A Ukrainian memoir in sand
September 25th, 2009 ~ The whole Art thingThis has to be seen to be believed. I didn’t even know that there was a show called “Ukraine’s Got Talent.” And I didn’t know there was such a thing as sand animation.
I also didn’t know much about the German invasion of the Ukraine in WWII. But here, an artist portrays the invasion with just some handfuls of sand and musical accompaniment … and it is so poignant, it leaves you speechless.
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September 25th, 2009 at 10:43 pm
I found her a few weeks ago and posted one of her sand paintings on my blog too. She is amazing, not just for her artistry but for her storytelling in “moving icons”. She has quite a bit of stuff on youtube, I could spend a lot of time there for sure.
September 25th, 2009 at 10:43 pm
Thank you, thank you for posting this. I saw it some time back on Facebook and it IS really amazing and dramatic. And educational, when I read people’s notes on YouTube explaining it.
September 26th, 2009 at 5:30 am
Who knew that animated sand art even existed? I am so thankful that we have the technology to share this because and entire piece of art was created, came to fruition, and ceased to exist in under 10 minutes! This is so amazing. What an incredible God given talent and imagination to do this. To God be the Glory!
September 26th, 2009 at 5:16 pm
The artistry on display here just seems amazing to me, and it seems all the more evocative because it is fleeting. Glad to know it wasn’t just me. :-)
October 6th, 2009 at 4:26 pm
Man, I am totally getting you a bag of sand for Christmas.
October 6th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
But Seriously Folks. The story is moving and the art leaves me speechless. It also makes me want to know more about the history, because it looks like she’s referring to specific events and I don’t know what they are.
October 6th, 2009 at 6:16 pm
I wondered that, too. There’s some of it that you don’t have to have spelled out for you. But others … ? Greg told me that the pointy building that she creates about 3/4 of the way through is a war memorial that all the Ukrainians would recognize.
It *looks* like at the end Dad is coming home to his wife and child, and they’re seeing him through the window, which is nice. But, as you say, I might be missing something.
October 7th, 2009 at 9:43 am
PS: Bag of sand for Christmas: sounds a whole lot like getting a stocking full of coal. Which, come to think of it, I deserve. But how did you know? ;-)
I’d love to goof around with the sand and plate glass thing, because I really like working fast. It’s a given that I would never get results as good as these sand animators. But hey, to get to play with sand when you’re all old and stuff — sounds like fun!
October 14th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
The Nazi invasion of the Ukraine (part of the USSR at the time, of course): Imagine the worst scenario you can, then double or triple it. At least half the population killed, for one thing. The country laid waste. And this just a decade after Stalin’s *created* famine in the land.
October 14th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
On that happy note, I should add that I saw this some time ago and also found it astonishingly beautiful and poignant.