The Desert of Forbidden Art (2011)

How does art survive in a time of oppression During the Soviet rule artists who stay true to their vision are executed sent to mental hospitals or Gulags Their plight inspires young Igor Savitsky He pretends to buy stateapproved art but instead daringly rescues 40000 forbidden fellow artists works and creates a museum in the desert of Uzbekistan far from the watchful eyes of the KGB Though a penniless artist himself he cajoles the cash to pay for the art from the same authorities who are banning it Savitsky amasses an eclectic mix of Russian AvantGarde art But his greatest discovery is an unknown school of artists who settle in Uzbekistan after the Russian revolution of 1917 encountering a unique Islamic culture as exotic to them as Tahiti was for Gauguin They develop a startlingly original style fusing European modernism with centuriesold Eastern traditions