Title of the article:

ARCHETYPES OF BORIS SMOTROV'S WORKS  AS A TOOL FOR NATIONAL SELF-IDENTIFICATION OF THE INDIVIDUAL IN CHAOTIC CONDITIONS OF THE TURN OF THE 21ST CENTURY 

Author(s):

Julia V. Romanenkova

Information about the author/authors

Julia V. Romanenkova — DSc in Arts, Professor, Kiev municipal Academy of Circus and Performing Arts, Zhilyanskaya St., 88, 01032 Kiev, Ukraine. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6741-7829. E-mail: libraryOM@gmail.com

Section

History of Arts

Year

2021

Volume

Vol. 60

Pages

pp. 237–248

Received

February 27, 2020

Date of publication

June 28, 2021

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37816/2073-9567-2021-60-237-248

Index UDK

75.051/76.769.2

Index BBK

85.103(2)7

Abstract

The paper discusses the works of Moscow artist Boris Smotrov. It provides a general analysis of the tools of his artistic style as well as the data on his main vectors of creative activity (painting, poster graphics). The author dwells on the master’s works in the field of painting, focusing on national themes. The study distinguishes dominant blocks of the painter's works (landscape, thematic painting), detects specifics of the artistic language, methods of working with color, his mastering of the line and pays attention to the interaction of painting and graphics in B. Smotrov’s creative baggage and his decorative manner. The paper addressees the main archetypes in the works of Smotrov (firebird, cow, apple, spring, Maslenitsa, etc.). The propensity for allegorical language is explained by his competent use of artistic means of creating a poster. The author analyzes individual features of B. Smotrov’s work with color, the creation of his own author's “patchwork” style as a result of creative transformation and rethinking of the influence of various styles and manners of individual artists, from A. Matisse to K. Petrov-Vodkin. The art of the master acts as an effective tool for debunking myths about the cheap popular character of Russian national motifs, and for combating superficial perceptions of them. The paper highlights worldview universals in culture as well as main problems of the art of the turning periods, one of which includes the creative path of B. Smotrov. The author pays special attention to the works of B. Smotrov as a tool for national self-identification of a creative person in conditions of cultural chaos at the turn of the century since they are on display at personal and collective exhibitions not only in Russia, but also in Austria, China, Korea, the United States and stored not only in Russian museums (Moscow, Perm, Tula), but also in private collections in China, USA, Switzerland. The study comes to the  conclusion that “patchwork style” by Boris Smotrov is a quintessence of the Russian in his works.

Keywords

contemporary Russian art, Boris Smotrov, splint, patchwork, decorative character, national idea.

References

1 Boris Smotrov. Likuiushchii krasnyi [Boris Smotrov. Gleeful red]. In: Cultobzor.ru. Available at: http://cultobzor.ru/2013/12/interview-boris-smotrov/ (accessed 21 December 2019). (In Russian)

2 Boris Smotrov. Iarkie effekty paradoksal'nykh obrazov [Boris Smotrov. Bright effects of paradoxical images]. In: ISTRANET. Available at: https://xn--80apydf.xn--p1ai/news/krome-golodovki/boris-smotrov-yarkie-effekty-paradoksalnyh-obrazov (accessed 21 December 2019). (In Russian) 

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9 Romanenkova Iu. K voprosu o roli etapa uchenichestva v stanovlenii individual'nogo stilia khudozhnika [On the role of apprenticeship`s stage in the formation of individual style of the artist]. Naukovі zapiski, 2018, vol. 170, pp. 22–28. (In Russian)

10 Khrenov N. Kul'tura v epokhu sotsial'nogo khaosa [Culture in the era of social chaos]. Moscow, Editorial URSS Publ., 2002. 448 p. (In Russian)

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