In the sea of art: a conversation with Grigory Grigorievich Gibert

The main topic of the conversation with the Russian film scholar, researcher and educator Grigory Grigorievich Gibert was the interaction of art and society. The interlocutors discussed the problem of the status of cinema in modern culture. The interviewee does not agree with the thesis about the death of cinema, which will allegedly be replaced by more technologically advanced types of visual arts. An opinion is expressed that modern cinema in pursuit of high-tech special effects is gradually acquiring the characteristics of an attraction - the form cinema originally was at the end of the 19th century. The dominant significance of clip consciousness, which negatively affects the popularity of films with deep psychological content, is emphasized. The question is raised that the visual language of cinematic masterpieces filmed half a century ago is no longer adequate to the perception of the new generation. The position of the interviewee is that, when assessing a work, of great importance is the individual perception of each specific person who at different stages of his/her life willingly or unwillingly projects his/her state onto the plot unfolding on the screen. The interlocutors agreed that the evolution of cinematography continued at each stage of its history, and the current period is no exception. The widespread distribution of commercial cinema is noted as an attribute of modern Russian culture, the poor popularity of films with genuine artistic value and the popularity of low-quality entertainment films are pointed out. The interlocutors associate this trend with the state of the education system and with the problem of the value of expert knowledge in the era of wide accessibility of information, with the crisis of the institution of expert examination, with the spread of unprofessional assessments through the activities of irresponsible and incompetent bloggers. The importance of constantly referring to literary classics and works of modern literature is emphasized; a point of view is expressed on the detective genre, on works of individual authors. The interlocutors touched upon the dichotomy of mass and elite art, noting the importance of creative experimentation. A separate thematic block of the conversation is devoted to the archive on the history of artistic life that Grigory Gibert collected, which is a unique information resource. The interviewee told about the initial period of the creation of the archival collection, briefly described its composition, the methods of collecting and systematizing work.