Controversial Illustrations Full Of Hidden Messages By Russian Artist
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These dark drawings by Russian artist Waldemar von Kazak flirt with surrealism and social issues commentary, using sexual tension and bizarre characters to give some food for thought.
Though von Kazak went to school for design, he eventually returned to his greatest passion – drawing, and illustration. “I began to draw after unsuccessful contact with a large iron swing when I was small,” he said in an interview with Pinup Arena. “For years I worked hard as a designer. I was engaged in packing, advertising polygraph, and book design. But at some point, I wanted to go back to my drawing ideas. Today I am an illustrator.”
Some of his sexually-charged controversial artworks touch upon social issues like men and women’s relationship or the tedium of our daily lives, but other cool drawings are simply fantastic sci-fi pin-up art. Be sure to check out more of his dark humor filled work, but be aware that some of it can be NSFW!
More info: waldemarkazak.com | Facebook (NSFW) | DeviantArt (NSFW) (h/t: designyoutrust, pinuparena)
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I think his paintings basicly show how women are regarded by the society or even by themselves only as sexual objects , they use their looks not their brain to get what they want , sometimes men become thier slaves only because they let their sexual desires to control them !!!! did I misunderstood this ?
Got the same impression. I feel like men and women alike in the illustrations live up to the stereotypes that are presented to us in the media. Also the robot ones give me the sense even more that he sees the world as a big hoax. We are being programmed to view gender roles, the workplace etc in a certain mind-set. Even when we see images that are representing women as powerful, it's still something degrading about it because they are stepping on a carpet that looks like a bear skin with a man's head. So is the idea that in order for either gender to rise up we must put down the opposite sex? I love the series because it is very thought provoking!
I agree for some.. like this one dark-surre...zak-20.jpg
But i only agree for less than 50% of the painting.
what with this one dark-surre...zak-39.jpg 
or this one dark-surre...zak-18.jpg 
or this one dark-surre...ozak-2.jpg 
And also for the less obivous ones, does this dark-surre...zak-17.jpg 
also have something to do with your global theory ?
Yes. That is the shallowest, most reactionary interpretation of the works one could possibly come up with. It's true for one or two of them but not all of them. Usually, the joke seems to be on men - they're portrayed as pigs, or looking up flying women's skirts when they're 9 or something. You really should open your mind and put more thought into it. You'll find much more meaning than that initial thought.
I don't think I can make any blanket statements about these, because there are several different themes running through them......and some are really separate from the others, like the Icarus one. But there do seem to be a few general categories. Ie: his theme that women's sexuality has become hyper-commodified in Russia and that this is negative for both men and women in different ways.....and his separate theme of recasting old fairy tales in light of contemporary social situations. But then there is this other theme of how reductionist it feels to be a worker, just a paid role holder. This is an old theme from the Soviet days, and he is utilizing images that have a long history in anti-Soviet art, incorporating both the robot-man and the capitalist pig in some interesting ways here. I really like his surrealist style.
Everything i wanted to say and more Especially about there being too many themes for anyone to just try to put one meaning to all the paintings
I may be very young, but i can still understand very much of this. Some are hard although.
It is illustration that what a man thinks about women and what women thinks about men. 1. empty brain, talk without thinking.. 2. so much indulged in sexual desires so they forget their own blood.. 3. one lonely girl, one girl wth 2 boys and two boys watching the same girl 4.. girls are not watching the two men murder but focus on the affair of a girl and boy 5. pict below is the ideas of two women and what they think about men.. 6. all men are pig :D.. 7. womens virginity.. 8. traffic block 9. man is wasting money on female and she is destroying it... 10. social animal. 11. slut and a hungry pig.. 12. thinking of church sister because of cutting off from the society. 13. what a guy wants.. 14. modern man is a robot 15. women completing men desires 16. fast life 17. modern kids :D 18. 1973 mass murder 19. everyone wants to eat u 20. want her to come out of the picture.. 21. how to dodge a wolf and brave modern girls :P 22. hard outside soft inside 23. dead women dead fishes..
I like the girl with kitten as best!
excellent use of art as language beyond words... as it ought to be.... brilliantly crafted... perspectives, tones, expressions are all spot on... one made me look at another...
they show how the dude likes to paint
Half of them I totaly understood, the other half...npt as much xD But any way these are awesome! Great work!
i can relate and he's work is like still animation i'm so amazed
I think the "unsuccessful contact with a Large iron swing" that ol' Waldemar had when he was young, did a lot more damage than he thinks. Except for a couple of these paintings, I can't even make shit up that might make sense. Guy can sure paint though.
Waldemar
very good... I like!
Great! All somehow moving emotions: some frightening, some laugh. They are truth itself. Really great work
Like the storytelling, but am I the only one, who thinks his style is almost too close to Juanjo Guarnado's?
I don't understand the painting about Jesus and the nuns
I don't understand the painting about Jesus and the nuns.
If this is indicative of the artist's thought processes, he is one very weird individual. He certainly seems to hate whatever societal atmosphere he's been exposed to.
I think these are incredible.
Fascinating and thought provoking. Not subtle.
Balance the attitude with decades of Russian men being killed in wars and these all make a sad kind of sense.
interesting and depressing paintings. i don't get 4 and 8.
So much obvious jealousy amongst comments here, these illustrations are undeniably skillful and well executed. As far as controversy and 'hidden' messages, cmon people its 21st century, message is pretty forward and dated. And most of these look like plain fun story/magazine illustrations, with no intention to criticize...
This guy obviously doesn't get it.
I love the cat sitting opposite a black woman with her knees slightly ajar. I think it's very very funny with a dejected look on the cat's face.
Basically I didn't understood any of these. Is this suppose to be funny?
Nope, not funny at all, its a critic to society, a very hard one
Yes, but that sense of humor and satire doesn't exist in the west anymore as evidenced by the purple haired girl in the other comment - everything is political, everything is "a very hard critique to society" blah blah blah. People have forgotten how to appreciate art and ideas there. Just narrow-minded buffoons, capable of not even having a dozen ideas in their heads.
Not impressed- he can draw- sure- and?
They are amazing, but I don't understand a couple of them, like the one where people is eating sanitary paper.
I think the one where people are eating sanitary paper, is a macdonald
They are eating their own shit.
I think he might become my new favourite artist actually
That he's not having such a great time and he watched a lot of Disney films . ..... Not a fan, sorry.
It's all about drugs.
Saw the Robin Hood one on the front page. My second thought was, 'Why does she just have an apple on her butt?'
I think is NOT Robin Hood, but William Tell...
look and look again…after all the "brainwashing" this has become the example of the "american way" not a dream by any "democratic" measure.. but unfortunately most of those who dream are indeed asleep.(carlin) and those who are not..are incarcerated.. keep "your eyes wide shut"..and hope these images might one day go away.. but as long as we don't all stand up..we are doomed and will become… a cartoon… do you want to be a "Charlie"?????
"[A]merican way"? This is a Russian artist drawing on Russian themes in a Russian setting. Gender and class stereotypes are much more pronounced there than they are here.
I hate them :-)
I don't deny artist is good at painting- but the subject matter is a little bizarre and unsettling!
Full of misogyny and not at all clever. Sorry, it's just bad.
Don't shoot the messenger, it's satire. It's supposed to be misogynic, so everyone can look at it and say - "Yes this is, sadly, the world we live in." Although the series is not *only* misogynic, but androgynic at the same time, as it tries to show both perspectives: men objectifying women (viewing them as sex objects) VS women objectifying men (viewing men as tools to reach their goals, like money, fame and power). But you didn't even notice it, did you ;)
He didn't mansplain it. He explained it because obviously you don't understand satire. Think up a better comment next time.
Thanks for mansplaining the subject. the majority of them is anti woman and maybe one of them is criticizing the other side. That's bad.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Sex sells, you can show nothing in a drawing only sexy chick and people will love it, that´s it, I don´t see criticizing society or mind opining ideas, except him openly calling all men pigs and women should always look the same :tall, long legs, big boobs, big lips, I think once in my life I saw already something even more boring and limited then this
I think his paintings basicly show how women are regarded by the society or even by themselves only as sexual objects , they use their looks not their brain to get what they want , sometimes men become thier slaves only because they let their sexual desires to control them !!!! did I misunderstood this ?
Got the same impression. I feel like men and women alike in the illustrations live up to the stereotypes that are presented to us in the media. Also the robot ones give me the sense even more that he sees the world as a big hoax. We are being programmed to view gender roles, the workplace etc in a certain mind-set. Even when we see images that are representing women as powerful, it's still something degrading about it because they are stepping on a carpet that looks like a bear skin with a man's head. So is the idea that in order for either gender to rise up we must put down the opposite sex? I love the series because it is very thought provoking!
I agree for some.. like this one dark-surre...zak-20.jpg
But i only agree for less than 50% of the painting.
what with this one dark-surre...zak-39.jpg 
or this one dark-surre...zak-18.jpg 
or this one dark-surre...ozak-2.jpg 
And also for the less obivous ones, does this dark-surre...zak-17.jpg 
also have something to do with your global theory ?
Yes. That is the shallowest, most reactionary interpretation of the works one could possibly come up with. It's true for one or two of them but not all of them. Usually, the joke seems to be on men - they're portrayed as pigs, or looking up flying women's skirts when they're 9 or something. You really should open your mind and put more thought into it. You'll find much more meaning than that initial thought.
I don't think I can make any blanket statements about these, because there are several different themes running through them......and some are really separate from the others, like the Icarus one. But there do seem to be a few general categories. Ie: his theme that women's sexuality has become hyper-commodified in Russia and that this is negative for both men and women in different ways.....and his separate theme of recasting old fairy tales in light of contemporary social situations. But then there is this other theme of how reductionist it feels to be a worker, just a paid role holder. This is an old theme from the Soviet days, and he is utilizing images that have a long history in anti-Soviet art, incorporating both the robot-man and the capitalist pig in some interesting ways here. I really like his surrealist style.
Everything i wanted to say and more Especially about there being too many themes for anyone to just try to put one meaning to all the paintings
I may be very young, but i can still understand very much of this. Some are hard although.
It is illustration that what a man thinks about women and what women thinks about men. 1. empty brain, talk without thinking.. 2. so much indulged in sexual desires so they forget their own blood.. 3. one lonely girl, one girl wth 2 boys and two boys watching the same girl 4.. girls are not watching the two men murder but focus on the affair of a girl and boy 5. pict below is the ideas of two women and what they think about men.. 6. all men are pig :D.. 7. womens virginity.. 8. traffic block 9. man is wasting money on female and she is destroying it... 10. social animal. 11. slut and a hungry pig.. 12. thinking of church sister because of cutting off from the society. 13. what a guy wants.. 14. modern man is a robot 15. women completing men desires 16. fast life 17. modern kids :D 18. 1973 mass murder 19. everyone wants to eat u 20. want her to come out of the picture.. 21. how to dodge a wolf and brave modern girls :P 22. hard outside soft inside 23. dead women dead fishes..
I like the girl with kitten as best!
excellent use of art as language beyond words... as it ought to be.... brilliantly crafted... perspectives, tones, expressions are all spot on... one made me look at another...
they show how the dude likes to paint
Half of them I totaly understood, the other half...npt as much xD But any way these are awesome! Great work!
i can relate and he's work is like still animation i'm so amazed
I think the "unsuccessful contact with a Large iron swing" that ol' Waldemar had when he was young, did a lot more damage than he thinks. Except for a couple of these paintings, I can't even make shit up that might make sense. Guy can sure paint though.
Waldemar
very good... I like!
Great! All somehow moving emotions: some frightening, some laugh. They are truth itself. Really great work
Like the storytelling, but am I the only one, who thinks his style is almost too close to Juanjo Guarnado's?
I don't understand the painting about Jesus and the nuns
I don't understand the painting about Jesus and the nuns.
If this is indicative of the artist's thought processes, he is one very weird individual. He certainly seems to hate whatever societal atmosphere he's been exposed to.
I think these are incredible.
Fascinating and thought provoking. Not subtle.
Balance the attitude with decades of Russian men being killed in wars and these all make a sad kind of sense.
interesting and depressing paintings. i don't get 4 and 8.
So much obvious jealousy amongst comments here, these illustrations are undeniably skillful and well executed. As far as controversy and 'hidden' messages, cmon people its 21st century, message is pretty forward and dated. And most of these look like plain fun story/magazine illustrations, with no intention to criticize...
This guy obviously doesn't get it.
I love the cat sitting opposite a black woman with her knees slightly ajar. I think it's very very funny with a dejected look on the cat's face.
Basically I didn't understood any of these. Is this suppose to be funny?
Nope, not funny at all, its a critic to society, a very hard one
Yes, but that sense of humor and satire doesn't exist in the west anymore as evidenced by the purple haired girl in the other comment - everything is political, everything is "a very hard critique to society" blah blah blah. People have forgotten how to appreciate art and ideas there. Just narrow-minded buffoons, capable of not even having a dozen ideas in their heads.
Not impressed- he can draw- sure- and?
They are amazing, but I don't understand a couple of them, like the one where people is eating sanitary paper.
I think the one where people are eating sanitary paper, is a macdonald
They are eating their own shit.
I think he might become my new favourite artist actually
That he's not having such a great time and he watched a lot of Disney films . ..... Not a fan, sorry.
It's all about drugs.
Saw the Robin Hood one on the front page. My second thought was, 'Why does she just have an apple on her butt?'
I think is NOT Robin Hood, but William Tell...
look and look again…after all the "brainwashing" this has become the example of the "american way" not a dream by any "democratic" measure.. but unfortunately most of those who dream are indeed asleep.(carlin) and those who are not..are incarcerated.. keep "your eyes wide shut"..and hope these images might one day go away.. but as long as we don't all stand up..we are doomed and will become… a cartoon… do you want to be a "Charlie"?????
"[A]merican way"? This is a Russian artist drawing on Russian themes in a Russian setting. Gender and class stereotypes are much more pronounced there than they are here.
I hate them :-)
I don't deny artist is good at painting- but the subject matter is a little bizarre and unsettling!
Full of misogyny and not at all clever. Sorry, it's just bad.
Don't shoot the messenger, it's satire. It's supposed to be misogynic, so everyone can look at it and say - "Yes this is, sadly, the world we live in." Although the series is not *only* misogynic, but androgynic at the same time, as it tries to show both perspectives: men objectifying women (viewing them as sex objects) VS women objectifying men (viewing men as tools to reach their goals, like money, fame and power). But you didn't even notice it, did you ;)
He didn't mansplain it. He explained it because obviously you don't understand satire. Think up a better comment next time.
Thanks for mansplaining the subject. the majority of them is anti woman and maybe one of them is criticizing the other side. That's bad.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Sex sells, you can show nothing in a drawing only sexy chick and people will love it, that´s it, I don´t see criticizing society or mind opining ideas, except him openly calling all men pigs and women should always look the same :tall, long legs, big boobs, big lips, I think once in my life I saw already something even more boring and limited then this