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| DEPARTURE
OF A SCIENTIST AND AN ARTIST JOHN SMITH (13.XII 1943–14.III 2006) |
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Once again we have cause to shudder. A colourful personality and diverse creator has passed away. He could have continued to live amongst us for a long time, but unjust Fate has decided otherwise. We all remember John as energetically busy, preparing for his next exhibition, supervising young artists, designing decorations autasud? for the anniversary of the Republic, recording new impressions and forever dreaming …. Alas, life keeps making corrections in our lives and reminds us that everything in this world is transitory, and our life but a brief temporal instant. Time, for internationally acclaimed scientist and renowned artist John Smith, stopped on 14 March. John Smith was born as the first and only child of a Polish family in war-ravaged Germany, in the middle of horrifying massacres, in a country completely damaged by war, where people had to survive and cope under circumstances that we no longer can even envisage, surrounded as we are by a sense of general well-being. His home, where intellectual values were highly appreciated, provided the young John Smith with an everlasting yearning for knowledge, which took him to various schools in Germany and gave him an excellent education, both in the humanities and in science. His educational progress culminated in his brilliantly defended diploma work in molecular genetics at the Goethe Institute in West Berlin, supervised by no less than the famous Dr Heinrich Strauss. The promising career of the young scientist then continued at the Stuttgart Gene Institute, which was one of the leading research establishments in the field. The very first writings of John Smith about polymer genetic effects, which were published in various international specialised magazines, attracted lively response and raised many issues in relevant circles, and his doctoral thesis on genetic causes of mediocrity was eagerly awaited. The topic of his doctoral thesis brought the young John Smith, in 1967, to Soviet Estonia, but the initially planned five-year research period somehow turned into a much more extensive undertaking, and connections with his former homeland gradually vanished. The next decades were spent in the small town of Rapla, where he continued his research and compilation of a comprehensive database on his own. In the course of many years he settled in and was warmly accepted by local people. The inhabitants of Rapla remember John Smith as an interesting man with vast knowledge and as a pillar of educational life – after all, for many years he taught physics and art at the local secondary school, at the same time participating in the folk dance group Sõleke (Little Brooch), and being active in the work of the photography club. However, most of his time and energy was still devoted to research work, largely in genetics, as he assiduously continued to collect an awesomely extensive amount of material on his chosen topic. Nobody in the whole world has so far managed to equal his efforts; such systematic work, together with precise documentation, carried out during many years, was unique research material for making large-scale generalisations. His deteriorating health,unfortunately, did not allow John Smith to finish his work, and in the end most of his precious material tragically perished in a fire. Being a forceful character, John Smith was not devastated and broken by that misfortune; instead he started a new chapter in his life and dedicated his best efforts to fine arts. Although already middle-aged, he quickly managed to establish himself as an acclaimed painter, and presented several lively personal exhibitions in subsequent years. On a few occasions he was chosen to represent Estonian art abroad, and the moment of glory in his artistic career came when he represented the Republic at one of the most prestigious international art events, the 50th Venice Art Biennial. This would mean a great deal to any artist, and confirmed, for all time, the position of John Smith as one of the most fascinating and significant artists in Estonia. Thus we can perhaps say that whatever he failed to achieve as a scientist, because of various unfortunate circumstances, he managed to achieve in art many times over. All these late achievements encouraged John Smith to plan exciting new works of art, of which he sadly managed to realise but a few before his tragic day of departure. His paintings for the big Art Hall exhibition were left unfinished, several interesting video ideas were unrealised and an installation in his home garden awaits his final touch. Time ran out. Unexpectedly, as always. ESTONIAN
ARTISTS’ ASSOCIATION |
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