Original subtitles

- 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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