With President Trump’s pivot into the arms of Vladimir Putin and his unfounded and confounded comment that Volodymyr Zelensky is a dictator who started the war with Russia, news about Ukraine has not been good lately. So it was encouraging to hear about Stefan Sagmeister’s latest visit to the besieged country.
Sagmeister was on sabbatical in Mexico when he learned that his currently traveling exhibition, Now Is Better, a blend of classical art and abstract data visualization, is on display in Kyiv. I asked him to file a report on his experience in the Ukrainian capital.
The piece above presents data about the total number of people dying in wars, per 100,000 people, on a 100-year average.
1500–1600 3 people
1600–1700 8 people
1700–1800 5 people
1800–1900 8 people
1900–2000 15 people
2000–2022 1 person
Source: Conflict Catalogue by Peter Brecke. Note: All death rates are calculated as the number of deaths relative to the world population at the time (death per 100,000).
Stefan Sagmeister:
“After the bone-cutting cold of Kyiv, I returned to Mexico, where the the news coming out of the U.S. carried an even icier chill not only for the warm people I met in Kyiv, but for all of Ukraine.
“A missile attack hit just before I arrived in Ukraine’s capital, prompting my host to reassure me—somewhat questionably—that this meant there likely wouldn’t be another one until I left.
“Our exhibition opened at Lavra Kyiv City Art Gallery, a vast space near government buildings, which, statistically speaking, increases the likelihood of being bombed. However, since it’s part of an Orthodox church complex that the Russians consider their own cultural heritage, this, paradoxically, decreases that possibility.
“In the afternoon, I gave a talk which unfolded into a long and warm discussion. The opening itself was remarkable—an atmosphere of genuine engagement, the kind that feels both rare and necessary. The Ukrainian version of our book Now is Better has already been reprinted just four months after publication, a somewhat unbelievable feat it did not achieve in any other country. The talk and exhibit were organized by a local charity benefiting the Ukrainian army.
“I downloaded an app that tells me when to look for the nearest bunker. On my last night, the alarms went off. I got dressed and went down to the hotel lobby, where the receptionist, wholly unfazed, gestured toward a basement space—a kind of ante-room to the toilets. No other guests appeared. After three years of war, air-raid fatigue is widespread. Eventually, I gave in to it too and went back to my room.
“Also, life continues—a phenomenal Crimean restaurant serving brilliantly reimagined versions of traditional dishes; a sophisticated design store, Gunia, run by two young women reinterpreting Ukrainian embroidery, ceramics, and fashion in ways that feel completely now.
“And yet, there is Trump now.”
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