KOKKINOS MEANS RED

By Fani P. Pentzeridi

Art & Design Class of 2003

University of Hertfordshire 3/3/2003 Greece (Hellenic Republic) has always been the first milestone of arts and literature. The ancient

Greek civilization harbours many tokens of talent and up to nowadays admired craftsmanship. Talent as

we know is one of the things that cannot be learned. It has and always will be a value people have from birth (if not hereditary). Throughout art’s great history it is proven not only that Greeks have played a very important role in its course, but also that even nowadays they contribute to its expansion.

Greece from the ancient frescos in Crete (painted during in the Bronze Age), past the Middle

Ages with painters like El Greco (i.e. The Greek) is brought by history to its modern artists. In this category there are upcoming and universally known Greek painters. One of the latter is Michalis Kokkinos to whom this paper is dedicated to.

Michalis S. Kokkinos, the expressionist, was born in Pireus (Athens Main Harbour) on 1962. He

lived his early years in his grandfather’s (Michalis G. Kokkinos) studio, where inspiration took him over and he first started to paint at the age of only eleven. He later on attended the Experimental School of the University of Athens in Greece and graduated from there on 1980. Almost straight afterwards he left for Germany. In Munich he studied harmony and music composition.

Since then Mr. Kokkinos has evolved his potential and he is currently a publisher of the Greek

Voice of Munich paper and a member of the Greek Press Abroad Correspondence Union. Moreover he is the reporter of the paper National Herald of Brussels. He however, was not satisfied by these activities and from 1982 till 1992 he became a member of the National Union of French Language Reporters and a publisher of the Editions Art & Speech. After the latter he became the editor in Omvros (Greek for rain) Editions. Not long after that he participated in Stefi Film commercials.

What makes Kokkinos special though is the fact that he played leading roles in the theatre. No

other painter in Greece can take pride that he was an actor too. Such a multitalented personality could only be the base in the heart of a great painter. Or maybe it was simply the fact that his talents were hereditary. If we go back in time it is clear that Mr. Kokkinos has spent a great deal of his life close to his family1.

The background however is not an ordinary one as his great grandfather was an art collector. For

Michalis S. Kokkinos his grandfather was a leading figure in his past and played a very important role in his life. His grandfather (Michalis G. Kokkinos) was a sculptor who was recognized internationally and was awarded many prizes in his long life. Three children of Mihalis G. Kokkinos were also keen as far as arts were concerned. George (his uncle) and Irene (his aunt) were painters whereas practicing medicine and sculpturing correspondingly. Irene Kokkinou had also received many prizes for her talents.

The hereditary talent though does not stop there. Sakellaris M. Kokkinos (his father) was a

collector and together with Mrs. Maria Tsaboula (his mother) they were the founders of Lili Gallery. Last but not least his two first cousins are also painters even though Niki has studied law and George architecture. Finally we just have to wait and see if one or maybe all of the three children Mr. Kokkinos has, will give their father a run for their money.

As incredible as it sounds Michalis S. Kokkinos is also a writer. He has written a number of

novels. For the moment the ones that could be easily tracked down are: Non-Ending Circle (1982), The Dilemma of Ellyrios (1983), The 45er and Other Outrageous Things (1984), Mr. Humanth’s Enemy (1995), The Rooster Syndrome (1995), First Acts of a Saint (1995, went on theatre on 1991-92), Pluto and Persephone (1995), From the diary of a Damned Person (1999), Zeibekiko (2001), …And She Said “No” (2001). No doubt the painter wrote more, but all of them are great masterpieces and show how the painter wrote with his own heart2.

It is a fact that not many people can understand the writings of Michalis S. Kokkinos. To his

defense, it must be noted that when a person is talented, what is wonderful for us, is easy and given for

the artist, but what is difficult for the artist to write, paint, or even compose cannot be conceived by us and therefore it is difficult to grasp3.

Which brings me readily to my next fact that Mr. Kokkinos was not ready to say that he had

finished playing his part in the arts and so he developed his music composition skills. Recently (2000) he composed music in the form of a CD that he named ‘Ocean’ that went public pretty soon. The songs of the magnificent CD named after the titles of his portfolios are: Rain, Ocean, Aria, Dawn, Insight, Twilight, Exit, and Finished. The music is unpredictable, lovely and full of passion like all of the artist’s works up to date.

However all is not always bright in the realm of the arts. And a great artist will not always be

recognised by everyone. A critic written on him quotes “Michalis Kokkinos is a person that is lonely, but lonely and mostly lonely”4. It is not easy to be an artist as it isolates from the rest of the world… Lost in his inspiration, the artist cannot have but little time for the common troubles in life. Loneliness however was certainly lessened by his wives…

In 1983 he got married to Dionisia Drouvioti and they produced a daughter (Aria, 1984) and a

son (Sakellaris, 1888). He got remarried after that with Eleni Kontogouri, but not much is known about his current personal life. One is definite though. He always loved his women passionately. After all “Woman” is the subject of most of his masterpieces. He never holds them in degrading positions and he almost seems to exonerate himself through their beauty. In almost every masterpiece we see the face of the secret love. “Even if I paint a landscape, inside my mind there flies a female form”, he says. And finally here is how we see that in Greek Kokkinos means red…

In human colour psychology red is associated with fire, energy and emotions that stir the blood

including anger, passion, and love (Pasquale Gagliardi, 1992). Even medicine suggests red is the first colour perceived by man. Brain-injured persons suffering from temporary colour-blindness start to perceive red before they are able to discern any other colours. Four hundred years ago in 17th century France, red was a colour of power5. French history expert Joan DeJean says “red was always a colour associated with palaces”. So even by the name it can be clear that this man was meant to stand out.

As his name, the painter also exhibits the characteristics of the colour in his paintings. He likes

the specific colour as we it a lot in his paintings and his masterpieces show clearly all of the above feelings that he demonstrated even in his personal life. And now it is finally the time to see some of the paintings that made Mr. Kokkinos so famous and worth of speaking about. Eight paintings are laid before us, one from each of his portfolios.

Eborios Kalimnou

Mr. Kokkinos painted it when he was 11 years old on 1973. (Portfolio I: Rain)

Absolution

Painted during 1979-82. (Portfolio II: Ocean)

A wonderful colour mixing with red and yellow as dominants. Notice the lady’s face is full of regret.

Before Spring Painted during 1983-86. (Portfolio III: Aria) The faces are almost dark, insinuating that it could be anyone and most attention should be given to the actual sentiments.

The Hunchback Painted during 1987-90. (Portfolio IV: Dawn) The sadness in the face as a result of the world’s cruelty and rejection is captivating.

The fairy Painted on 1991. (Portfolio V: Insight) This portfolio is filled with great paintings and it was difficult to select one (one needed due to lack of space). This one however qualified because of the look of absolute innocence and the perfect colour selection.

Sadness Painted during 1995-98. (Portfolio VI: Twilight) Speaks for itself. The internal sorrow leaves the viewer speechless.

Still in love with her… Painted during 1999-2002. (Portfolio VII: Exit) The love in the old man’s face is moving. Touching is also the fact that he still seems hopeful. After all these years he still thinks he has a chance to win her heart.

The expressionist is currently working on his last portfolio and unfortunately there is no current work of his available on the worldwide media yet. However I think it is clear that now we can expect great things from him. After all if a composer, a writer and a painter coexist in the same soul and person, I believe such a person can be called an Artist.

Michalis S. Kokkinos is what is known as an “Artist” with a capital A and the full meaning of

the word. In his life, he has made music, he has written novels, he has painted masterpieces and he has reached excellence in all these sectors. And if at the back of your head you are thinking “well what does this insignificant student knows about art”, then by all means do not take my word for it but just look of what other people say about Mr. Kokkinos: Vasilis Moschovis – Michalis Kokkinos: A New Writer in the Realm of Irrationality (1984) and P. Kanellakis et al. – Michalis S. Kokkinos: Martyr or Heretic (1997).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ >O< ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ References

1. http://www.mkokkinos.gr (26/2/2003)

2. Michalis S. Kokkinos, Zeibekiko, 2001, Omvros Editions

3. Michalis S. Kokkinos, The Rooster Syndrome, 1995, Omvros Editions

4. Vasilis Moschovis, Mihalis Kokkinos: A New Writer in the Realm of Irrationality,

1984, Omvros Editions

5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red (25/2/2003)