Semushin Alexander. "VOLUPTUOUS SELF-TORTURE IN HOT PLANE"
Phallic topic and symbols in art represent a deeply rooted tradition. And it is no mere chance that phallus cults appear as early as in the neolithic age. It would have been strange if surrealists had ignored the topic. It started long before Dali – in the South Africa there were found drawings made thousands years ago where a prehistoric surrealist depicted an erect penis with a long stem coming out from it and ending with a tulip flower. Of course A.Semushin couldn’t ignore the topic either. His conventional trans-surrealistic phalluses are intricate, enigmatic and even mysterious. We see no coincidence the ancient Romans defined phallus with a word "fascinum" which in Latin means "to cast a spell”. And it seems no one has ever thought before of a phallus wavering on a flagpole like a flag. Besides, the fact is that since ancient times it was believed that such images can protect from evil forces. Ancient Greeks, for example, installed herms at fields and roads, and inside houses - these herms representing square pillars with a head of a bearded man at the top and an erect penis in the middle - believing that they provide protection from thieves, robbers and evil eye. In ancient Rome, phallic sculptures were installed on the gates of cities and walls of houses, they were believed to bring good luck and happiness. Well and this is a good reason to buy the painting. However, perhaps these are just our speculations – and it is just a kite or even a UFO - an unidentified flying object, which are numerous in A.Semushin’s works. That is what is fascinating about trans-surrealism - that it easily allows you to attach symbolic polysemy to an image, generating a game of metaphors and associations, not imposing a certain interpretation upon the viewer, but leaving room for his own imagination. 
canvas/oil 60cm x 70cm 1994 The artwork is framed Price 4268 USD
 e-mail to the artist2007.05.14
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