Oxford Art Journal Essay Prize Winner 2018 La maladie de porcelaine: Liu Jianhua’s Regular/Fragile (2007) at Oxburgh Hall and the History of Massed Porcelain Display in English Aristocratic Interiors

AbstractThe paper examines the model value of the Mughal period in MARG, the leading art journal of 1940s and 1950s India. It combines a discussion of some of the key historiographical questions of Indian art history and the role played by specific art historians, including European exiles who were among the contributors to the journal, with broader questions on the interaction of national cultural identity with global modernism. In this context, the Mughal period—celebrated in MARG for its synthesis of foreign and indigenous styles—was consistently put forward as an example for contemporary artists and architects. From its inception in 1946 until the 1960s the review favoured a return to the spirit of India's prestigious artistic past, but not to its form. Its editorials and articles followed a clearly anti-revivalist and cosmopolitan line. It aimed at redressing misunderstandings that had long undermined the history of Indian art and surmounting the perceived tensions in art and architecture between a so-called Indian style and a modern, international one.

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ХУДОЖНЬО-ОБРАЗНЕ ТА ЗМІСТОВНЕ ВТІЛЕННЯ НАРОДНИХ ТРАДИЦІЙ В УКРАЇНСЬКОМУ ТЕАТРІ ПОЧАТКУ XX СТОЛІТТЯ (ЗА МАТЕРІАЛАМИ ЖУРНАЛУ "НОВЕ МИСТЕЦТВО")

Art and Design ◽

10.30857/2617-0272.2021.1.10 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 107-119

Author(s):

О. Г. Рибченко

Keyword(s):

Primary Source ◽

Practical Significance ◽

Stage Design ◽

Folk Traditions ◽

History Analysis ◽

Art Journal ◽

Theatrical Performances ◽

Methods Of Synthesis ◽

History Of ◽

Artistic Heritage

The purpose to demonstrate the implementation of folk traditions in the 1920s scenography on the example of two theatrical performances: “Sava Chaly” (Theatre “Berezil,” Kharkiv, 1927) and “The Fair at Sorochyntsi” (State Ukrainian Opera, Kyiv, 1925) based on the materials of the archival editions of the “New Art” journal (Kharkiv, 1925–1928). Methodology. The methodological basis of the study is a systematic approach, methods of synthesis, generalization, comparative historical and art history analysis. Results. The review of the archival issues of the weekly “New Art” journal allowed to confirm that folk traditions played a prominent role in theatre art at the beginning of the XX century and served as a source of inspiration for scenographers, composers, performers etc. The study indicates the importance of the “New Art” journal as a primary source of information on the cultural events in Ukraine. Based on its issues, the study analyses the publications and photo materials on the scenography of the “Sava Chaly” (Theatre “Berezil,” Kharkiv, 1927) and “The Fair at Sorochyntsi” (State Ukrainian Opera, Kyiv, 1925) performances. The elements of Ukrainian folk art in these performances were emphasised. It is noted that evocation of the folk traditions in the scenography was both a showcase and a guarantee of the preservation of the ethnocultural phenomena in the theatrical environment of the period. The novelty of the study is the identification of the specifics of the use of folk traditions and ethnic elements in the scenography of the 1920s, as well as the introduction into the scientific discourse of the “New Art” journal's issues, which offer materials on the implementation of the folk traditions by directors, stage designers and performers. The practical significance. The study can be useful for research of the history of Ukrainian scenography; the analysis of the artistic heritage of stage designers of the XX century's leading theatres is vital for enriching the modern Ukrainian stage design.

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“...This plan was conceived by me...”: On the background of D. Merezhkovskiy’s forgotten letter to the editors of the “Mir Iskusstva”

Sibirskiy filologicheskiy zhurnal ◽

10.17223/18137083/76/7 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 87-99

Author(s):

Elena A. Andrushchenko ◽

Keyword(s):

Public Debate ◽

Ancient Greek ◽

Leading Role ◽

Art Journal ◽

History Of

The paper clarifies the circumstances of the publication of a little-known letter by D. Merezhkovskiy in the “Mir Iskusstva” (“World of Art”) journal. The letter was published under the same rubric as a letter by Yu. Ozarovskiy, director of the Alexandrinsky Theatre, a person far from the journal’s editorial board, giving the impression of a public debate between like-minded people. Recreating the details of the struggle for setting ancient Greek tragedies in D. Merezhkovskiy’s translations on the stages of Russian theatres, based on forgotten publications of those years, indicates that the staging of “Hippolytus”, a tragedy by Euripides, was regarded by the “Mir Iskusstva” association as evidence of the effectiveness of their program in the struggle for new theatrical art. It was not D. Merezhkovskiy who played the leading role in this process, as he wrote in his letter, but D. Filosofov, who sought to stage the tragedy as a mystery play. Disagreements between D. Merezhkovskiy and the creative association of the “Mir Iskusstva” appeared later, when their aesthetic, religious, and philosophical views began to differ. However, during the production of “Hippolytus”, these differences did not prevent them from participating in joint projects as a new artistic force. It should be recognized that ancient Greek tragedies in D. Merezhkovskiy’s translations played a part in the history of the Russian theatre: the debate about the concept of performances, the specifics of L. Bakst’s sets, and musical accompaniments was an important step in the development of the theatre in expanding its expressive capabilities.

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