Emil Guzairov was born in Russia. He’s engaged in graphics, painting, architecture, graphic design, and book engineering. He designs interiors and private houses. He also draws illustrations, designs and publishes in limited editions author’s books in the genre “Artist’s Book” and “Book Art”. He came up with unusual book designs and non-standard stylistic solutions. He writes stories, fairy tales and adventure stories. Written and directed by several animated films

 

OCA Magazine: Tell us about yourself and your creative activity/work

Emil Guzairov: My speciality is architecture, so I’m used to thinking in terms of  shapes, spatial categories and storylines. Architectural design just like any artistic action implies a lot of creativity and desire to express an idea through a particular object. In this sense all forms of arts have common principles of the development of new ideas and similar methods designing creative objects.

EG:I have worked in different areas of arts. I moved from architectural design towards animation and for many years was filming auter animated movies at the “Kyrgyztelefilm” studio in Bishkek in the 90s. Animation like any film industry is a very fascinating activity, full of mysteries, insights and creative findings. Of course, it’s impossible to avoid long searches, mistakes and disappointments as in any other kind of work.

At the same time, I worked a lot in the sphere of painting and graphic design. I spent many years working with advertising and visual graphics in the television industry. 

OCA : Do you have any personal project that you would like to talk about?

EG: We never know where our destiny will bring us – later on I worked as an art director in the publishing company in Moscow. I did graphic design, 3D graphics and book illustrations. Gradually, I became interested in the artistic side of a book. During the past 10 years I’ve been doing research in the sphere of artist books, copyright books, miniature publications and book engineering. I develop unusual book constructions such as rope up, folding out, microbook and I call it “book architecture” which is similar to architectural design.

Besides, I write adventure novels, stories and tales. Some of my works with my own drawings are available in limited edition, generally from 3 to 10 copies, and I try to create unique books with an auteur construction and unusual design. I don’t need a publisher or typography. I do all by myself: write, draw, print, cut and put together. I only need a reader and a viewer. 

I paint and then write texts for my paintings, such as stories and tales. I called this method reverse illustration. 

OCA :Who are your favorite artists?

EG: I get inspiration from Alexander Pushkin, Edgar Allan Poe, William Shakespeare, Agathon Bokeh and create books based on the works of classics. I’ve recently created a series of books – a collection of poems named “Prophet”. Actually, many Russian poets have compositions with the same name. We all know poems of Pushkin, Lermontov and Nekrasov with the same name. By my request, a talented contemporary British poet John Farndon made fantastic translations of several poems in English, and now I’m doing a series of books united with a common theme of “Prophet”.

OCA : What style do you paint in? What influenced your style?

EG:Frankly speaking, I don’t like everything that I do because sometimes I change a font, proportions, binding, size or design. This can be referred to as perfectionism, but I definitely know that each book as well as drawing or sculpture already in its inception has its unique scale, appearance and style.

OCA : Have you taken part in the events of the Eurasian Creative Guild (London)?

EG: We also know from the history of art how important are the patron, trustee, collector and connoisseur. There have always been philanthropists who supported artists in their difficult, delicate and emotional labour. And now I see the Eurasian Creative Guild which creates an environment for development, cooperation and inspiration.

For an artist in any sphere, whether he is an actor, poet, designer or musician, it is important for him to be heard, seen and understood. This is because an artist works for people by creating their own unique pieces of art. And I think that it is a very important task to help him to reach the audience and communicate his creative ideas.

 I’m really happy about the variety of literary, art and film contests and events organised and held by the Guild. It is important for me to participate and to show my works, but I also want to see the works of other people. I want to meet like-minded people, but it is important not to ignore critique and to perceive it in a right way. This can be learnt through joint creativity, trips, discussions and equal participation in the art processes in different genres.

OCA : What is “Eurasianism” for you?

EG: Europe and Asia are a wonderful combination, a sea of opportunities and mountains of achievements. A friendship and respect between creative people holds a powerful potential of interpenetration. I think we should learn from each other, develop together so that we can skillfully avoid all the obstacles that threaten artists in today’s dynamic pace of life. I hope that the Eurasian Creative Guild and the creative approach of its managers will further develop interesting art projects that will support the world of art.

I think that we need to search for new, or maybe forgotten old forms of creative interaction. It is crucial that a Maecenas can find his own artist, and that a viewer can find his own exhibition or concert. We need auctions, crowdfunding platforms, online meetings and creative festivals. 

OCA : What does the Eurasian Creative Guild mean to you, and how has it influenced your creativity?

EG: The kind help provided by the Eurasian Creative Guild was and still remarkable,I joined the Guild during the festival in Stockholm in 2017 and in Brussels in 2019. I can see how important these meetings among creative people and their cooperation are. Every nation has its own unique quality and texture manifestations in art. The intersection of cultures and ethnic groups leads to mutual enrichment and interesting cooperation.