Yushchenkos and entourage pay a visit to The Ukrainian Museum (09/25/05)

Yushchenkos and entourage pay a visit to The Ukrainian Museum

by Marta Baczynsky

NEW YORK - Emotions ran high on Friday afternoon, September 16, inside The Ukrainian Museum. The board of trustees, administration and staff members paced nervously in the lobby and looked through the huge windows into the street. Outside, on the sidewalk and across the street, large crowds had gathered. Near the museum entrance, a group of children from St. George Ukrainian Catholic School, clad in embroidered shirts and blouses, some holding colorful bouquets of flowers, moved restlessly, as children tend to do. The people outside peered through the windows into the museum, and both those inside and those outside waited with great anticipation.

The people on the rim of the crowd were rewarded with the first glimpse of the police-led motorcade as it quickly made its way down Sixth Street, to halt in front of the museum. As the doors of the automobile in the center of the motorcade opened, the people could no longer contain themselves, and a huge roar went up, quickly settling into a chant: "Yushchenko! Yushchenko! Yushchenko!"

The man on whose behalf the Orange Revolution was fought and won by the people of Ukraine, Viktor Yushchenko, president of Ukraine, and Kateryna Yushchenko, the country's first lady, had come to visit the newly built Ukrainian Museum in New York City.

The president and Mrs. Yushchenko were met in the entryway of the museum by Olha Hnateyko, board president, Maria Shust, director, and Sophia Hewryk, board member. The president and his wife were presented bouquets of flowers - big, bright orange zinnias and delicate pink roses.

Moments like these must be seen and experienced, for they are difficult to describe. In the commotion of everyone trying to get a glimpse of the famous couple, with security people bustling about and flash bulbs exploding on cameras almost every second, President and Mrs. Yushchenko remained remarkably focused on their greeters. Everyone smiled and kissed and embraced, and all of us around this small group felt as if we had known our two visitors all our lives; we just hadn't seen them in a while.

"Your visit, Mr. President and Mrs. Yushchenko, is a monumental historical event for The Ukrainian Museum, and it will be recorded in golden letters in the history of our institution," Ms. Hnateyko said in greeting the special guests. She explained to the assembled that the museum, which was founded by the Ukrainian National Women's League of America almost 30 years ago, was built with the determination and great generosity of the Ukrainian community in the United States. She said that the unwavering dedication of the Ukrainian community to the preservation of its cultural heritage would become apparent as the guests walked through the galleries of this institution. Mrs. Hnateyko delivered her welcome message following the traditional Ukrainian extension of hospitality with bread and salt.

Several days prior to his visit, the museum had received a gift from the president - a tapestry that bears the name "The Paths of Songs" ("The Four Seasons"). This beautiful wall hanging is composed of four separate rectangular panels, each representing a holiday in the Ukrainian calendar - Christmas, Easter, the Summer Solstice and the Feast of the Transfiguration. The tapestry was mounted on a large wall made of natural stone in the museum's lobby. Upon seeing the decorative wall hanging, the president acknowledged it with a smile and a remarked to his wife that it looked familiar.

The tapestry was made at the Kosiv National Institute of Applied and Decorative Art and was chosen specifically for the museum by Mrs. Yushchenko. "When I first saw it, I thought it was so beautiful that I cried," said the first lady of Ukraine. She was delighted to learn that the tapestry, with its symbolic message proclaimed in imagery, rhythm, color and ornamental motifs, is perfectly suited to the museum's second inaugural exhibition, "The Tree of Life, the Sun and the Goddess," the theme of which is symbolism in Ukrainian folk art. Mrs. Hnateyko noted that the tapestry will serve as an appropriate introduction to the new exhibition (scheduled to open in November) and "as a valuable addition to the museum's folk art collection."

Valeriy Kuchinsky, Ukraine's ambassador to the United Nations, with his wife, Alla, and Borys Tarasyuk, the country's acting minister of foreign affairs, accompanied the presidential party. Along with them was the popular boxer Vitalii Klitschko. For this special event the museum also invited Frances Archipenko Gray, the widow of Alexander Archipenko, an exhibition of whose magnificent sculptures opened the new museum in April of this year.

Prof. Jaroslaw Leshko, curator of the museum's premier inaugural exhibition "Alexander Archipenko: Vision and Continuity" and author of a comprehensive essay on the artist in the exhibition catalogue, accompanied President and Mrs. Yushchenko through the exhibition. The Yushchenkos were attentive and very interested in the exhibit. As the tour proceeded, the president asked numerous pointed questions, according to Prof. Leshko.

Archipenko's quote "It is not exactly the presence of a thing but rather the absence of it that becomes the cause and impulse for creative motivation," which sheds light on one of his prime innovations - volume/space transference, is prominently displayed in the exhibition's main gallery, along with a number of striking works that reflect this principle. President Yushchenko found the idea intriguing, explained Prof. Leshko, and he and the president held a lively discussion on the subject. "It was a distinct honor to present to the president and the first lady the innovative genius of Archipenko and witness their enthusiastic response."

It is known that President Yushchenko is a collector of Ukrainian folk art and has a splendid personal collection. Mrs. Hnateyko said that when she asked the president if he would consider exhibiting his collection in the museum, he responded positively and enthusiastically. In a later interview with Ukrainian television, the museum board president said this would be a magnanimous gesture on Mr. Yushchenko's part to support the museum in this way. An exhibition from the presidential collection would not only add significantly to the museum's prestige, but would also generate enormous interest among the public.

The museum's gift to President Yushchenko was a collection of its exhibition catalogues, including the fully illustrated catalogue from the Archipenko exhibition. Mrs. Yushchenko's gift from the museum was an elegantly framed Jacques Hnizdovsky woodcut, "Fern on Black" (1975).

Before he departed, President Yushchenko signed the museum's guest book. He wrote: "I was proud of what I saw in your (our) museum. Only patriots could accomplish such a challenging task." Mrs. Yushchenko added her compliments by writing "Beautiful museum!"

All too soon the presidential visit ended. President and Mrs. Yushchenko departed the museum, surrounded by their security detail. Outside, the people waited patiently. Once again the cry "Yushchenko! Yushchenko!" resounded. The president shook hands, lovingly touched the faces of children, smiled and waved with infectious joy. He and Mrs. Yushchenko were guided into the waiting automobile, and in a brisk minute they were gone.

In the sudden, quiet aftermath, the people began to disperse, but slowly, lingering to savor the moment. Soon the street was empty. In the museum we milled about, unwilling to let the charged atmosphere of this exciting event dissipate. It had been a long day, a most unusual day, and we were witnesses to history.

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The exhibition "Alexander Archipenko: Vision and Continuity" has been extended to October 10. The Ukrainian Museum is located at 222 E. Sixth St. Museum hours: Wednesday through Sunday, 11:30 a.m.-5 p.m.

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