Aleksandrs Karpovs was a gifted graphic artist who devoted his talent and ultimately gave his life
to help free Latvia from the Soviet occupiers.
He used social realism in both America and Latvia as his “weapon of
choice,” to confront the forces of evil in both countries. In America he used his art to confront
materialism, racism, police brutality, war, and pollution. In Latvia he depicted Soviet crimes of
destroying the culture, murdering innocents, and ultimately acts of genocide.
He also showed the beauty of the Latvian architecture and monuments to remind
those exiled abroad.
Aleksandrs was born
in Des Moines, Iowa (USA) on March 21, 1953 with Latvian as his first language
and culture. His mother, Lūcija, was fortunate to have escaped Stalin’s
genocide of her family during the first mass deportation of June 14, 1941. Her
father and mother (Justyns and Stefānija Volonts) were herded onto separate
cattle cars in Līvāni for a one-way trip to separate parts of Siberia. Her sister, Regina, had also been deported on
June 14, 1941, but from Riga where she was living as a student with her uncle,
Jānis Volonts, (Latvia’s Minister of Welfare) and two cousins, Ada and
Margarita.
Lūcija’s tragic
losses did not end in Latvia. She fled to a German refugee camp, along with her
sister Helena. There she met and married
Anatolijs Karpov in the German camp of Fulda in 1946. They ended up emigrating to Minneapolis,
Minnesota (USA) with their three children.
He later divorced her, for a younger woman, nine years later. Lūcija was left destitute, not yet able to
speak English, with three boys to feed and bring up alone in America.
Latvian language
and culture was included in the community of Latvian Catholics in Minnesota who
had also escaped Soviet occupation. Many
Latvians in Latvia who lived through the occupation, to this day, do not understand
hardships suffered by some of those who survived the genocide in foreign
lands. Nor could they comprehend the
suffering in Siberia given ongoing Soviet propaganda. On the other hand, those in the U.S. knew how
much worse it was for the relatives in Siberia.
Aleksandrs' grandfather had died in August, 1941 within two months of
his arrest. Lucija would often go hungry
so that her family could survive. She would send care packages of cheese,
butter, and sugar to her mother, Stefānija, and sister, Regina, in Siberia via
the Swiss embassy.
Lūcija, never
recovered from her losses under the Soviets and subsequent betrayal by her
husband. While she was one of the most
generous and compassionate persons, she was broken by her experience. She died
of cancer in 1965, at the age of 51.
Aleksandrs’ life in the U.S. after his mother’s death was not easy. He had lost his mother and brothers at the
age of 13, subsequently lived with five separate foster families until he was
considered old enough to be on his own at 18.
His eldest brother, Juris, died in 1977 in a tragic car accident in New
Orleans. Juris was only 31 years
old. His wife Janet and their two
children, Anatole and Aleksanders, survived the crash. Konstantīns Karpovs, his other brother, endured one foster family until he was 17. He was then fortunate enough to meet his future wife, Michele. They settled in Northern California with their two children, Aleksandra and Andre.
The experience of
these losses and poverty in America greatly influenced Aleksandrs’ pursuit of a
career as a socially conscious artist with a focus on printmaking (lithography
and etching). Artists of social conscious art tradition shun the notion of “art
for arts’ sake.” By creating images of social injustice and political struggle
through the printmaking techniques, this enables millions to view their message
of protests and help bring about social change. The socially conscious artist
manipulates materials and technique for “life’s sake.” Aleksandrs worked in a
hospital for 20 years among the poorest in Minnesota to finance his art
education and give something back to the suffering in America: “During my
employment there, I witnessed firsthand the stark reality of just how sick
American society had become. The shocking sights and sounds of the victims of
poverty, the physical deterioration such a condition has on a human being, gave
me a glimpse of the broad extent of the injustice of this society.”
In the early 1970s
a racist police vigilante program in Detroit known as S.T.R.E.S.S. (Stop the
Robberies and Enjoy Safe Streets) terrorized the African American community. Aleksandrs referred to this
as, “institutionalized racism at its worst…I became very aware of the effects
of Reagan’s indifferent government toward the plight of the poor by the
continuous increase in numbers of the sick and injured coming to the emergency
department. I became increasingly
frustrated as I became aware that I was treating only the wounds inflicted by
this unjust society and not the ‘cause.’ I came to the realization that the
most effective weapon I have to effect real change was my talent as an artist,
with this in mind I returned to the arts in 1986 with renewed energy and
determination.”
From 1986 – 1990,
along with subdued social realism, Aleksandrs’ art showed the beauty of Latvian cities Cēsis, Rīga, Rēzekne and
Daugavpils. These prints were also intended to raise the consciousness of the
American public of the very existence of Latvia. This became more important in
1988 when Latvia began to make stirrings to reestablish its independence from
Soviet occupation. “If the sale of my prints of Latvia were any indication, I
was very successful in accomplishing an awareness in the American public of the
plight of Latvia and its struggle for freedom.”
Aleksandrs was
well-known among local Latvians and some of his works were sold to the Latvian
house in Minneapolis. Latvians abroad
knew very well that their venues were frequented by Soviet government informers
and that anti-Soviet actions may endanger their chance to get visas to visit
the occupied country. Moreover, it might endanger their relatives who were
living there.
Aleksandrs
completed a Bachelors of Fine Arts with high honors at the University of
Minnesota in 1990, followed by a Masters of Fine Arts in Latvia in 1993. Later he taught printmaking at an art college
in Rēzekne, Latvia. He inspired his
students to pursue the field of social realism. He wrote in his thesis: “Behind the glitter and mass media controlled
consumer society there exists an ugly side of American society which begs to be
brought to the fore. I dedicated my life and talent to this cause for social
justice in America. Not merely satisfied with some kind of social reform, I used
my talent as a weapon for revolution. My images went straight for the throat
and attacked this ‘other’ evil empire with all my passion and soul. My prints
are meant to shock the viewer; there is no symbolism or metaphor to obscure my
message. Realistically rendered, these images of social injustice are very real
and must be presented as such in all its ugliness. I want my images to be
understood for what they are, a visual act of dissent.”
In a real sense
Aleksandrs used art as a weapon in Latvia to fight Soviet occupation to defend
his country. He considered that the main
obstacle in the life and development of democratic societies is fascism: “Brown
or red – they will not escape my images with their crimes against humanity.” He
created a visual record so history could accuse the perpetrators of genocide
and never forget the truth.
Aleksandrs also
participated in demonstrations and provided his art to newspapers exposing
Soviet atrocities, risking his life to support the effort of Latvians to free
themselves from the occupiers. He was
twice beat up and hospitalized with a concussion. Attackers were, as he called
them, the “red fascists.” One month before his death, he sent a letter to his brother, Konstantins, jokingly suggesting he may have to leave town as local Russians in Rēzekne had
been beating on his door at night with death threats following a local showing
of his artwork. His letter became
serious when he described his wish to be buried with a Latvian flag over his
coffin. On March 22, 1994, Aleksandrs’
body was found in the corridor next to his room. The circumstances surrounding his death
remain a mystery, though officially are due to natural causes. Days later his room was found ransacked, with documents and papers strewn all over
the floor. Hidden under his bed attached to the springs was the plate of his
final lithograph (“Mūsu Rīga”/“Our Rīga”). Also found was the deed to his grandfather's, Justyns Volonts, farm and
forest; and Justyn's passport, which was used for his family to obtain citizenship and ownership of the property. This land had earned Justyns, his wife
Stefānija, and daughter Regina one-way ‘tickets’ in cattle cars to Siberia
during the first mass deportation of 15,424 Latvians (8,259 men and 7,165 women) on June 14, 1941 (State Archives of Latvia 2001). Aleksandrs Karpovs, a Latvian patriot, was
buried with a Latvian flag draped over his coffin. Today, his remaining brother, Konstantins, and Aleksandrs' nieces and nephews, are the proud advocates of Latvian culture and history.
Biogrāfija
also intended to raise the consciousness of the
American public of the very existence of Latvia. This became more important in
1988 when Latvia began to make stirrings to reestablish its independence from
Soviet occupation. “If the sale of my prints of Latvia were any indication, I
was very successful in accomplishing an awareness in the American public of the
plight of Latvia and its struggle for freedom.”
Aleksandrs
completed a Bachelors of Fine Arts with high honors at the University of
Minnesota in 1990, followed by a Masters of Fine Arts in Latvia in 1993. Later he taught printmaking at an art college
in Rēzekne, Latvia. He inspired his
students to pursue the field of social realism. He wrote in his thesis: “Behind the glitter and mass media controlled
consumer society there exists an ugly side of American society which begs to be
brought to the fore. I dedicated my life and talent to this cause for social
justice in America. Not merely satisfied with some kind of social reform, I used
my talent as a weapon for revolution. My images went straight for the throat
and attacked this ‘other’ evil empire with all my passion and soul. My prints
are meant to shock the viewer; there is no symbolism or metaphor to obscure my
message. Realistically rendered, these images of social injustice are very real
and must be presented as such in all its ugliness. I want my images to be
understood for what they are, a visual act of dissent.”
his death, he sent a letter to his brother, Konstantins, jokingly suggesting he may have to leave town as local Russians in Rēzekne had
been beating on his door at night with death threats following a local showing
of his artwork. His letter became
serious when he described his wish to be buried with a Latvian flag over his
coffin. On March 22, 1994, Aleksandrs’
body was found in the corridor next to his room. The circumstances surrounding his death
remain a mystery, though officially are due to natural causes. Days later his room was found ransacked, with documents and papers strewn all over
the floor. Hidden under his bed attached to the springs was the plate of his
final lithograph (“Mūsu Rīga”/“Our Rīga”). Also found was the deed to his grandfather's, Justyns Volonts, farm and
forest; and Justyn's passport, which was used for his family to obtain citizenship and ownership of the property. This land had earned Justyns, his wife
Stefānija, and daughter Regina one-way ‘tickets’ in cattle cars to Siberia
during the first mass deportation of 15,424 Latvians (8,259 men and 7,165 women) on June 14, 1941 (State Archives of Latvia 2001). Aleksandrs Karpovs, a Latvian patriot, was
buried with a Latvian flag draped over his coffin. Today, his remaining brother, Konstantins, and Aleksandrs' nieces and nephews, are the proud advocates of Latvian culture and history.