Gunārs Cīlītis (1927–2007) – painter or graphic artist?
Cīlītis himself thought and felt himself as a painter, it was more important than everything else, but there was always something that took him away. However, whatever it was – a drawing, an image of a puppet film, a small cartoon, an illustration of a book or a magazine – attention was paid to each work of art as the most important at that time.
From 1957, the name of Gunārs Cīlītis often appeared below illustrations in magazines Star and Dadzis, but there was still not enough time for painting. In the pocket of the dude, he always had variants of ideas for larger or smaller pieces of paper, match boxes and napkins, as well as cruelly overdue submission deadlines, but the drawing folder placed on the table by the editor changed the situation in an instant. Only the printing of the Soviet era, seeing the subtlety of the merged and lost lines and the bright colors soaked in the paper, could not satisfy anyone professionally.
Gunārs Cīlītis Self-portrait on the bridge (1957), which was exhibited at the 2nd exhibition of works by young artists of the LSSR, caused an unimaginably large discussion and left a strong influence on his future path in art. The unexpectedly sharp and destructive reaction of the leading art critics did not allow Cīlītis to hear the support expressed in the discussions. Cīlītis – a painter – resigned at the close of his workshop. At that time, almost every young person – Biruta Baumane, Boris Bērziņš, Uldis Zemzaris, Rita Valnere, Henrijs Klebbach – received an instructive or sarcastic remark, which, it should be noted, did not deter him from painting. It is possible that Cīlītis’ own doubts, slow method of painting and constant search for the best solution did not promote faith in his own strength.
Gunārs Cīlītis submitted the documents prepared in 1961 to the Painting Section of the LSSR Artists’ Union to the Graphics Department in 1966, and he was convincingly admitted, but he did not really raise himself, as he was denied himself as a painter. The further activity of the exhibitions was more related to graphics and caricature, which, in Cīlīša’s opinion, was just a work of money. However, the artist was already and still is recognized as an outstanding book art professional – E. Hemingway Who will ring the callThe beauty The voice of the callerZ. Skujiņa Talks with wormsR. Ezeras By its own wind. Violence and DH Lawrence Lady Chaterley’s lover.
Want to get rich – go to Daile Theater!
In 1966, an enticing offer was received in a new field – to create a set design for the comedy “Weddings on a European Scale” by A. Arkanov and G. Gorin at the Daile Theater. Pauls Putniņš made his directorial debut. Cīlītis dedicated the costume sketches to the specific actor, who succeeded well, even comically, it captivated the actors. Also, the sketches of the stage decorations seemed interesting at first, but the not-so-successful relationship with the stage engineer led to a mistake that could no longer be corrected before the show – the scenery was too small. It should be mentioned that for Paul Putniņš this was also his first and last work in directing, later he focused only on drama and literature.
Then began film time with director Arnold Burov and some ten fanatical puppets. An artist-artist is written next to the name of Gunārs Cīlītis in the work certificate, and that means not to escape fame! A joke, but it happened. The puppet films made in the studio were lullabies for a whole generation – Pigmalions (1967), Dullais Dauka (1968), A tale of a verdale (1969), Vanadziņš (1978). Kārlis Skalbes became the main one A tale of a verdale which ensured that in the pocket of Cīlītis, for himself, an unchangeable magic coin crept into him.
A book was made with the heroes of the film in 1970, the printing quality of which again disappointed the artist. The verdict reminds itself again in 1978, when Gunārs Cīlītis received an offer from the publishing house “Liesma” to create new illustrations, with which he was almost satisfied. “Money Matters” for the artist did not end with this booklet, which experienced repetitions of the circulation. From 1997 to 2001, coins created in the Bank of Latvia’s tenders were stuck next to the verdict. One of the most complex was the buttonhole coin, which gained international recognition in 2001 as a brilliantly creative coin concept.
The 1971 exhibition in the exhibition hall of the Latvian Artists’ Union (LMS) together with friends Uģis Mežavilks and Aleksandrs Stankēvičs could be considered as another attempt to show recently completed paintings in addition to cartoons, illustrations and puppet films. Showcase (1971), Self-portrait with parents (1968) and War (1970), which was purchased for his collection by the Artists’ Union, but the exhibition created a feeling of disappointment for Cīlītis himself – it seemed that he was not understood again. After a break of 35 years, there was an unexpected invitation to participate in the exhibition Latvian painting. The second half of the 1950s – the 1970s In the St. Peter’s Church, and from this exhibition the Latvian National Museum of Art (LNMM) purchases a self-portrait of the artist for its collection. Grizinkalns – Agenskalns.
The Latvian National Archives has a large box full of diaries written by Gunārs Cīlītis, sometimes very stingy and short sentences, sometimes a longer conversation with himself and loneliness that even his closest friends had no idea about. The artist has been writing since 1945 and until the end of his life, which became the basis for Rūta Muižniece’s monograph Where is the road flat? (2016) and was an invaluable assistant in the preparation of this exhibition.
The LNMM collection contains 6 paintings by Gunārs Cīlītis, 19 original illustrations and film sketches, which went to the museum after the artist’s death, while diaries, cartoons, original illustrations and sketches went to the Latvian National Archives, with kind support some of this material is on display. Most recently, the repository of the methodological fund of the Latvian Academy of Arts managed to recover Cīlītis’ diploma work, which is also included in the exposition. A painting from the LMS collection can be seen in the exhibition Warduring the creation of which only one word is repeated in the diary – Czechoslovakia and the thoughts of crushing the democratic processes of 1968 with the brutal military force of the USSR army.
Text: Ilze Putniņa
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