Died romantic underground Alexander Glezer
ARTinvestment.RU   06 июня 2016

Wednesday, 8 June in Paris, the Russian cemetery Sainte-Женевьев-де-Буа will be held the funeral of Alexander Davidovich Glaser (10.03.1934–4.06.2016), poet, writer, collector and one of the most prominent figures in the informal post-war art

He was not an artist. But in the "Other art" he devoted more than ten pages, not counting references. More written maybe only about his friend Oscar Rabin. And I think that if extraction of events and processes initiated by Glezer, unofficial art chronicle lost more than a third. It will not be counted as a minimum of the exhibition in DK "Friendship", 1967 — case of the first resonant acceleration of an exhibition of unofficial artists. It would not be "Bulldozer exhibition" in 1974. Would not be "Museum of contemporary Russian art in exile", a large number of publications about the Russian artist in the West. And thanks to the Glaser today we are talking about this turn of events only in the subjunctive mood.

of Course, these high-profile events in the history of nonconformist art — is not exclusively the merit of Glaser. But he was their catalyst, the personality of the breed "these violent few". He is remembered as the man, strongly overcoming the "point of no return" in times when many have been tempted to retreat. In this role it a respected. And many disliked, criticized: go ahead, eyesore, goes too far, pulls the blanket over himself, requires heroism from others, odious, creates another trouble is for many a mute reproach. That may be true. But for a reason exactly in such difficult moments, the story brings into play such contradictory people. Remember that Glaser was the aggravation with the authorities in those days when it just was not fraught with problems at work, and literally physically dangerous — rowed with servitude militiamen, KGB agents, with party chiefs. But he just sit quietly, and he would be quite successful by Soviet standards, career: working in research institutes, poetry, translations, a good prosperity in the noise. But he deliberately abandoned the regular life of insincerity, choosing a profession, a title which in those days did not exist. Well, to call? Art-менеджер, the promoter, the Evangelist of art? Yes, that's all. And the dealer, negotiator, curator, publisher — bright passionary, whose name is inscribed in the story of unofficial postwar art along with the artists of the first row.

Vladimir Bogdanov, AI