As for his affinity to the tradition of Russian literature (four out of the five works are based on Russian texts, including The Cow (1989), which was adapted from a short story by Andrei Platonov and which propelled Petrov onto the international stage), the humble artist said it is merely a natural procedure to express one’s reflections after reading a novel or story.
“I don’t know how to express my thoughts with pens so I paint. To me, the most important thing is to reach a balance between the author and myself. In order to respect the original work, I have to restrain myself from getting too personal. And that includes the choice of style and the mood created,” Petrov said.
Working as a lone artist for his earlier works, Petrov became a project leader when he teamed up with a Canadian production company for The Old Man and The Sea, the first large-format animated film shot in the IMAX format. Ten artists, animators and designers were recruited to complete My Love, about 20 percent of which was painted over video scenes in a process similar to rotoscope in order to reach a higher level of accuracy in terms of character movements and facial expressions.
Trained as a painter in the beginning of his artistic upbringing, Petrov admitted that the transition from painter to animation director was painful and jokingly called it a “mistake.”
“The most ideal way for me is to do everything all by myself. It’s much easier because I don’t need to communicate with others or make concessions,” he said.
As a lone artist or a team leader, Petrov has found and mastered an artistic expression he said is natural and integral, whereby in a painting (i.e. paint-on-glass), all elements are parts of a integral, organic whole. “It just matches my personality — simple, real and nothing fancy,” he said.
The last screening of Petrov’s works at the Golden Horse is on Saturday at Vieshow Cinemas Durban (德安威秀影城) in Taichung City.
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