“WATERCOLOR” AS A HISTORIOSOPHICAL MANIFESTO OF SYNERGY: THE POETICS OF SPONTANEITY AND TRAGIC SYNTHESIS IN THE POEMS BY L. GUBANOV
Abstract
10.18522/1995-0640-2026-2-136-147
The work of Leonid Gubanov (1946-1983), the leader of the SMOG poetic association, represents a unique case of the synthesis of verbal and visual thinking in the Soviet cultural underground. Being a professional artist, Gubanov translates visual imagery into poetry, developing new aesthetic strategies of resistance. The subject of this study is three programmatic poems united by the word “watercolor” in the title (“Watercolor for Innocent Hearts”, “Watercolor in the Soles”, “Watercolor of Resentment”), as well as the poem “August Fresco” and other poems about frescoes. The aim of the work is to identify the historiosophical and metapoetic strategies of Gubanov, where Old Russian imagery enters a complex dialogue with Western European cultural codes, creating a universal model of history as a tragic spectacle. The research methodology combines immanent textual analysis with intermedial and historical-cultural approaches. As a result, it is proven that through the metaphor of “watercolor” and “fresco,” Gubanov realizes a poetics of spontaneity, capturing history and pain at the moment of their emergence. “Watercolor” in his poetics is not a minor genre but a powerful artistic strategy that allows packing dense historiosophical concepts into a form associated with lightness. The frondist gesture, uniting the “legal” Yesenin and the “forbidden” Gumilyov, allows the poet to occupy the position of both a “soil-bound” poet and an “aristocrat of the spirit.” It is concluded that the three poems with the title “Watercolor” represent not just a cycle, but an integral poetic and philosophical treatise and a manifesto of aesthetic resistance and spiritual synergy of soul and matter.
Key words: Leonid Gubanov, SMOG, uncensored poetry, watercolor, fresco, ekphrasis, historiosophy, intertext, Russian tradition, Soviet underground
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Copyright (c) 2026 Alexander V. Markov, Tatiana V. Zvereva
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