My new and growing friendship with Pollina is an example of how joy finds you organically and divinely when you least expect it. My friendship with Pollina also is an example of why I get so very excited about life’s possibilities.
If anyone has ever peeked at my Instagram page, you would know that the number one thing I do with it is post my visual experiences. My number 2 use of Instagram is as a means of learning about art, culture and opportunities. Pollina’s page is an intoxicating cocktail of art-candy, always leading me down paths of new learning.
Our shared love for the visual arts and museums, in particular the Chicago Institute of Art was the conduit that facilitated our meeting and having conversations about art works, artists and history, three of my #fav topics. Pollina is such an aware historian who thinks introspectively about the lessons of experience that her global life have afforded her.
Being a Russian woman living, working, studying and teaching in America allows her to offer a rich and varied perspective as a creative problem solver and art historian. She provided me with a vision of her life as a Russian citizen. However, it was interesting to hear that her perspective and experiences were similar to that of her female counterparts in the USA. As I listened to her responses, I was often struck by the similarities between her experiences and other women that I interviewed for this project. I could also see similarities in her experiences and my own.
The times that I have spent with Pollina have definitely been informative and rewarding. She and her husband warmly hosted evening tea with Russian dark chocolate for me (oh, so very Russian and international) in their home where art, politics and culture drove our lush conversations. Pollina is my model and inspiration as she is on the home stretch of writing her dissertation and completing her doctorate. (...something that I probably will not achieve until I am 94, but I digress...) It was interesting to learn how essentially, art was used as a tool for propaganda and brainwashing children during the Stalen years of the Soviet Union. While using art for propaganda purposes is not a new thing within history, I have to admit that thinking of it as a tool used with children was unsettling for me. This gave me food for thought about investigating other social reasons that art has been used to propagate a pervasive belief, both good and not as good, and how has this propaganda effected the growth of women within the creative pursuits.
Pollina’s closing responses about respect for others opinion was also a point that stayed on my mind long after our conversation. I find that the lack of respect for others’ opinions tends to be the spark of so many societal ills that plague us. I have to wonder if her dissertation work around the use of art as propaganda in children’s literature was the ignition for her coming to this introspective advice for the “younger Pollina” and other creative women today.
It is definitely advice that I will catalog and use going forward.
You can hear our conversation by clicking on the video on my YouTube channel. Enjoy.
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