It's Latvia, but not quite as you know it

  • 2005-02-02
  • By Tim Ochser
RIGA - Go into any bookshop and you'll find a few English language books about Latvia languishing on the shelves. They're mostly aimed at tourists, and are full of twee pictures depicting a mythical land of song festivals, storks and summer solstice frivolity. The texts are usually agonizingly crass and resemble the language of fairy tales rather than that of even semi-serious self-scrutiny.

Not that there's anything wrong with this kind of naive mythologizing. Every country does it. It's just that sometimes Latvia overdoes it.

That's why Maris Bishofs' new book, "My Latvia," is a truly welcome addition to the ever-growing number of books on this frequently glossed-over subject.

A professional illustrator with the sleight of an artist's hand and the keen eye of a political commentator - as well as the passion of a proud Latvian - Bishofs' book takes a wonderfully fresh look at Latvia. The book is made up of 100 illustrations, some of which are simple impressions and others astute observations.

It goes on sale in early February, coinciding with a retrospective of Bishofs' work from a long and impressive career at the State Art Museum in Riga. President Vaira Vike-Freiberga was so taken with the book when she saw it that she asked for 30 copies to give away as presents, as did the foreign minister, Artis Pabriks. It seems that Bishofs' affectionate and idiosyncratic view of the country is clearly one that could catch on.

How it all began

The idea for the book came from a chance encounter between Bishofs and Ojars Kalnins, the director of the Latvian Institute, at a Mark Rothko exhibition last year.

Kalnins was the Latvian ambassador to the U.S.A. for most of the 1990s and it was during his time in the post that he first heard of Bishofs.

"One day I had a copy of Time and someone pointed out to me that a Latvian had illustrated the cover," Kalnins explains.

Bishofs was well known among the American-Latvian community for his work as an illustrator for publications such as Time magazine, the New York Times, Newsweek, Money, Rolling Stone, the Atlantic Monthly, and just about every other major title going.

After he'd graduated from the Latvian Academy of Art in 1965, he lived for long spells in Moscow and Israel, followed by two years in Paris and more than 20 years in America. But after having lived abroad for some 37 years, Bishofs decided to move back to Riga for good in 2003.

"I wanted to come back because I missed Latvia," Bishofs says. "I started coming back here every summer after independence and I felt jealous of my friends who lived here. I guess I just got homesick."

He bought a flat in downtown Riga, and slowly eased into his new life. The country was a profoundly different place to the one he had lived in all that time ago.

Bishofs initially approached Kalnins with the idea for the illustration book, and even brought some sample sketches along. Kalnins loved the idea and saw it as a unique way to carry out the Latvian Institute's stated mission of "promoting knowledge about Latvia."

"The name of the book came from Ojars," Bishofs explains. "I was happy with that title. This is 'My Latvia.' If someone else did it, it would be another Latvia."

Kalnins also translated the small snippets of text accompanying many of the illustrations since Bishofs found it easier to write them in Latvian.

"In some cases, when I got to know him better, I suggested some of the captions for him. He pretty much gave me free reign to work on the texts, usually working from his original ideas," Kalnins says.

Outlining a country

The reason why "My Latvia" works so well is very simple. Bishofs' subtle skill as an artist makes the drawings both irresistibly charming and shrewd at the same time. Most of the 100 images that make up the book are extremely simple line drawings that cut right to the heart of the situation they depict.

"I tried to make the drawings simple and put those things which would show the essence of the idea into them," Bishofs explains. "A good idea makes a good illustration, something controversial, crazy and, of course, skillful."

Many of the illustrations explore the national identity, or the idea of it, often quite ambiguously. They touch on everything from politics to sport, from the abstract to the absurd. One drawing shows a group of fishermen sitting by a river, an all-too-common sight in Latvia. All of the men but one have thought bubbles filled with fish. The odd one out has a thought bubble crammed with naked women. The caption for the picture reads: "Latvians have rich fantasy lives."

All in all, the book is an affectionate and affirmative depiction of the country. In places, it gently mocks Latvians and hints at some of the more unfortunate aspects of life in Latvia, but never really touches on serious social issues such as poverty or ethnic divisions.

Bishofs, however, passionately defends his book on this count. "My goal was never to make an ugly book about Latvia," he says. "This country had misery for 50 years, so I wanted to show Latvia in a positive light. Latvians still lack pride. People need something positive."

Yet he remains unsparing in his depiction of bad drivers, which are especially notorious in Latvia.

"Many people feel like kings of the road when they get in their car because they have some sort of complex. These people aren't free. They have freedom but they don't understand it," he muses.

With his book about to be published, and a major exhibition of his work about to be mounted, Bishofs is in a truly unique position. Having succeeded from scratch twice in his field, first in Israel, and then in the U.S.A., he now looks set to achieve recognition in his native Latvia.

Both Kalnins and Bishofs are optimistic about the book and are hopeful it will be well received by the press and public alike.

"It's an enjoyable book in and of itself, but it presents Latvia in a slightly unusual way," Kalnins says. "It shows we can chuckle at ourselves. Latvians sometimes take themselves too seriously. This book is a sign that we're more able to poke fun at ourselves in a healthy way."

And this is just the beginning. The two men are already discussing doing a second volume, and Bishof says he has no intention of retiring yet. In the meantime, "My Latvia" will surely prove a popular place with a lot of people.