PHOTOGLYPHS

by Gerlovina Rimma and Gerlovin Valeriy

From the introduction by Mark Sloan: Russian-born artists Rimma Gerlovina and Valeriy Gerlovin were leading proponents of the Samizdat art movement which was formed to circumvent official censorship in the former Soviet Union. This interest in the capricious nature of language has been carried on in the Gerlovins art since their arrival in New York City in 1980. The Gerlovins collaborative works explore the fertile intersection of linguistics, mythology, painting, performance, sculpture, and photography. In the Photoglyphs series, they invite the viewer to participate in unravelling the paradox, thus forming a bridge to spiritual and mystical transformation. The participatory aspect of these works is central to their meaning and to their utility. Though their imagemaking techniques are deceptively simple, the variety and scope of the Gerlovins oeuvre is diverse and surprising. Much like the concept of "a yoking of opposites" in Japanese haiku, these "visual formulas" contain the dynami