All language subtitles for The Desert of Forbidden Art

- WELCOME TO INDEPENDENT LENS.
I'M AMERICA FERRERA.

WHO HIDES 40,000 BANNED WORKS OF
ART FROM THE KGB IN PLAIN SIGHT?

- SO HOW DID THIS HAPPEN,

THE FACT THAT THERE'S
SUCH A COLLECTION IN THIS PLACE?

- THESE ARE INDEPENDENT
FILMMAKERS AMANDA POPE

AND TCHAVDAR GEORGIEV.

THEY STUMBLED ACROSS
AN ART COLLECTION

IN ISLAMIC UZBEKISTAN
CREATED SINGLE-HANDEDLY

BY A PENNILESS MAN IN A LAND
SUSPICIOUS OF WESTERN ART,

A STORY OF ISLAM, STALIN,
THE SILK ROAD,

AND THE RUSSIAN AVANT-GARDE

HIDDEN IN SOME OF
THE GREATEST ART

THE WORLD HAS BARELY SEEN.

THE DESERT OF FORBIDDEN ART,
NEXT.

[upbeat jazzy music]

¶

THE CORPORATION
FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING,

THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT
FOR THE ARTS,

AND BY CONTRIBUTIONS
TO YOUR PBS STATION

FROM VIEWERS LIKE YOU.

- I FOUND THESE PAINTINGS
ROLLED UP UNDER THE BEDS

OF OLD WIDOWS,

BURIED IN FAMILY TRASH...

IN DARK CORNERS
OF ARTISTS' STUDIOS,

SOMETIMES EVEN PATCHING A HOLE
IN THE ROOF.

I ENDED UP WITH A COLLECTION
THAT NO ONE IN THE SOVIET UNION

WOULD DARE TO EXHIBIT.

THESE WERE FORBIDDEN WORKS
BY ARTISTS

WHO STAYED TRUE TO THEIR VISION
AT A TERRIBLE COST.

[gunshot]

- [speaking Russian]

- [speaking Russian]

- RUSSIAN MUSEUMS CAN'T LIVE
WITH THE IDEA

THAT SUCH A WONDERFUL COLLECTION
WAS TAKEN OUT

FROM RUSSIA
TO THIS PROVINCIAL PLACE

SOMEWHERE IN UZBEKISTAN;
GOD KNOWS WHERE.

[upbeat eclectic music]

¶

- IT REALLY WASN'T THAT LONG AGO
WHEN WHAT WE NOW CALL UZBEKISTAN

WAS ONE OF THE MOST SPECTACULAR
CENTERS OF WORLD CULTURE.

THE SILK ROAD RAN RIGHT THROUGH
THAT REGION,

BUT FOR A PERIOD
OF ALMOST A CENTURY,

UZBEKISTAN HAD BEEN
JUST DISTANT PROVINCE

OF THE SOVIET UNION.

WHEN THE SOVIET UNION COLLAPSED,
I WAS ASKED TO COVER THIS REGION

THAT NOBODY IN THE WORLD
REALLY EVER THOUGHT ABOUT.

FOR THOSE PEOPLE
WHO CONSIDER UZBEKISTAN

TO BE HOPELESSLY EXOTIC
AND REMOTE,

HOW ABOUT KARAKALPAKSTAN?

IT'S AN INDEPENDENT REPUBLIC
WITHIN UZBEKISTAN.

[dog barking]

THE PRINCIPLE CITY
IN KARAKALPAKSTAN IS NUKUS.

[goat bleating]

I HAD, I GUESS,
ASSUMED THAT THE NUKUS MUSEUM

WOULD BE TO MUSEUMS IN THE WORLD

WHAT NUKUS IS TO THE WORLD,

KIND OF A DUSTY PROVINCIAL TOWN.

IT DIDN'T TAKE ME MORE
THAN A FEW MINUTES

OF WALKING AROUND THIS MUSEUM
FOR MY JAW TO DROP.

[eclectic violin music]

¶

THE FACT THAT THERE IS SUCH
A COLLECTION IN THIS PLACE

AND SUCH A CONCENTRATION OF ART

MAKES IT FAR MORE INTERESTING
THAN IF YOU WOULD SEE

THESE SAME PAINTINGS
IN A SERIES OF GALLERIES

IN GERMANY OR IN NEW YORK,
SO HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?

[light piano music]

¶

- I WAS BORN INTO A LIFE
OF PRIVILEGE.

I EVEN HAD A PROPER GOVERNESS
IMPORTED FROM FRANCE.

THE LITTLE GIRL WITH A BOW
IS ME,

GROOMED IN THE HIGH FASHION
OF THE TIMES.

MY FATHER WAS A WEALTHY LAWYER,

WHILE MY MOTHER SPENT HER DAYS
PRESIDING OVER TEA.

MY BROTHER WENT
TO MILITARY SCHOOL,

AND I WAS SUPPOSED TO FOLLOW
IN HIS FOOTSTEPS

AND SERVE THE CZAR.

BUT THEN THE REVOLUTION
BROKE OUT.

OUR LIFE TURNED UPSIDE DOWN.

WE WERE NO LONGER
THE RULING CLASS.

ONE BY ONE, OUR FRIENDS AND
RELATIVES BEGAN TO DISAPPEAR.

WE HAD TO HIDE
OUR ARISTOCRATIC ROOTS

AND BLEND IN
WITH THE PROLETARIAT,

WHO WERE NOW IN POWER.

I HAD TO PROVE
THAT I WAS IDEOLOGICALLY PURE,

SO I TOOK A WORKING-CLASS JOB
AS AN ELECTRICIAN.

BUT I DREAMED OF BECOMING
AN ARTIST.

I GOT MY OPPORTUNITY

WHEN I JOINED THE FAMOUS KHOREZM
ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPEDITION.

IT WAS THE GREATEST DIG
IN SOVIET CENTRAL ASIA,

AS IMPORTANT AS THE DISCOVERY
OF TUTANKHAMEN'S TOMB.

- [speaking Russian]

- WHILE EVERYBODY SLEPT
DURING THE MIDDAY HEAT,

I PAINTED.

THE DESERT TRAINS THE EYE
TO BE ESPECIALLY SENSITIVE

TO SUBTLE AND INTENSE VARIATIONS
IN COLOR.

IT IS THE BEST SCHOOL FOR
THE PAINTER WHO STRIVES TO GRASP

THE FULL POWER
OF HOW COLOR SOUNDS.

- [speaking Russian]

- [speaking Russian]

- IF AN ARTIST
OF FALK'S STATURE

TELLS YOU YOU'RE NO GOOD,

YOU KNOW YOU'LL NEVER BE GREAT.

- I DESTROYED ALL MY WORKS

AND CUT MY TIES
TO THE ART WORLD.

I DECIDED TO RETURN
TO THE DESERT

AND START A NEW LIFE.

- I KNEW SAVITSKY
FROM MY CHILDHOOD.

MY GRANDMOTHER
WAS ALWAYS FULL OF IRONY

WHEN SHE SAW SAVITSKY, SAYING,

"OH, AGAIN HE CAME TO ASK
FOR THIS OLD STUFF."

THIS IS THE CLASSICAL COSTUME
OF KARAKALPAK FIANCEE,

WHICH IS EXACTLY
THE SAME DENIM CLOTHES

THAT IS POPULAR
ALL OVER THE WORLD NOW,

AND KARAKALPAKS WERE USING
THESE CLOTHES

FOR MORE THAN THREE CENTURIES.

[both speaking Russian]

- WHEN THE SOVIETS
WERE IN POWER,

THEY FELT
THAT THE ETHNIC TRADITIONS

OF ALL THESE NATIONALITIES IN
WHAT WAS THEN THE SOVIET SOUTH

SHOULD BE REPRESSED.

AND IF YOU HAD
TRADITIONAL CLOTHING,

YOU SHOULD HIDE THOSE;
YOU SHOULD GET RID OF THOSE.

SAVITSKY SAVED A LOT
OF THAT STUFF

THAT MIGHT OTHERWISE
HAVE DISAPPEARED.

- THESE TREASURES WOULD REMAIN
FOREVER IN MY GARAGE

UNLESS I FOUND A WAY TO GET
THE LOCAL COMMUNIST PARTY BOSS

TO GO AGAINST PARTY POLICY.

- [speaking Russian]

- I FINALLY HAD MY MUSEUM,

BUT AS AN ARTIST,

I STILL LONGED TO SEE PAINTINGS.

AROUND THAT TIME,
I CAME ACROSS AN ART CATALOG

FROM THE EARLY DAYS
OF SOVIET UZBEKISTAN.

- [speaking Russian]

- I WAS SURPRISED
THAT I'D NEVER HEARD OF VOLKOV.

IF A WORK SO WANTON
HAD FALLEN VICTIM TO CENSORSHIP,

WHAT ELSE WAS OUT THERE?

- [speaking Russian]

- [speaking Russian]

- I TRAVELED ALL OVER UZBEKISTAN

SEARCHING FOR MASTERPIECES
THAT THE HISTORY OF OUR TIMES

HAD CONDEMNED TO OBSCURITY.

I FOUND A WHOLE MULTINATIONAL
COLLECTIVE OF ARTISTS.

SOME WERE UZBEKS.

OTHERS CAME FROM DISTANT PARTS
OF OUR SOVIET UNION.

THEY CAME HERE
AFTER THE REVOLUTION.

FOR A BRIEF PERIOD OF TIME
IN THE '20s AND '30s,

THEY PAINTED FREELY

FAR AWAY
FROM THE KREMLIN'S CENSORSHIP.

UZBEKISTAN BECAME
THEIR SECOND MOTHERLAND.

- [speaking Russian]

- THE ARTISTS STROVE TO FIND

THE MOST CONTEMPORARY METHODS
AND FORMS

TO DEPICT THE UZBEK PEOPLE
AND THEIR CULTURE.

- SO YOU BEGIN TO HAVE A KIND OF
A CROSS-FERTILIZATION

OF ONE OF THE GREAT
WORLD-CLASS SCHOOLS OF ART,

THE RUSSIAN AVANT-GARDE,

WITH THIS OTHER MORE INTERESTING
LOCALLY BASED SCHOOL,

AND THE INFLUENCES THAT CREATED
THE RUSSIAN AVANT-GARDE MERGED

AND MELDED WITH THE INFLUENCES
THAT CAME OUT OF CENTRAL ASIA.

- MIKHAIL KURZIN CAME ALSO
TO UZBEKISTAN

IN THE BEGINNING OF 1920s.

IF WE LOOK AT HIS FIRST
IMPRESSIONS OF UZBEKISTAN,

THIS WAS THE NEW;
THIS IS THE OLD.

THE OLD SYMBOLIZED THE TRADITION
OF ISLAMIC COUNTRY,

WHEN MEN WAS ALLOWED TO HAVE
UP TO FOUR WIVES,

SO WE CAN SEE TWO WIVES
FOLLOWING THEIR MASTER,

AND THEY'RE WEARING VEILS,
THESE PARANJAS.

SARCASM OF KURZIN IS IN THE FACT

THAT THE TWO TRADITIONAL WIVES
ARE COMBINED

WITH THE NEW SOVIET KIND
OF WIFE IN THE NEW CLOTHES,

IN THE NEW WAY OF BEHAVING.

- PART OF THE REVOLUTION
THAT SOVIET RULE BROUGHT

TO CENTRAL ASIA
WAS THE LIBERATION OF WOMEN.

[all screaming]

- [speaking Russian]

- CENTRAL ASIA HAD BEEN STUCK
IN A FAR-DISTANT PAST,

AND WHEN THE SOVIETS ARRIVED,

IT WAS LIKE A DAWNING
OF A HUGE NEW ERA.

LIFE CHANGED IN EVERY WAY
FOR THE PEOPLE THAT LIVED THERE.

[eclectic music]

¶

[men chanting]

- THE SOVIETS DECIDED THAT THEY
WERE GONNA TURN CENTRAL ASIA

INTO THE REGION
WHERE ALL THE COTTON

FOR THE ENTIRE SOVIET UNION
WAS GONNA BE PRODUCED.

COTTON IS A VERY
WATER-INTENSIVE PROJECT,

AND SO THE SOVIETS
BUILT A HUGE NETWORK

OF EXTREMELY INEFFICIENT
IRRIGATION CHANNELS,

AND THEY SUCKED THIS WATER
PRINCIPALLY OUT OF THE RIVERS

THAT FED INTO THE ARAL SEA.

THIS WAS ONE OF THE WORLD'S
LARGEST INLAND SEAS

AND HAD BEEN
SINCE TIME IMMEMORIAL.

IT JUST DRIED UP.

THIS ARAL SEA DISASTER

IS TRULY ONE OF THE GREAT
ENVIRONMENTAL CATASTROPHES

OF THE 20TH CENTURY.

- AS I WAS WALKING ACROSS
THE WASTELAND

OF OUR SOVIET DREAM,

I PITIED VOLKOV
FOR HIS IDEALISM.

- THE ARTIST VOLKOV
MORE THAN ANYBODY ELSE

HAS GONE ASTRAY.

VOLKOV DOESN'T SEE ANYTHING
BUT COLORS.

THE AUDIENCE SAW STARING
AT THEM FROM THE WALLS

ROUGHLY SKETCHED MONSTERS,

A DELIBERATE DISTORTION
OF REALITY.

[cheers and applause]

- [speaking Russian]

- YOU HAD THESE PAINTINGS

OF HARDWORKING PEASANTS
AND FACTORY WORKERS,

ALL OF WHOM WOULD BE
VERY HEALTHY AND VIBRANT.

THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO CONVEY
THE SATISFACTION AND THE THRILL

THAT PEOPLE FELT
OF BEING SOVIET CITIZENS.

[upbeat music]

¶

- IF AN ARTIST WISHED TO WORK
OUTSIDE THE SYSTEM

OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REALISM,

THEN THAT ARTIST
WOULD INEVITABLY BE REMOVED

FROM THAT SYSTEM,

LIKE A MICROBE
FROM THE HEALTHY BODY.

- IN MY DREAM,
I SAW A CREATURE,

HIS EYES LIKE THE BARRELS
OF A GUN.

I CALLED THE PAINTING
FASCISM IS ADVANCING.

[cheers and applause]

- IT WAS A KIND OF
A FUTURE VISION

OF THE THREAT THAT WAS COMING.

THE FACT THAT LYSENKO
FINISHED HIS LIFE

IN MENTAL HOSPITAL MEANS A LOT.

MANY ARTISTS WERE FORCED
TO BE SENT TO MENTAL HOSPITALS.

- SAVITSKY WAS CRITICIZED
FOR THIS VERY PAINTING

WHEN IT WAS HUNG
ON THE WALLS OF THE MUSEUM.

THE INSPECTION CAME AND SAID,

"YOU MUST TAKE AWAY
THIS ANTI-SOVIET WORK.

"IT'S DEGENERATE PAINTING,

SO THERE IS NO PLACE FOR IT
IN THE MUSEUM."

- ANTI-SOVIET?

OF COURSE.

DEGENERATE?

[scoffs]
NO WAY.

THE NEXT DAY,
AFTER THE COMMISSION LEFT,

I PUT IT ON THE WALL AGAIN.

IT WAS TOO GREAT A WORK OF ART
TO HIDE.

- HERE IS ANOTHER PAINTING
FROM OUR COLLECTION

DONE BY KOMAROVSKY.

HE WAS STUDYING ICON PAINTING.

UNFORTUNATELY,
HIS LIFE WAS ENDED

DURING STALIN'S REPRESSIONS

FOR THE ONLY REASON:
THAT HE BELIEVED IN GOD.

ALEXANDER NIKOLAEV
WAS ALSO REPRESSED.

THE REASON WAS

HIS NONTRADITIONAL
SEXUAL ORIENTATION.

- HE WAS ARRESTED AND IMPRISONED
FOR HOMOSEXUALITY,

WHICH WAS CONSIDERED TO BE
A CRIME IN STALIN'S RUSSIA.

- TWO YEARS AGO,

A NEW INFORMATION
ABOUT THIS PAINTING CAME TO US.

WE REALIZED THAT THIS
WAS ONLY PART OF THE PAINTING

MADE BY MIKHAIL KURZIN,

AND THE WHOLE PAINTING
LOOKS LIKE THIS,

SO IT WAS A BIG DISCOVERY
FOR US,

VERY UNEXPECTED.

WE DON'T KNOW
WHO CUT THE PAINTING.

THE PHOTOGRAPH CAME
FROM THE KGB ARCHIVES,

AND NOW WE LOOK AT THIS PAINTING
WITH NEW EYES.

IN KURZIN'S CARICATURE
OF WESTERN CAPITALISM,

THE MILLIONAIRES CRADLE
THEIR SYMBOLS OF POWER

AGAINST THE BACKGROUND
OF EXPLOITED WORKERS.

AT FIRST GLANCE,
IT'S HARD TO UNDERSTAND

WHY THE SOVIET SECRET POLICE
OBJECTED

TO THIS CRITICISM
OF CAPITALISM,

BUT AS YOU TAKE A CLOSER LOOK,

KURZIN'S WORKERS
BEAR A STRIKING RESEMBLANCE

TO THE ONES
IN STALIN'S LABOR CAMPS.

YOU SEE THE SELF-PORTRAIT
OF KURZIN HOLDING A COFFIN,

SO THIS IS A NARRATION OF HOPES,

OF THE DREAMS OF AN ARTIST
IN THAT SOCIETY.

- "NOVEMBER 16, 1936,

"INTERROGATION OF THE DEFENDANT,

MIKHAIL IVANOVICH KURZIN.

"QUESTION: TELL THE INVESTIGATOR
ABOUT YOUR ANTI-SOVIET SPEECH

"AT THE EXHIBITION
OF THE ARTIST MAULT.

"ANSWER:
I DON'T REMEMBER THE MATTER

"OF MY ANTI-SOVIET SPEECH,

BECAUSE I WAS DRUNK."

- MIKHAIL KURZIN TRIED TO FOLLOW
THE SOVIET PATH

PAINTING FAKE,
JOYOUS PEASANTS,

BUT HE COULDN'T STAND IT.

HE USED TO SAY THAT
EVEN IN THE CAPITALIST WORLD,

THE ARTISTS ARE LIVING BETTER
THAN HERE.

- "FROM THE INTERROGATION
OF THE WITNESS

"ALEXANDER NIKOLAEVICH VOLKOV,

"ENCOURAGED TO TESTIFY
AGAINST HIS FELLOW ARTIST

AND FRIEND KURZIN."

- IN CONVERSATIONS WITH ME,

KURZIN SAID THAT THE USSR

DOESN'T ALLOW FREEDOM
OF EXPRESSION,

POINTING OUT THAT THERE
ARE GREATER OPPORTUNITIES

FOR ARTISTS' CREATIVITY
IN CAPITALIST COUNTRIES.

- WITNESS
ALEXANDER NIKOLAEVICH VOLKOV:

- WE ARE SPEAKING SO MUCH
ABOUT THE ARTISTS

WHO WERE REPRESSED
IN STALIN'S TIME,

ALL THOSE TERRIBLE STORIES
HOW THEY WERE SENT TO GULAGS

OR SOMEWHERE DRIVEN MAD,

BUT WHEN WE COME
TO OUR OWN PERSONAL LIFE,

I REALIZED THAT WE ALSO HAVE

VERY MANY...

TRAGIC STORIES AROUND US.

MY FATHER HAD
A VERY DIFFICULT LIFE.

HIS FATHER WAS SHOT IN 1938

AS THE ENEMY OF PEOPLE BEING
THE PRESIDENT OF KARAKALPAKSTAN,

AND HE JUST WANTED HIS PEOPLE
TO BLOSSOM, TO FLOURISH.

NADEZHDA BOROVAYA WAS SENT
TO CONCENTRATION CAMP

AS THE WIFE OF AN ADMIRAL
WHO WAS REPRESSED.

EVEN CHILDREN WERE SENT
TO CONCENTRATION CAMPS,

TO WOMEN'S COLONIES.

ONCE IN 1983,

SAVITSKY PREPARED A BIG PORTION
OF THE WORKS

FOR THE ATTENTION
OF THE COMMISSION

FROM THE MINISTER OF CULTURE.

HE WAS TO PERSUADE THEM
TO GIVE MONEY TO THE MUSEUM

SO THAT HE COULD PAY THE OWNERS.

ONE OF THE ARTISTS THAT WAS PUT
ON THE AGENDA

WAS NADEZHDA BOROVAYA.

SAVITSKY WAS VERY TRICKY.

HE SAID THAT THESE WERE...

SHOWING ALL THOSE PEOPLE
WHO WERE IN THE DRAWINGS

WITH THE NUMBERS
ON THEIR FOREHEADS

AND TERRIBLE SCENES OF LIVES
OF THOSE PRISONERS,

SO THE COMMISSION WAS PERSUADED.

THEY DECIDED TO PAY MONEY
TO NADEZHDA BOROVAYA,

AND AFTER THE COMMISSION
WENT AWAY,

SAVITSKY CAME TO ME
AND WHISPERED INTO MY EAR

WITH A SMILE ON HIS FACE

THAT THESE WERE
STALIN'S CONCENTRATION CAMPS,

AND I WAS SO SHOCKED.

LATER,
I REALIZED THE EXTENT

OF DANGER HE EXPOSED HIMSELF.

- BOROVAYA'S WORKS
WERE UNIQUE VISUAL EVIDENCE

OF THE REPRESSIONS.

I HAD TO MAKE SURE THAT ONE DAY
PEOPLE COULD SEE THEM.

- MY FATHER WAS INVITED TO WORK

FOR THE REGIONAL
COMMUNIST PARTY DEPARTMENT,

AND HE ADVISED SAVITSKY
TO BE CAREFUL.

MY FATHER WAS SAYING,

"OH, ONE DAY,
YOU WILL GET INTO THE JAIL."

BUT SAVITSKY'S OBSESSION
WAS SO STRONG,

HE COULDN'T STOP.

SAVITSKY HEARD ABOUT
THIS ARTIST,

URAL TANSYKBAEV,
WHO WAS RECOGNIZED BY THE REGIME

AS THE MASTER
OF SOCIALIST REALISM.

HE WAS AWARDED
MANY STATE PRIZES.

- AT FIRST, I DIDN'T WANT TO GO
TO TANSYKBAEV.

HE WAS A FAT CAT
ENJOYING ALL THE PERKS

OF A PEOPLE'S ARTIST
OF THE USSR.

IN RETURN,
HE PAINTED WHAT HE WAS TOLD.

BUT THEN I DISCOVERED
THAT TANSYKBAEV HAD BEEN

ONE OF VOLKOV'S
FAVORITE STUDENTS.

SO I WENT
TO TANSYKBAEV'S STUDIO.

THE WORKS WERE BORING,

BUT I SAW IMMEDIATELY THE HAND

OF SOMEONE WHO KNEW
HOW TO PAINT.

HE WAS A BIT SUSPICIOUS
OF MY MOTIVES

UNTIL WE FOUND THAT WE BOTH
ADMIRED UZBEK FOLK CULTURE.

HE SHOWED ME WATERCOLORS
OF VILLAGE LIFE

THAT HE'D DONE AS A YOUNG MAN.

I ASKED HIM IF THESE
WERE ALL HE HAD.

- URAL TANSYKBAEV TOOK SAVITSKY
INTO THE ATTIC,

OPENED A BIG CHEST,

AND SAVITSKY COULDN'T BELIEVE
HIS EYES.

- I HAD STUMBLED UPON A WORLD
CREATED BY THE MIND OF A GENIUS.

THESE WORKS THAT HADN'T BEEN
EXHIBITED FOR MANY YEARS

SHOCKED ME
WITH THEIR ORIGINALITY.

- WE CAN SEE HIS REAL SOUL
IN HIS EARLY PAINTINGS.

- HE TOLD ME HOW MUCH HE ADMIRED
VAN GOGH,

GAUGUIN, AND SEURAT.

BUT HIS SUBJECTS CAME FROM
THE ORIENTAL CULTURE AROUND HIM.

- TANSYKBAEV SAID,
"YOU CAN TAKE EVERYTHING,

WHAT YOU LIKE,
AND YOU CAN PAY WHEN YOU CAN."

- I QUICKLY TOOK
EVERY SINGLE WORK

BEFORE TANSYKBAEV
CHANGED HIS MIND.

- NUKUS WAS SO FAR AWAY,

FAR FROM POLITICAL
CULTURAL CENTERS.

MAYBE TANSYKBAEV THOUGHT THAT,

"WHO WILL SEE
THESE PAINTINGS THERE?"

- ELENA KOROVAY
WAS VERY MUCH INTERESTED

BY THE LIFE OF JEWS
OF BUKHARA.

NOT THE FACT THAT THEY WERE
ISOLATED AND LIVING IN GHETTOS,

BUT SHE SAW THE BEAUTY
OF THEIR OCCUPATION.

WE CAN SEE WONDERFUL
INDIGO COLORS OF HER DYERS...

OR TAILORS OF BUKHARA.

WE HAVE THE WHOLE CITIES
OF THESE WORKS

THAT WERE CREATED BY HER
DURING HER STAY IN UZBEKISTAN.

- [speaking Russian]

- FOR ME, KARAKALPAKS
ARE INVENTED CREATURES

WITH THEIR CITY NUKUS
IN A LAND FAR AWAY,

AND THERE'S SAVITSKY

WITH THE EYES OF A HOOLIGAN
PERSUADING ME

THAT I AM OBLIGED TO DONATE
TO HIS MUSEUM.

HE LOOKS AT THE PAINTINGS
ATTENTIVELY,

METICULOUSLY,

EXAMINES THEM AGAIN AND AGAIN

AT A DISTANCE AND UP CLOSE

BUT DOESN'T GET TIRED.

AS ANY FANATIC,
HE'S BORING, A LITTLE,

PRETENDING TO BE INTERESTED
IN WHAT I HAVE TO SAY.

BUT I KNOW
THE ONLY THING ON HIS MIND

IS GETTING ALL MY WORKS
FOR HIS MUSEUM.

- I WOULD LEAVE MOSCOW
WITH PILES OF AGING CANVASES

AND BOXES OF DRAWINGS.

I WAS SUCH A SIGHT
THAT NO TAXI WOULD STOP FOR ME,

AND THE PORTERS GRUMBLED
WHEN I APPEARED

AT THE TRAIN STATION.

- I HAD TRAVELED ACROSS
MOTHER RUSSIA FOR THREE DAYS...

UNTIL THE TRAIN TRACKS RAN OUT.

THEN I'D CAMP OUT
AND WAIT FOR A TRUCK

TO TRANSPORT ME AND MY TREASURES

ACROSS THE DESERT TO NUKUS.

- IT SEEMS VERY STRANGE THAT
HE WOULD HAVE SUCH ENOUGH MONEY

TO HAVE BOUGHT ALL THE PAINTINGS
THAT HE BOUGHT.

THESE ARE THOUSANDS
OF PAINTINGS.

YES, HE HAD STATE SUBSIDIES
FOR HIS MUSEUM,

BUT THOSE STATE SUBSIDIES
WERE MEANT TO BE USED

FOR FINANCING EXPEDITIONS
INTO THE DESERT,

NOT TO BE BUYING
SILLY RUSSIAN ART.

- [speaking Russian]

- ONE CAN FIND ART ANYWHERE.

ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS LOOK.

- [speaking Russian]

- SO SAVITSKY WAS GRABBED
BY DR. EFUNI'S STAFF

AND BROUGHT AGAINST HIS WILL
TO MOSCOW.

AND WHEN THEY CHECKED HIS LUNGS,

THEY UNDERSTOOD
THAT THIS IS THE END.

THE WHOLE WARD WAS GIVEN
TO THIS UNUSUAL PATIENT.

THEY EVEN ALLOWED HIM
TO LEAVE THE WARD IF HE NEEDED.

SO WE KNOW THAT SAVITSKY MANAGED

TO COLLECT TWO CONTAINERS
OF PAINTINGS AND GRAPHICS

WHILE HE WAS STAYING
IN EFUNI'S HOSPITAL.

- [speaking Russian]

- [speaking Russian]

- WE USE THESE TRAYS BECAUSE THE
CLIMATE IS VERY DRY IN SUMMER.

IT CAN BE PLUS 50 IN THE SHADOW.

AND WE NEED SOME KIND
OF HUMIDIFIERS

FOR THE PAINTINGS.

THIS DOES NOT HELP MUCH,
WE KNOW,

BUT THERE IS NO WAY OUT
AT PRESENT.

THAT'S WHY WE ARE USING
THIS PRIMITIVE METHOD

OF PUTTING VESSELS
WITH WATER EVERYWHERE.

- WHEN SAVITSKY CAME TO ME
AND SAID,

"I WANT YOU TO BE DIRECTOR,"
I COULDN'T SAY NO TO HIM.

THE NUKUS MUSEUM HAS BEEN
MY LIFE'S WORK FOR 25 YEARS.

KARAKALPAKSTAN
IS A VERY POOR COUNTRY,

AND THE ONLY TREASURE
THAT IT HAS NOW

IS THIS MUSEUM.

- CENTRAL ASIA IS REALLY NOT
A STABLE REGION,

AND UZBEKISTAN IS IN
A VERY TURBULENT AREA.

OF COURSE,
IT BORDERS ON AFGHANISTAN.

SOME OF THE SAME TRENDS
THAT YOU SEE IN AFGHANISTAN

HAVE ALSO EMERGED IN UZBEKISTAN.

- REMEMBERING THE EVENTS
IN AFGHANISTAN,

WHEN THOSE RADICALS DESTROYED
BUDDHIST STATUES IN BAMYAN,

THIS MEANS DANGER
FOR OUR COLLECTION.

[loud explosion]

- THE INFLUENCE
OF ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISM

COULD GROW SUBSTANTIALLY.

HOW THAT WOULD AFFECT
A COLLECTION OF ART

THAT IS ABSTRACT,
MODERNISTIC,

AND THAT IS RUN BY A WOMAN COULD
BE A LITTLE BIT DISTURBING.

- YOU CAN SEE PILES OF CANVASES

THAT ARE HANGING LIKE THIS.

THEY ARE REAL MASTERPIECES,

BUT THEY WERE NEVER SHOWN
TO ANYONE,

BECAUSE THEY NEED
TO BE RESTORED.

THEY NEED TO BE FRAMED.

WHEN WE LOOK AT
THESE WONDERFUL PAINTINGS,

WE UNDERSTAND THAT PEOPLE
ARE MISSING SO MUCH.

THEY CAN'T SEE
ALL THESE TREASURES,

AND WE HAVE THOUSANDS
OF WORKS LIKE THIS

IN OUR STORAGES.

- WHEN I FOUND
THIS MUSEUM STORY,

I CALLED
THE NEW YORK TIMES EDITOR,

AND SHE AGREED WITH ME
THIS IS REALLY AN EXCLUSIVE.

THERE WERE GONNA BE
A LOT OF PEOPLE CHOKING

ON THEIR ENGLISH MUFFINS
OVER BREAKFAST ON SUNDAY

WHEN THEY READ THIS ONE.

- THE COLLECTORS FROM THE WEST
STARTED TO COME

IN THEIR PRIVATE PLANES

BRINGING BAGS OF MONEY,
SHOWING THIS TO US.

THEY WANTED THE BEST PIECES.

AND ALL THE FOREIGNERS
USED TO SAY,

"WHY DON'T YOU SELL
ONE OR TWO PAINTINGS?"

IT WAS A TRADITION
FOR WESTERN MUSEUMS

TO SELL SOMETHING
FROM THEIR COLLECTION

IN ORDER TO SETTLE
THEIR PROBLEMS.

REMEMBERING THE BIOGRAPHIES
OF THE ARTISTS,

THEY WERE SO UNHAPPY
DURING THEIR LIVES.

THEY FOUND SHELTER IN NUKUS,

AND EVEN TO THINK
OF SELLING THEM SOMEWHERE

WAS VERY DIFFICULT FOR US.

- I VISITED ANOTHER MUSEUM
IN ANOTHER CITY

FULL OF ARTIFACTS
FROM UZBEK HISTORY,

FANTASTIC FABRICS
AND WEAVINGS.

SUDDENLY,
A GUY CAME OVER TO ME,

AND THIS WAS
THE MUSEUM DIRECTOR.

AND I POINTED TO A WEAVING,
AND I SAID,

"THIS IS A SPECTACULAR PIECE
OF ART."

AND HE LOOKED AT ME, AND
HE SAID, "YOU WANT TO BUY IT?"

AND I SAID, "WHAT?"

- HE SAID,
"IF YOU WANT TO TAKE IT,

HOW MUCH WOULD YOU PAY FOR IT?"

SO ESSENTIALLY,
WHAT HE WAS SAYING IS,

"COME LOOT MY MUSEUM."

THE IDEA THAT YOU'D BE
AN IMPOVERISHED DIRECTOR

OF AN IMPOVERISHED MUSEUM

THAT HAD PILES OF STUFF
THAT COULDN'T EVEN EXHIBIT

BUT YOU WOULDN'T SELL
A SINGLE PIECE

MUST HAVE BEEN UNIQUE
TO MARINIKA.

- SAVITSKY USED TO SAY,

"KEEP THIS COLLECTION TOGETHER
BY ALL MEANS.

"ONE DAY, PEOPLE WILL TOTALLY
UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE

OF THE MUSEUM."

- I LIKE TO THINK OF OUR MUSEUM

AS A KEEPER
OF THE ARTISTS' SOULS.

THEIR WORKS
ARE THE PHYSICAL EXPRESSION

OF A COLLECTIVE VISION
THAT COULD NOT BE DESTROYED.

Captioning by CaptionMax
www.captionmax.com

WE ARE A TEAM BROUGHT UP
BY SAVITSKY,

WHO ARE VERY DEDICATED
TO THE MUSEUM WORK,

BUT WE ARE PEOPLE
OF PRE-PENSION AGE.

OUR CURATORS ARE PAID
$30 A MONTH.

Narrator: ALVINA SHPADE

HAS WORKED AT THE MUSEUM
FOR 41 YEARS,

BUT NOW SHE CAN NO LONGER
RESTORE THE ART.

THE RESTORATION LAB, AND A LARGE
PART OF THE COLLECTION,

HAVE LOST THEIR HOME.

THE UZBEK GOVERNMENT
HAS DESIGNATED

ONE OF THE TWO MUSEUM BUILDINGS
FOR DEMOLITION, WITHOUT WARNING,

WITH NO ALTERNATIVE PLANS
FOR HOUSING THE ARTWORKS.

FURTHERMORE, THE NUKUS
MUSEUM DIRECTOR,

MARINIKA BABANAZAROVA,

WAS FORBIDDEN TO TRAVEL
TO THE U.S.

FOR THE PREMIERE OF THE FILM

AT THE NATIONAL GALLERY
IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

AT THE TIME
OF THIS BROADCAST DEADLINE,

THE GOVERNMENT HAS DECLINED
TO RESPOND TO MEDIA INQUIRIES

REGARDING THEIR ACTIONS.

Babanazarova:
I AM REALLY HAVING

VERY SAD THOUGHTS ABOUT
THE FUTURE OF THE MUSEUM.

BUT I WANT TO BELIEVE

THAT THIS MUSEUM

WOULD BE SAFE

AND PEOPLE IN OUR COUNTRY

WILL UNDERSTAND THE VALUE

OF THIS COLLECTION.

AS FOR ME, I WILL TRY

TO DO MY BEST,
AS FAR AS I CAN DO THIS.

- COMING SOON
TO INDEPENDENT LENS...

- WHAT'S YOUR LAST NAME,
SWEETHEART?

- BASQUIAT.

announcer: JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT
WAS A PHENOMENON,

BUT BEING YOUNG, BLACK,

AND THE WORLD'S
MOST FAMOUS ARTIST

CAME WITH A PRICE.

- THE PRESSURE
OF THAT ARTIFICIAL WORLD

MADE IT DIFFICULT FOR HIM
TO DO SOMETHING.

announcer:
AN INTIMATE PORTRAIT OF YOUTH,

PASSION, TRAGEDY, AND FAME.

- SEE YOU NEXT TIME
ON INDEPENDENT LENS.

announcer: CONNECT WITH
INDEPENDENT LENS ONLINE

AT PBS.ORG.

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