The unbroken artist Mustafa gives people joy by singing. Looked up to Bruce Lee

IN Lately I have to travel a lot. This is understandable, because the desire to participate and win in various junior competitions and festivals is natural for a boy of my age. So I travel from city to city for the awards ceremony. And during another trip to capital city Kyiv an unexpected meeting took place with an amazing and an unusual person, communication with whom changed my understanding of the values ​​of life.

I generally don’t really like road acquaintances, but this is a special case. My mentor Mustafa Arifov and I sat in the carriage and discussed the results of the presentation. And suddenly our attention was attracted by a handsome young man who, limping slightly, walked past us into the vestibule. Something in his appearance alerted us, but at first we did not understand what it was. Everything fell into place when the stranger walked back to his compartment. He did not have both hands, but a bright picture, which he held with his shoulder joints, carried very carefully. We looked at him in shock, and then, having come to our senses, we decided: “We’ll definitely get to know each other and, after interviewing him, we’ll “draw” portrait sketch" Moreover, Mustafa Islyamovich remembered that he had once seen a TV show about this Crimean artist and his name was also Mustafa, and his last name seemed to be Murtazaev. Without thinking twice, they grabbed a notepad and pen, a camera and a voice recorder - the full “combat” arsenal of a journalist and rushed into the “attack”.

And here we are sitting in the first compartment and talking with the culprit of our commotion. Mustafa Bey immediately warned that he could not stand pitying looks and stupid questions impudent journalists. Once in Kyiv, where he is now finishing his studies at the National Academy visual arts, journalists came to his room and said from the doorway: “Show me how you peel potatoes!”

He answered them too rudely and, without holding back his emotions, pointed to the door. Noticing the silent question in our eyes, he slowly began his story.

-I was born this way- shyly covering his hands, our interlocutor shares with us and continues, - When my mother was pregnant with me, I developed normally until about six months. But then something happened to her body, irreversible processes began. The doctors decided that fatal role What played here was that before giving birth, my mother worked in cotton fields, which were constantly treated with strong defoliant chemicals. From the first minute of my birth, the doctor who delivered the baby suggested that my parents kill the disabled baby. But my father flatly refused such “mercy.” You know, if I had not been born this way, I would hardly have been an artist, I would have been an unremarkable boy, like hundreds of whom walk the streets. Mom always jokes: “You’re like an alien from another planet who came to us on Earth to share kindness.”

He really shared kindness with the people around him until his family moved to Crimea, the historical homeland of his ancestors. In the village of Privetnoye, not far from Alushta, a boy from a poor Crimean Tatar family always had to prove to everyone that he was no different from those around him.

- My classmates called me names and bullied me,- Mustafa Bey says bitterly. They called me “freak”, then “stump”, then “devil”. At every opportunity, they tried to give a blow or rudely and angrily, jokingly, humiliate. Seeing that I could not stand up for myself, my father began to teach martial arts techniques. But soon the training had to be canceled, as the parents of my offenders complained to the director that I had “raised” their boorish offspring.

What else didn’t you like about school? - I’m interested.

- Exact sciences, and especially mathematics. After all, there is something that is higher than it, the sixth sense - intuition. I also didn’t like to write - I couldn’t write letters for a long time, the pen kept falling out. The doctor made a prosthesis for right hand, but he only got in my way. Seeing that it was very difficult for me, my parents always supported me. They said: “Don’t give up, son, only with hard work and perseverance will you achieve success.” And they turned out to be right!

By the age of ten, my interlocutor rode a bicycle, chopped wood, dug a garden, hammered nails, in general, did any homework. He also knew how to draw. True, he learned this craft before he began writing. The first to appear from under his pencil were crows, somehow attracting the boy's attention. Later, his talent began to be developed by Anna Lendal, a teacher at the Alushta art school, who recognized the artist’s extraordinary gift.

- She said this: “You will grow a true master brushes, just don’t give up.” And, you know, she turned out to be right. True, at first everything was very difficult for me: the pencil would fall, the brush would not hold, or the line would not be drawn as needed. But the teachers did not allow me to lose heart and give up. They constantly reminded us of a simple truth: “You shouldn’t copy everything and paint it as it really is, bring your own elements, your own shapes into the picture and let there be a portrait with irregular facial features. But these will be your paintings,”- says our interlocutor.

Already in mature age entered art school. At first, the students were wary of him. But then they got used to their unusual-looking classmate and became his true friends.

-My friends don't notice that I'm missing something. They see my work, which is not like the work of other brush artists. They like my persistence, my stubbornness and determination,” without hiding his pride, he shares and continues, “in my opinion, a real artist needs not hands, but sensitive heart and perseverance. If someone wants to do something, achieve something, then no one will stop him.

My hero did it. Over the past three years, Mustafa Bey has produced more than eighty paintings, in demand by both domestic gallery owners and foreign collectors - portraits, landscapes and still lifes. His fans always look forward to new paintings and new exhibitions from him. And I hope that my very main picture which will bring him world fame Mustafa Murtazaev will draw more.

I've been traveling a lot lately. This is understandable, because the desire to participate and win in various junior competitions and festivals is natural for a boy of my age. So I travel from city to city, to the award ceremony. And during another trip to the capital city of Kyiv, an unexpected meeting took place with amazing person, communication with whom changed my understanding of the values ​​of life.

In general, I don’t really like road acquaintances, but this is a special case. My mentor Mustafa Arifov and I were sitting in the carriage and discussing the results of the presentation, and suddenly our attention was attracted by a handsome young man who, limping slightly, walked past into the vestibule. Something in his appearance alerted us, but at first we didn’t understand what. Everything fell into place when the stranger walked back into his compartment. He did not have both hands: he very carefully carried a bright picture, holding it with his shoulder joints. Shocked, we looked at him, and then, having come to our senses, we decided: we would definitely get to know each other and, after conducting an interview, we would “draw” a portrait sketch. Moreover, Mustafa Islyamovich remembered that he had once seen a TV show about this Crimean artist and his name was the same, Mustafa, and his last name seemed to be Murtazaev.

Without thinking twice, we grabbed a notebook, a pen, a camera and a voice recorder - the full “combat arsenal” of a journalist - and rushed into the attack. And here we are sitting in the first compartment and talking with the culprit of our commotion. Mustafa Bey immediately warned that he could not stand the pitying looks and stupid questions of impudent journalists. Once in Kyiv, where he is now finishing his studies at the National Academy of Fine Arts, journalists came to his room and said from the doorway: “Show me how you peel potatoes!” Mustafa Murtazaev, without holding back his emotions, showed them the door. Noticing the silent question in our eyes, the artist slowly began his story.

“I was born this way,” the interlocutor shares with us shyly covering his hands and continues.

- When my mother was pregnant with me, I developed normally until about six months, but then something happened to her body, irreversible processes began. Doctors decided that the fatal role here was played by the fact that before giving birth my mother worked in cotton fields, which were treated with the strongest pesticides and defoliants. The doctor who delivered the child suggested that my parents kill the disabled baby, but my father flatly refused such “mercy.” You know, if I had not been born this way, I would hardly have been an artist. He would have been an unremarkable boy, like hundreds of them walking the streets. Mom always jokes: “You’re like an alien from another planet who came to us on Earth to share kindness.”

He truly shared kindness with the people around him. Until the family moved to Crimea, to the historical homeland of his ancestors. In the village of Privetnoye, not far from Alushta, a boy from a poor Crimean Tatar family always had to prove to everyone that he was no different from those around him.

“My classmates called me names and bullied me,” Mustafa Bey says bitterly. - They called me “freak”, then “stump”, then “devil”. At every opportunity they tried to give a blow or, with rude and evil jokes, to humiliate. Seeing that I could not stand up for myself, my father began to teach me martial arts techniques. But soon the training had to be canceled, as the parents of my offenders complained to the director that I had “raised” their boorish offspring.

- What else didn’t you like about school? - I'm interested

- Exact sciences, especially mathematics. After all, there is something that is higher than it, the sixth sense - intuition. I also didn’t like to write, I couldn’t write letters for a long time, the pen kept falling out. The doctor made a prosthetic for my right arm, but it only got in my way. Seeing that it was very difficult for me, my parents always supported me. They said: “Don’t give up, son, only with hard work and perseverance will you achieve success...” And they turned out to be right!

By the age of ten, my interlocutor rode a bicycle, chopped wood, dug a garden, hammered nails - in general, he did any housework. He also knew how to draw. True, he learned this craft before he began writing. The first to appear from under his pencil were crows, somehow attracting the boy's attention. Later, Anna Lendal, a teacher at the Alushta art school, began to develop his talent and recognized the artist’s extraordinary gift.

“She said this: “You will grow into a real master of the brush, just don’t give up.” And you know, she turned out to be right. True, at first, everything was very difficult for me: the pencil would fall, the brush would not hold, or the line would not go as it should. But the teachers did not allow us to give up. They constantly reminded us of a simple truth: “You shouldn’t copy everything and draw it as it really is. Bring your own elements, your own forms into the picture, and let there be a portrait with irregular facial features. But these will be your paintings.”

Already in adulthood, Mustafa Murtazaev entered art school. At first, the students were wary of him, but then they got used to their unusual-looking classmate and became his true friends.

- My friends don’t notice that I’m “missing” something. They see my work, which is not like the work of other brush artists. They like my persistence, my stubbornness and determination,” he shares and continues without hiding his pride. - In my opinion, a real artist does not need hands, but a sensitive heart and perseverance. If someone wants to achieve something, then no one will stop him.

My hero did it. Over the past three years, Mustafa Bey has produced more than eighty paintings, in demand by both domestic gallery owners and foreign collectors: portraits, landscapes and still lifes. His fans always look forward to new works and new exhibitions from him. And I hope that Mustafa Murtazaev will still paint his most important picture, which will bring him world fame. Just give him patience and inspiration!

Bekir ABLAEV,
junior correspondent of the creative association
young journalists
"Spring" of Nizhnegorsk Central Children's and Youth Center

The Crimean artist tries to see the good in everything. Photo: Facts

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Crimean Mustafa Murtazaev was born without both hands and one foot, but he really wanted to become professional artist. The teachers of the Crimean Art School were amazed by Mustafa’s persistence: he tied a brush or pencil with an elastic band to the stump and patiently learned to work small parts in the drawing.

There is no dormitory for students at the school. Renting a house in Simferopol is a guy from poor family I couldn’t, so I went to study from home. If there was a thunderstorm or snowfall, there was no transport to the village. And then we had to walk more than 25 kilometers. This is despite the fact that the prosthetic leg weighed six kilograms and rubbed the skin until it bled. But for the sake of his dream, Mustafa was ready to endure any pain.

“You think I don’t have fingers? They’re inside, hidden under the skin.”

Over the course of five years, a lot has changed in the life of Mustafa Murtazaev. Now he lives in Kyiv, studying last year National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture. He paints original canvases that are popular with art connoisseurs. His paintings are kept in private collections of collectors from England, Germany, Canada, Cuba, Russia and Ukraine... I agreed with Mustafa to meet in the academy’s workshop. I found him there rearranging the stretchers. And, succumbing to an impulse of pity, she offered her help.

How is it possible! You're a girl! - Mustafa makes scary eyes. - I can handle it myself. Do you think I don't have fingers? They are inside, as if hidden under the skin. With the tip of the stump I feel the buttons on mobile phone, locks on clothes, a brush for painting... And these are my paintings. Like?

Mustafa paints in an impasto manner - brush strokes applied in a thick layer give objects a special shape and volume. The canvases are filled with a riot of colors and a positive mood. The colors are bright, rich, it is clear that the artist is truly in love with life. However, my attention was drawn to a portrait of a woman with sad eyes.

This is my mother, she died several years ago,” Mustafa says sadly. - Thanks to her, I learned to hold objects in my hands. My mother told me that I was born three months premature. With injuries, very weak, he could not eat himself. The doctors suggested that my parents give me a lethal injection. Dad got angry: “If my son dies, it won’t be from the injection” - and took my mother and me home. My grandmother said a prayer over me and began to feed me with a pipette. Unexpectedly for everyone, I suddenly started eating and quickly gained weight.

As a child, I spent a long time learning to hold a spoon with both hands. The spoon kept falling, I was angry. Mom persuaded: “You can’t just give up. Try again.” In the end, he “defeated” the spoon, and then learned to use a knife and fork. One day, when I was about five years old, the program “In the Animal World” was on TV. There they talked about cheetahs. I had never seen such beautiful animals before. grabbed ballpoint pen and immediately portrayed an exotic predator. Having accidentally seen the drawing, the father asked whose it was. “Mine,” I say. My father believed it only after I drew a new cheetah in front of him.

I remember, director high school didn’t want to accept me into first grade: “How will he write? No, take your child to a special school.” My father winked at me: “Come on, son, draw something.” I quickly sketched the wolf. The director's glasses went up in surprise, and he enrolled me in first grade. It wasn't easy at school: I was constantly teased. I had a crush on a girl from a parallel class. One day he plucked up courage and approached her. But the girl screamed: “Don’t come closer!” and pushed me away. There was horror and disgust in her eyes...

That day I came home in tears. My father said: “Son, we need to strengthen our spirit” and began to teach me about sports. I did karate, boxing, and could do a thousand push-ups. Sport helped me a lot. When classmates are in Once again They called me a “stump,” I couldn’t stand it and beat three people at once. After this incident, my father forbade me to go to karate, but at school they respected me.

“I peel potatoes even faster than other guys.”

All free time“I was drawing something,” Mustafa continues. - However, to enter art school was afraid. I thought they wouldn’t accept a cripple. I was already 25 years old when my father persuaded me to apply. At first the teachers were scared: how can you teach a person to draw if he has no hands? However, the father managed to convince the teachers. I was ten years older than the other students and I was ashamed of it. Now I regret that I did not dare to act earlier.

After graduating from school, Mustafa applied to the Crimean Art School named after Samokish. A publication about a young talent in the media forced local authorities to pay attention to talented artist. The guy was given a Tavria car. According to the law, as a disabled person, he was entitled to a free car from the state, but for many years he stood in line number 500, and the line didn’t even move. People's Deputy Refat Chubarov arranged for a new prosthesis to be made for Mustafa at the Kharkov Institute of Orthopedics and Traumatology. Unlike the previous one, the prosthesis developed by German specialists weighs only 800 grams. Now Mustafa can run and jump.

After college, the guy became a student at the Crimean branch of the National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture. Last year he came to the capital to enroll in his fifth year to receive a specialist diploma.

Oh, how I was afraid entrance exam! - Mustafa admits. - I thought: why did I come? They won't accept it anyway. He was the first of all applicants to paint a picture from the production and submit it for trial admissions committee. I wanted to go home as soon as possible. And suddenly they announce: “Mustafa Murtazaev, the score is four. You are enrolled.” I jumped for joy!

At home, in Crimea, they told me: you won’t survive in Kyiv. This is an evil city, where money and power decide everything. But for me Kyiv has become a good city. Here I met wonderful teachers and true comrades. We have a very friendly group.

While we were talking, other students came to the workshop. The guys greeted Mustafa by shaking his right stump. The girls kissed him on the cheek. It is clear that he is the favorite of the group.

It’s true: Mustafa makes you fall in love with him from the first sentence,” says academy student Yana Karpunina. - And where does he get so much optimism? It happens that you come to him with bad mood- will instantly cheer you up. He always has new jokes and anecdotes in stock. Do you know how Mustafa cooks? Real jam. Delicious salads, soups, potatoes...

So are you also a cook?

Why are you so surprised? - Mustafa shrugs. - I peel potatoes even faster than other guys. Most of all I love to cook mashed potatoes. Sometimes I cook a big pot in the hostel and treat it to my friends. For me there are no barriers in everyday life. When I come to the village to visit my father, I carry buckets of water - one at a time in my hand. And I chop wood. In addition, I play table tennis, drive a car and walk on my hands. Don't believe me? I will show you now.

Mustafa bent down, rested his stumps on the floor, threw his legs up and... walked!

He's unbending, you know? - student Artem Trushel talks about a friend. - Mustafa cannot be stopped by difficulties. His example inspires us. Is it possible to give up if such a person is nearby?

“I won the right to marry not according to tradition, but to the woman I love”

Mustafa is very open, temperamental and writes the same way,” he praises classmate Ian. - His paintings are rich, emotional, extraordinary: it is impossible to remain indifferent.

That's probably why they sell so well.

IN in social networks I post photos of my work,” Mustafa explains. - People come to my page and ask: “Can I buy this?” Although I cannot sell some paintings: too much soul is invested in them. For example, I worked on one still life for almost two years. They wanted to buy it for five thousand dollars. This huge amount, but for me the canvas is priceless. Or a portrait of my mother: it will always be with me. In general, the paintings are selling well, enough to live on in the capital.

I dream of writing a lot of works, selling them and building a house. I want to get married, but I have nowhere to take my wife. In 1989, my parents returned from Uzbekistan to Crimea, to the village of Privetnoye. However, the house where my grandmother lived before the deportation was occupied by other people. We started to build new house, just finished last year. My brother recently got married and brought his wife. This means I need to think about my own housing.

Do you have a bride in mind?

My beloved girl lives in Simferopol. We've been together for six years. My father insisted that I, according to tradition, marry a Crimean Tatar. However, I won the right to be with the woman my heart chose. I sincerely believe that with your hard work you can achieve any goal. The main thing is to want it with all your heart. In the morning I wake up with the first rays of the sun and thank the Almighty for living, breathing the air, and painting. This is already a lot. The rest, as they say, will follow.

Others with such a fate would have broken down, but he, on the contrary, is striving for joy, for the sun,” Anatoly Zorko, associate professor of the painting department of the National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture, admires his student. - This can be seen in his paintings. Mustafa doesn't like to be helped. He carries heavy stretchers himself and prepares the palette. But squeezing paint out of zinc tubes without hands is very difficult... He is extremely purposeful. As soon as I’m setting it up, I see Mustafa is the first to grab the brush and is already applying strokes.

He writes in an expressive manner, or, as they say, “with feelings.” It is clear that every stroke passes through the soul. It happens: the Almighty took his palms from him, but in return gave him the talent of a painter. Mustafa naturally sees color and color. His paintings stand out noticeably against the background of the works of other students. By the way, Mustafa’s paintings have been noted more than once at all-Ukrainian exhibitions.

I recently learned about another talent of his. I had a birthday. Mustafa came up and asked: “Do you want me to give you a song?” And how he sings! I have never heard such voices before. While Mustafa sang for me "Apple Trees in Blossom" by the famous Soviet singer and composer Evgeny Martynov, I thought: what can his voice be compared to? And I remembered. Only the larks sing so high at dawn.

“I started singing before I spoke,” Mustafa smiles. - When I draw, I usually hum to myself. The song itself comes from the throat, helps to write. As a child, I often sang at weddings. And now, if anyone has a holiday, they ask me to sing. Friends recorded my songs and posted them on the Internet. If you're interested, type my name into a search engine and listen.

Mustafa has an unusually strong voice - three and a half octaves. He sings so soulfully about separation from his beloved that it sends shivers down your spine. Most of all, Mustafa loves to perform songs by famous performers in the Soviet Union. Because they "make sense".

Friends insisted that I try my hand at the X Factor show,” says Mustafa. - Last Sunday I came to the preliminary casting. Sang a song soloist of VIA"Flowers" by Alexander Losev "My clear little star". The expert who selected the show's participants was silent for a long time, and then said to me: “You sing very correctly, like in an opera. And we are looking for pop performers. Come back next year.”

At first I was upset. Then I thought about it and decided that there was no reason to be upset. After all, I live in Kyiv, and a lot happens here vocal shows. I will go to all castings. Once upon a time I didn’t believe that I would become an artist. But he achieved his goal!

The magical world of Mustafa Murtazaev, or How to learn to dream

Eastern fairy tale in spring: blooming garden, covered with Persian carpets, above which a heavily laden man who has no arms soars easily, rising to the endless sky. Do you think this doesn't happen? A fairy tale in reality or life is just a fairy tale - understand it as you wish, this is the only thing that happens in life.

I want to tell you a story about a young Crimean artist, an adult child and a storyteller, who at the same time skillfully expresses his vision of the world oil paints on the canvas, about the young aspiring master Mustafa Murtazaev. Much has already been said about him and just as much remains unsaid. So…

Mustafa was born in the village of Privetnoye, Alushta district in ordinary family. The boy had no hands. It seemed like my parents didn't think anything of it special significance, he did everything on his own. I studied at a regular school and had many friends. And only one thing was unusual about him: he drew all the time - on boards, on walls, on linoleum. At the age of 25, he came to the children's art school in the city of Alushta and the hard joint work of the student and talented teachers Anna Fedorovna and Valentin Viktorovich Lendel began. Then the school named after Samokisha. Teachers: Dymanova T.T., Grishchenko V.I., Dudchenko N.Ya., Grigoriev V.I., Balkind E.L., Molchanova G.A.

Each of them invested a particle of their soul into a talented and unusual student, and the grateful student was able to place these particles into his soul and create from them huge world which can be seen in his paintings. The author himself says that he sees his future paintings in his dreams. Then a “hunger of colors” arises and there is an urgent need to splash these colors onto the canvas. This is how one is born new masterpiece. His work is unlike anyone else's. He does not feed on other people's ideas, he gives birth to his own new life. Crimean Tatar artist Ali Bekirov characterizes his work as follows: “He has a distinctive painterly style, coming from big spots of color, with a great future ahead.”

Each painting by Mustafa Murtazaev is a special plot, a unique color scheme, when the artist manages to convey a person’s mood without drawing out details, but only through paints. “He loves the color red very much,” says his friend, artist Zubeir Kadri-Zadeh, about Mustafa, “this color is inherent in his works, freedom of thought is manifested through it. It’s vitality and inspiration.”

Have you ever seen a picture where people have no faces, but at the same time you don’t want to see eyes and nose, because color scheme The plot is self-sufficient and does not require further development. Canopy. Table. Kettle. An elderly married couple slowly and with dignity begins to drink tea. The young housewife serves the food with love and respect. Behind the canopy there is a field and mountains. The figures of people are not detailed, but under the powerful pressure of colors one can feel the merging of nature and man, the unity of youth and old age, harmony, peace and the greatness of God's creations.

There is a connection running through all of Mustafa Murtazaev’s works real life With oriental fairy tale. The author himself is in love with a tall, fair-haired girl and in all his images he wants to show her beauty. Painting "Harem". Girls bathe in the river. And in each of them, she is his favorite. Tent. Peacocks. A fairy tale in reality is as real as love itself.

Man lives by love. Once upon a time it seemed to Mustafa that he was unloved and unnecessary. This is how one of the seven self-portraits appeared. It shows sadness in pink and beige tones. But these same tones depict tenderness. This is Aunt Lucy. A lean woman in an old-fashioned cap, but how much grace and elegance there is in the bends of her body, in the turn of her head, and the folding of her hands. This grace is harmoniously emphasized by shades of brown, purple, blue - such depth in the combination of colors that you can’t help but feel the poverty of our speech.

“I want to be surprised and happy - this is an encounter with real art, the paintings are painted professionally and of high quality. The artist boldly explores color. Academic paintings are also subordinated to color. This is a direct extension of personality.", says artist Ismet Sheikh-Zadeh about M. Murtazaev.

Mustafa Murtazaev is an extraordinary personality and at the same time an ordinary earthly person. His desires are simple and clear: to build a workshop where it will be spacious and comfortable to create his little miracles, to create a museum of paintings. But the most important desire is to give an impetus to life with my works. Each person is an individual and there is no need to merge into the same type of mass. He calls to awaken the feelings that are inherent in children. Try to see a Persian carpet under your feet. Step boldly along it, get off the ground, rise to another, higher level - this is that dream from childhood, remember? No, the ground doesn’t disappear from under your feet, your heart is just filled with colors: the sky is blue, the sun is golden, what greenery! Dust? No, it's just a little gray. Dream, people, dream!

Valentina Melnik, employee of the All-Ukrainian Information and Cultural Center.

____________________________________________________________________________

The exhibition of Mustafa Murtazaev is taking place at the All-Ukrainian Information and Cultural Center (Simferopol, Pavlenko St., 48 entrance 2), it will last until the end of August.