Konstantin Kolodin: "Graphics is the language of architects"

Konstantin Kolodin, Associate Professor at the SPbGASU Department of Architectural Design, PhD in Architecture, member of the Union of Architects of Russia has recently published his “Graphic Dramaturgy" album.

We asked Konstantin to tell us about his intended audience, how his drawings are created and what they are about.

“The book will be of interest to anyone who is fond of art, graphics and architecture. I am an architect, and for me graphics is not only a special kind of creativity, but also a kind of graphic language. Graphics is a way of developing your mind, imagination, it's an opportunity to show others what is hidden in your subconscious depths. I don't just draw from life, I create images. My drawings tell about my inner world. I see a spot, for instance, and I wonder what it consists of – other spots, lines, circles, shadows, light. I start to analyse it, and a drawing appears. People like that.

I wanted to study film directing at the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography. But I was 17 at the time, and to be admitted it was necessary to have experience of working as an assistant director for at least three years. So, since everything is interconnected, and creativity has no boundaries, I found myself in another profession.

Most of my drawings are born "on the run": you can draw on the train or onboard a plane, anywhere. Graphics doesn't take long, sometimes five minutes is enough. It is more accessible than oil painting, for example. The main thing is to be in the mood.

Every time the mood is different, it changes every day. Today it’s hard paper, tomorrow it's soft. Or it's a big canvas or a panel. I've collected a lot of illustrations, maybe a thousand or two. I didn't save them at first. My colleagues saw that I was throwing them away, and advised me not to do it. They said I should show them to everyone.

I would like students to see my book.

My task as a teacher is to enable students to fly with their own wings. To help develop their imagination for drawing as well. We set up our studio for this.

Our studio is an informal association. We gather after work, or on weekends. Students ask: do you really want us to hold pencils in our hands? These days, you can draw everything on the computer. But computers cannot give you everything. When you take a pencil, sharpen it, smell it, press it on paper, draw a line, it's a completely different experience. I like different pencils. I have a whole series of both mechanical and regular pencils.

Once I was on holiday in Pereslavl-Zalessky with other artists, and we noticed that one of our friends was missing. And it was such a beautiful sunset. And suddenly we see our friend standing in the middle of a huge puddle with the sun reflecting on water and whispering: "Look how beautiful it is". You ask where to get inspiration? It is everywhere: in a pile of rubbish, in a puddle, in a girl who walked by. In life itself.

Now we are planning to present a new project together with my students. Everyone is asking what it is for, why it is needed. Why does an artist paint? Because it is inside, it is something that worries and wants to get out," sums up Konstantin Kolodin.

✔ The album will be available at the library of SPbGASU within a month.

Text: Tatyana Petrova
Photo: Sergey Klishis

✔ Learn more about the Department of Architectural Design