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Section 1. Fine and applied arts and architecture
Bogomaz Svetlana M., PhD, The Russian ethnography museum, E-mail: s. [email protected]
THE INFLUENCE OF SOVIET IDEOLOGY ON THE DECORATIVE AND APPLIED ARTS OF LITHUANIA (ON THE EXAMPLE OF FOLK WOODEN SCULPTURE)
Abstract: This article is devoted to the influence of Soviet ideology on the traditional wooden sculpture of the Lithuanians. The changes were analyzed in compositional, stylistic and plot aspects. The situation of carvers specializing in the carving of religious sculpture is considered. Keywords: wooden sculpture, arts and crafts of the Lithuanian SSR, Soviet ideology.
The influence of ideology upon traditional art is a popular topic that has been constantly raised by the researchers during the last decades, and the territory of the post-Soviet space of the Baltic States is not an exception. It becomes especially urgent in the process of discussing the issues associated with monuments of the Soviet past and instigates stormy discussions, not only on the level of culture, but on that of politics as well. However, despite the fact that a great amount of publications is devoted to the influence/transformation/neutralizing of separate aspects in architecture, painting, monumental sculpture, there were relatively few similar researches of the applied and decorative arts. This article attempts to study the influence of Soviet ideology upon the Lithuanian traditional wooden sculpture as the most outstanding and distinctive area of the folk art.
There is no consensus in the research literature in relation to the time of emergence of wooden sculpture on the territory of modern Lithuania. According to the written sources, in the XVIth century its Catholic version replaced the pagan tradition of carving the gods of wood that has existed for many centuries. Consequently, for a long time the wooden
sculpture reflected the religious-mythological component of the culture, having undergone a dramatic change of religious paradigm. It survived, even despite a powerful influence of the Soviet ideology, thereby forming a stable language of the folk culture. That is why the topic of the influence of totalitarian power upon the art as embodied in wooden sculpture is so interesting, because in Lithuanian culture it possessed a high status, regional stylistic peculiarities and was widespread in all regions. Thus, ideological influence in this kind of the applied arts was as significant as if it would come through the communication channels typical of the influence of totalitarian regime, such as: architecture, literature, monumental sculpture, etc.
First of all, there have been changes in the very process of sculpture creation: rural crafters were replaced by the workers of collective farms, factories, educational institutions, etc., who united into creative teams and unions at the enterprises. A starting point for such organization was the Act of Central Committee of the Communist Party of the USSR "On the folk artisan craftwork" (1975) as a result ofwhich various enterprises and structural units were inspected with
respect to a creative activity, and relevant places for meetings/exhibitions of artists, carvers et al. were created [1, 123-125]. During Soviet period, there existed both local and global forms ofcraftsmen associations: The Society offolk art of the Lithuanian SSR and the Union of Artists of the Lithuanian SSR. The latter coordinated the activity of the local unions and organized the interaction between the artists and factories/shop floors. Such activity led to the spread of certain topics that fitted the party politics: a high status of a working man, the achievements ofproduc-tion, scientific-technical progress, etc.
Besides, anti-religious propaganda was one of the significant factors ofthe USSR ideological politics influence. Its activity was involves the restriction of divine services, cutting down of the Catholic parishes and the quantity of priests, prohibition to produce/reproduce religious symbols, etc. All these changes have directly influenced the folk woodcarver's activity, because cultic theme was the main one for the rural craftsmen in pre-Soviet period, as evidenced by the widespread wooden sculpture, crosses and chapels. The latter represented a sign-symbolic synthesis of a centuries-long technological tradition, the categories of existing worldview and external features of people who lived in that period. The Soviet ideology made its adjustments to all the above-mentioned components: the carving techniques changed and the new ones emerged; new images and plots of non-religious character appeared; local distinctive features in the faces of figures almost disappeared. Apart from the transformations in the image of the sculpture itself, there were changes in its circulation — the tradition of mounting crosses, chapels and wooden sculptures of saints everywhere was interrupted.
First of all, we need to focus our attention on the characteristics of the plot themes in the wooden sculpture of the Soviet period:
Religious themes. Despite of the influence of atheism, the craftsmen continued to create the images of Jesus Christ, Virgin Mother, iconographic scenes and the saints. However, for the carvers they
were of a predominantly artistic, not religious, interest. Iconic images of the saints and the technical aspects of their creation were revised. The carved figures were often not painted, the features became more strict and detailed. Traditional canons were not so strictly observed - new interpretations of iconography emerged. The works of the carver L. Shepka created in 1950's can serve as a vivid example of such tendency.
Folkloric themes. This group includes the images fixing traditional customs/rites that emphasized the peculiarities of a national culture. It is relevant to mention here the following works: "Get up, the newly-weds" by A. Mazhejka (1969), "The Hanging of a co-father-in-law" by A. I. Skietgilas (1983), "The game of lads" by A. Chesnulis (1981) and other. A separate group is formed by the sculptures of witches, stargazers, wise men, devils (especially widespread in the region of Samogitians of the Lithuanian SSR). Another element of this group was the folkloric characters. As a rule, they are captured in a certain movement, with emotions that can be easily read, a lot of objects are painted with bright, rich colors that strongly contrasts them to other wooden figures. It is worth to mention here the works "The Stargazer" and "A Wise man" by R. P. Matulenis (1986), "A priest and vestal virgin" by I. Uzhkurnis (1979), "Laughing devil" by G. Jurenas (1965).
Caricature plots. The irony and the sense of humor of folk carvers are evident here; they managed to show in wood the charmless features of human character/behavior and to express them via artistic language. This is one of the most popular plot line among the craftsmen of Soviet period. The images formulated by the sculptors fully reflected the system of ethical constants of the Soviet period and corresponded the propagandist politics of that time that was demonstrated by other forms of arts as well (literature, theatre, cinema, etc.). The most widespread ones include the following: gossips, sanctimony, greed, theft, etc. In this context it is relevant to mention the following works: "The Goody" by A. Bagochunas (1963), "The
Devil and the gossip" by S. Riauba (1966), "The Gos-sipers" by A. Chesnulis (1980's), etc.
The images of workers (cattleman, blacksmith, dairymaid, etc.). They also belong to the one of the most popular categories in the Soviet period. This category demonstrated new social roles in society. This was rather important, because the life style has undergone cardinal changes. Besides, there was a need to mark a high status of a common worker, to show the importance of middle class as a basis of modern society. The following sculptures are among the bright examples of this group: "The Blacksmith" (1958) P. Rudminas, "The Watchmaker" (1966) by S. Riauba, "The Harmonist" (1983) by A. Chesnulis, etc.
Political themes. The figures of this group demonstrate the attitudes of the USSR authorities towards the capitalistic order through the emphasis upon the problem of inequality and infringements of various population segments. Caricature imagery and allegories are predominantly used. The following sculptures can be classified as belonging to this theme: "A peasant on one leg" by K. Adomas (the exact date of creation is unknown), which shows the deficit of land among peasants, because all the lands belonged to the privileged class; "Messieurs" by S. Riauba (1960' s) shows a middle-aged couple with excess weight and a captured expression of defiance on their faces, etc.
Monumental memorial sculpture ofthe Soviet period is mostly famous by the following monuments: statuesque complex of victims' commemoration in the village Ablinga built in 1972, and "The Road of Churlionis" constructed in 1975. Both of them consist of monumental wooden sculptures carved by the best sculptors of that period. They amazingly combine national symbolic language of the Lithuanian culture with a widely spread in the USSR practice of constructing monumental complexes in honor of the events ofWorld War II and in order to perpetuate the memory of outstanding figures.
Abstract categories. On the one hand, it is one of the most politicized themes, on the other hand,
it is the most interesting manifestation of the national artistic language. For example, the sculptures "Peace" (1958) by N. Linkavichus and "Warmth" (1980) by R. Gindulis. Here the abstract categories gained a material expression in the wood, with national cultural codes being actively used.
Generally speaking, we should mention a variety of plots and images that appeared in Soviet period, however, despite of this, they didn't go beyond the limits of the sign-symbolic system of the existing political order. The wood and master remained, but the statues themselves ceased to exist in a "close" space of a man, they became detached, as any other object of arts. The sculpture is endowed with different functional field: transmission of new professions and forms of leisure, propaganda of political and aesthetic views of the emergent sign-symbolic codes in clothes, etc.
The Soviet influence can be traced in the carving stylistics as well. It should be mentioned that the authors of the Soviet period have moved away from the "naive" features in figures. The lines of sculptures became more confident and harder, the images themselves became dynamic, embodying a constant strive for the motion which characterizes the arts of the Soviet period in general. The influence of the socialistic realism with its laconism of forms, absence of small details and ornament - is rather evident. Its manifestation can be seen in the love to the material itself, in our case - to the wood, which led to a mass rejection of the polychromic painting of the sculpture. However, even if the painting was used, it didn't have a strict symbolic meaning, as it had in a religious field, but was used as an artistic addition.
At first sight, folk art and ideology seems to be incompatible, because the essence of the former is the realization of traditional aesthetic visions of ethnos that form during a long period in a context of the worldview of a traditional culture. The essence of the latter one is the substitution of a certain reality by another one, which fits a political order. While the influence upon the "high art" can be exerted by the
authorities and can be implemented rather quickly, the folk art doesn't fall so easily under such influence and demands a long time in order to incorporate the new elements into the traditional view of the world. Nevertheless, during the first decade after Lithuania entered the USSR, before any official decisions, a great number of works appeared, in which the influence of Soviet ideology in plots and production stylistics could be easily traced. The folk art was a reflection of the new reality and a tool to propagate new values and visions. At the same time, the socialistic themes were not the main ones, and a lot of works contained, though not religious, but national, folkloric motives. The wooden sculpture became a tool to preserve a memory about one's own, traditional culture and about the feats achieved by the previous generations. There is no doubt, that Sovi-
et ideology has virtually put an end to the existence of the religious wooden sculpture as a Lithuanian cultural phenomenon, but, simultaneously, it favored the development of carving ofwooden figures.
Thus, a range of serious changes in relation to the wooden sculpture has taken place in the Soviet period. First of all, it influenced the production process itself: the use of the new tools and technologies, the formation ofunions, creative classes where the masters could exchange their knowledge and discuss the themes of the future exhibitions. At the same time, this has exerted a powerful ideological influence upon the plot line ofthe wooden sculpture and cancelled out the creation and use of the cultic sculpture from everyday life. The latter was dramatically reflected in the status of a thing: once close and inalienable, it becomes a secular object, a symbol of folk culture, not its integral part.
References:
1. Римкус В. Литовское народное искусство в современной художественной жизни республики // Искусство Прибалтики: статьи и исследования. - Талин: Кунст, - 1981. - С. 123-140.
