Autobiographical statement by John Jaciw (12/02/01)

Autobiographical statement by John Jaciw

Readers will likely find this background information that John Jaciw submitted to me of interest. It provides some biographical tidbits, as well as explains the impetus behind the creation of Mr. Jaciw's UBC seals.

- Ingert Kuzych

Needless to say, I am honored and pleased to find out that you are planning to write an article regarding my involvement in the design of UBC seals. In order to provide a proper background, I have to go back to my early childhood in my native village of Kolynts in the Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast of Ukraine. As far as I can remember, I always loved illustrated books. My favorite childhood book was a Bible with illustrations by the famous French illustrator Gustave Doré.

I used to marvel at Doré's illustrations: the neat parallel lines, careful tonality of the clouds, dramatic perspective and proud biblical hero figures. All this became a part of my inspiration later in life and eventually became a part of my designs for the UBC commemorative seals.

As a dreamer, I longed some day to see the official bank notes and postage stamps of a free Ukraine. There was so much that could be presented in a miniaturized form - our folklore, flora, fauna, historical events, national heroes, poets, artists and so on.

Meeting the late Petro Honcharenko in 1960 opened the door for me, so to speak, to the creativity involved in designing miniaturized unofficial postage stamp seals. Captivated by Mr. Honcharenko's tenacity and uncompromising dedication to the Bandurists' Cappella, I willingly offered to create new seals for upcoming years, hoping that my input would generate some revenue for the always financially strapped chorus.

Thus, the odyssey of the designing of the seals began and lasted for 36 years. It was a unique experience for me, and a pleasant experience at that - without pressure and without the traditional Ukrainian "treba robyty fayno" (the need to make it nice). Most of the time Mr. Honcharenko was the one to pick the events or persons for the new seals series. Sometimes my ideas also were printed.

I would like to point out that our series of seals did not discriminate against political parties, churches, youth organizations, etc. (except Communists). The whole project of Bandurist seals was created not only to generate revenue for the Chorus but at the same time to popularize Ukrainian causes in the Western world. No doubt some seals made their way to the Soviet Union, creating dismay and annoyance in the evil empire.

The seal project as such had its shortcomings: a lack of good source photos of leading celebrities/political prisoners, cheap offset printing, and colors that were too transparent. These all contributed to making the seals inferior. Not having proper books or museums to consult for reference material, I consider my seals to be comprehensive sketches, rather than finished or ironed-to-perfection artwork.

| Home Page |