How art helps during war. Stories of three artists
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Vasyl Chebanyk: “The language issue will soon be resolved, and the revived alphabet will finally become the visual border of the country”
Vasyl Yakovych Chebanyk – 90. He – world-renowned graphic artist, professor of the department of graphic design of the Kyiv State Academy of Decorative and Applied Arts and Design named after Mykhailo Boychuk. A man over 50 years old examines the graphics of letters. Moreover, he revived the graphics of the actual Ukrainian alphabet, which is significantly different from the one we use now.
The revived “Ruthenia” alphabet, for which Vasyl Yakovych received the Taras Shevchenko National Award, has more than 60 fonts. One of them, for example, decorates the binding of the ceremonial copy of the “Constitution of Ukraine”, on which presidents take the oath.
The history of “Ruthenia” began in 1971 in Leipzig. It was then that Vasyl Yakovych met the rector of the local Higher School of Graphics, Albert Kapr.
“When he found out that I was from Kyiv, he immediately wondered why we don’t develop our alphabet. I didn’t understand this question until I got my hands on Karl Faulmann’s Book of Alphabets of All Peoples and All Ages. It contains the Ruthenian alphabet listed separately from “Russian”. Then I realized that in Ukraine there is a Russian font”, – recalls Vasyl Yakovych.
Every sovereign state, says Vasyl Chebanyk, has three visual symbols: a flag, a coat of arms and an alphabet, and in Ukraine it is still the Moscow font. And the language, which does not have its own alphabet, convinces the professor, – dialect.
“Why is this font Moscow? It is built on graphemes-constructions of Moscow letters. Instead, in “Ruthenia” the letter “sh” looks like a coat of arms!”– explains the professor enthusiastically.
It is also interesting that there is no dot above the letter “Y” in “Ruthenia”. According to Mr. Vasyl, it used to be in the Moscow font, but Lenin decided to take it away and “gift it” to Ukraine.
Russian civil font, which still unites us with Belarusians and Russians, notes Vasyl Yakovych, is imposed on Ukrainians. After all, even then our ancestors had their own writing system.
“By the way, Cyril and Methodius did not invent anything. They came to the territory where their own writing already existed, and brought here only religious texts. The roots of the Ruthenian alphabet go back to the Tryplian civilization. For example, written signs that arose on the territory of Ukraine, “British encyclopedia” considers the first written signs of the world”, – says the graph.
Russians, the professor continues, have always tried to deny the existence of the Ukrainian language, and, therefore, the existence of Ukraine as an independent state in general. However, he convinces, Ukrainians – individualists who especially value freedom and independence. Therefore, Vasyl Chebanyk sincerely believes that the “language issue” will soon be resolved, and the revived alphabet will finally become the visual border of the country.
Vasyl Yakovych does not stop at what he has achieved. During the year of the Great War, the schedule created the largest number of new fonts. By the way, he chose appropriate names, such as “Red viburnum” or “Banderstadt”. He says that he is worried about only one question: “How much longer will I have time?”.
See more about “Ruthenia” and the story of Vasyl Chebanyk in the video.
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