтовые ремиксы», плакат к выставке, 2003. «Буквально и фигурально», персональная выставка плаката в Тульском историко-архитектурном музее ТИАМ, 2022
«… the ultimate task is to understand this visual world, how it works and what you have done for it».