The manuscript "Between the moment and eternity: Artwork of Igor Smirnov" provides a brief analysis of the Russian non-conformist "underground" art movement. Then it describes the style of symbolic realism brought to the audience by Igor Smirnov, an American artist with Russian background. This style bears no resemblance to either socialistic realism or any other of the numerous avant-garde "isms" of the 20th century and it is based on a deep understanding of eternal spiritual values and the subconscious effect of art forms and colors on human psyche, emotions and well being. Smirnov''s balanced art "purifies" the world through its positive emotional effect on the mass audience. It transforms the consciousness of individual viewers and, as result, positively affects the emotional and mental realms of the world. Thus, Smirnov''s art plays an important role in the "renaissance of the spiritual life" of modern world.

The motivation for the composing of this work is the tremendous importance of visual art trend which brings to the viewers positive associations and enhances the global spiritual tendencies in the world. This book can be recommended for the students of Fine Art Institutes, professional designers, artists, and collectors of fine art.

The author Irina Alievsky has a scientific background in the History of Fine Art. In 1980's she worked as an art consultant at Hermitage Museum covering the Art of Renaissance and European Art of XVIII-XIX Centuries. She also was a consultant and curator for the "Association of Avant-garde Artists" and the Art Group "OSTROV" in St. Petersburg, Russia. The co-author Reena Judens graduated from Moscow University, Russia. She got her Ph.D. in the History of Fine Arts. She worked as an art consultant at Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles and a free lance art critic and writer.

The relationships between time and space always were at the forefront of philosophical thinking and found expression in visual art. It may be said that the twentieth century had indeed manifested an insatiable thirst for the interpretations and reinterpretations of time. There were a number of attempts of reformation, transformation and even refutation of the basic concepts of art in the search for the fourth dimension reverberating echoes of time in visual art. Following the new theories of philosophy, physics and psychology which appeared in this century, the visual art created a new language for the representation of time. Thus, time became not only the key point of life but of art as well, allowing us to evaluate art in the light of its relationship to the temporality.

In the beginning of the third millennium the tendency to immerse in fin du siecle esthetics became very popular and is reflected in the content of visual art. The apocalyptic nature of this era creates emotional stress and the feeling of instability. The artist finds himself in an almost unforeseeable situation, when everything in his world tumbles out of control without stability in a state of permanent flux. Moreover, the course of global events and the radical increase of tempo of modern life lead to the transformation of consciousness and the alteration of the processes of perception, evaluation and interpretation of art by the audience. As a result, in order to find a place in the context of modern art, the artist has to realize how he can create the symbolic equivalent of a constantly changing external world.

Due to the desire to reflect the values and 'realities' of the world around them, many artists create the art that is restless and momentary. However, if we examine the artworks that are considered to be masterpieces, such as the art of Italian Renaissance, Classicism, and the art of the beginning of the twentieth century, we will find that they always reflect eternal values along with the concrete moments of time and life. The act of evaluation and interpretation of art, and by extension the creation of great art, is not a momentary act of observation and passive acceptance. It is an active immersion in the art work and in your own subconscious. Contemporary art demands the same involvement and, in fact, is even more pretentious in its own way than already culturally assimilated old masters, but the technique for evaluation is absolutely different. The contemporary art viewer is brought up in a computerized, technological environment and is familiar with virtual space from his childhood. The viewer is accustomed to deal with symbolic forms through the associative thought process as well as through the modern technology. In the modern world art and technology are mixed and coexist together. The audience of the twenty first century can perceive art in both ways - as a piece of art and as a source of information presented in symbolic form.

Symbolic art of Igor Smirnov expresses this new tendency of art perception and interpretation. At the same time it is focused on eternal values and affects the emotional and mental state of the viewer through the process of associative thinking.

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