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Fedir Tetianych

Fedir Tetianych (February 17, 1942 – February 18, 2007) was a Ukrainian philosopher, avant-garde artist, writer, painter, graphic artist, monumental artist, and poet. He was a member of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine and a prominent figure of the unofficial art scene and underground. Tetianych was among the pioneers of performance and happening art in the USSR.

  • He was also known by the pseudonym “Frypulia” — a codename that simultaneously served as the title of his philosophical, aesthetic, and figurative system. The shortest definition of this multifaceted term, given by Tetyanych himself, reads: “Frypulia is the living unity of all infinity”. In usage, “Frypulia” primarily denotes a philosophical teaching, a word-abbreviation, and more broadly, a synonym for the all-encompassing dimension of space-time infinity — a pseudonym, an exclamation, a toast, and a greeting.

    This system became the foundation of a unique form of art — “formatism from the format”, the essence of which lies in the infinity of human and planetary life, and in the unity of the individual and the world as an indivisible, holistic organism. According to Tetyanych, the system of formatism was fully formed on October 14, 1995. The core idea of the concept is the harmonization and organization of space through the reuse and transformation of used objects, waste, and material remnants into works of art. The system defines this transformative process through the sorting and arranging of objects on a base or canvas into structured rows that progress in size — from the smallest to infinity — with “Frypulia”, as a metaphor for infinity, occupying the highest point of progression.

    Tetyanych performed his artistic actions wearing an exotic mask of a “freak.” “Frypulia” became his greeting, which he would joyfully exclaim during street performances, often near or inside a self-constructed Biotechnosphere — a spherical structure with a diameter of 240 cm, designed to sustain human life in the event of a global catastrophe.

    The artist did not call every Biotechnosphere “Frypulia.” In his writings, the term Biotechnosphere appears in several contexts:
    ● Locally, as a specific physical object — a universal unit intended for living, transportation, or rescue, with an internal diameter of 2.40 m,● Globally, as a philosophical allegory.

    In his conceptual author’s book, Tetyanych describes the creation of a global installation titled BIOTECHNOSPHERE FRYPULIA, which he envisioned building through his artworks on planet Earth and into infinity, as well as through their dissemination via mass media. Thus, the mentioned Biotechnosphere Frypulia is an allegorical image that, from a philosophical standpoint, equates the space-time infinity with the Biotechnosphere. However, this does not mean that the terms Biotechnosphere and Frypulia are synonymous, nor that every Biotechnosphere can be called “Fripulia.”

    In this way, his philosophical explorations evolved into artistic practice. The concept of harmonizing space through art was embodied in his works, where every detail formed part of a single cycle of material existence.

    Tetyanych’s works, created from found and everyday materials, are often seen as a protest against socialist realism. In his compositions, he actively used industrial and consumer waste, thereby conveying a concept of holistic world perception — merging the goal of aesthetic improvement of space with the purification of the environment from unnecessary things.

    Initially, he accepted monumental commissions to earn a living, but later began to refuse them, rejecting the vanity of the glamorous artistic and political circles of his time. In his view, such pursuits hindered the development of genuine creative abilities. Most people around him considered him eccentric, holy fool–like, or even mad.

    Tetyanych held the belief that an artist is simultaneously a creator, a tool, and a canvas.

Gallery

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Frypulia 

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Madonna with Child

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Untitled

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From the series “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”

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Untitled

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Paired Erotic Composition

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Erotic Composition

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Space Route

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Abstraction