ILMĀRS BLUMBERGS

Blumbergs and Observer

"He is a man of balance,” said artist Ilmārs Blumbergs. “The observer is always in balance. I don’t see it, but it feels to me as though someone is standing here. Someone is watching me. Someone has taken part, someone has been watching. It seemed as though someone was there the whole time, but that someone was me.”

The Observer is a canonical sign by Ilmārs Blumbergs (1943-2016). It emerged from the stage design for Giuseppe Verdi’s opera “Aida”(1998). Blumbergs believed that in every major production “the decisive role belongs to a shared idea. A backbone.” His central spatial concept was expressed through ten mobile wings, each measuring 12x4x0.80 m. The entire space – the wings, the floor and the singers’ costumes was covered in ornament. Primary colours were chosen as the backdrop for each act: yellow, red and blue. For the final act – the black act – the audience was prepared by black figures. These arose from the first stage direction in the libretto, which describes the action as taking place in a palace in Memphis with a colonnade, sculptures and flowering plants. In place of the sculptures, Blumbergs created black shadows of the gods – “the great black ones”, as Blumbergs called them. At decisive moments, they slid out from the wings, signalling their presence. Circumstances are determined by the gods, but decisions are made by people. (Anita Vanaga, 2026)

Ilmārs Blumbergs’ work is rooted in the search for universal human truths, in questions and answers concerning our existence on earth. Man is engaged in an eternal search for peace, which must first be found within oneself, only then extending it to family, society and the state. He himself has said that the principal figures in his work are LOVE, DEATH and GOD.

Ilmārs Blumbergs (1943–2016) graduated from the Painting Department of the Art Academy of Latvia (1972). He has been exhibiting his works regularly since 1962, has held over 40 solo exhibitions, and has participated in more than 150 group shows in Latvia and abroad. He has also created stage and costume designs for numerous theatres and for Latvian National Opera productions, worked as a book illustrator, and is the author of many well-known graphic signs in the cultural space of Latvia. Blumbergs received 31 awards and nominations over the course of his career. In 1995 he was awarded the honorary Order of the Three Stars – an order given for merit in service to Latvia. In 2009 he received the Lifetime Contribution Award at the annual theatre awards ceremony “Night of the Actors”. Among Blumberg’ last notable projects must be mentioned his solo exhibition “A Prayer for Seeing (The Drawings Are in the Box)” (2005) at Oratorio di San Ludovico (Venice, Italy); “The Rain is Falling! The Rain is Falling! Buy Some Pictures! Life, Works and Death of Voldemārs Irbe” (2009), as part of the 3rd Drawing Triennale of Tallinn at Kunstihoone Gallery (Tallinn, Estonia); and “I Won’t Die” and “I Won’t Die at Ilze’s” (2013), 70th-anniversary exhibitions at the Latvian National Museum of Art, Exhibition Hall Arsenals, and Maksla XO Gallery (Riga, Latvia). In 2001, his and Viesturs Kairišs’ joint project film “Magic Flute” presented Latvia at the 49th Venice Biennale. Noteworthy stage design productions by Blumbergs at the Latvian National Opera include Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” (2001) and Giuseppe Verdi’s “Aida” (1998), as well as Rainis’ “Joseph and His Brothers” (1981) at Dailes Theatre.

More:      https://replay.lsm.lv/lv/skaties/ieraksts/ltv/378896/kulturas-zinas