Alzek Misheff

This great Italian artist of Bulgarian origin, identified  as one of the thirty most significant European artists, is almost unknown in our country. If you ask me why, I will tell you a story :)

The wife of the great American artist of Bulgarian origin, Christo Yavashev, Jeanne-Claude, somewhere between 1984-86 was in Bulgaria to examine the possibilities for her husband to make an exhibition here. The answer was simple:

- Christo is not a painter and that is the reason he cannot have an exhibition here.

Her amazement necessitated clarification. It said:

- A painter is a person, a Bulgarian citizen, graduated from the National Academy of Fine Arts and a member of the UBA. And Christo is neither of these. This is the situation.

The person who provided this clarification, was a classmate with Yavashev up to the 3^rd year in the  Academy, so very well aware of the American citizen who was not an artist ... but I'll keep the truth for later on.

There we are – you are already smarter and you know what an artist is according to the UBA statutes, which I had the happiness and the courage in the far 1992, as Chairman of the Exceptional Congresses of the Union to repeal together with the totalitarian leadership ... If you took notes, I will carry on with the story.

Altzek Misheff with his wife Eleanor Ricci at their home in Italy.

Wikipedia describes the work 

 „Swimming across the Atlantic“ (1979 – 1982) Performance

in the spotlight of the world's stage as follows

After 3 years of work and 12 exhibitions between Milan and New York in the period 1979-1981, the project reaches its final point during the first return of the ship "Queen Elizabeth 2" of hostilities and the crisis in Auckland between 15 and August 20, 1981. The project was completed in the pool of the vessel during the voyage between England and New York, lasting five days. In the course of this self-mockingly conceived action, the artist let him be carried like a goldfish in an aquarium - in a small container filled with water, he goes through customs on departing from London, and later on his arrival in New York. Every day he was swimming for 4 hours in the morning and 4 hours in the afternoon in the pool on board. The performance followed 12 exhibitions and a theatre performance. After carrying on the performance the artist issued a record with specially composed original music (vinyl 45 rpm.)

Alzek MIsheff in action with Don Buchla

More of Alzek MIsheff can be seen in his Youtube channel

As you can see, the Bulgarian vanguard has strong roots. And also distant. The first exhibition of avant-garde artists, that I know about is of Geo Milev - in the end of September 1921, in the editor’s office of his magazine “Vezni” /Balance/. The great poet exhibits his collection of newly created works of Malevich,Kandinsky, Tatlin ...

This exhibition has no impact on the development of art in the country. For his contribution to the avant-guard, Geo Milev pays with his life. I do not wish to explain why. Instead, I suggest you to see how the recently redesigned ship looks like.