Ukrainian book art: ways of formation and development

The purpose of the article is to study the development of the directions of Ukrainian book art, the formation of new creative features in the European cultural space. The research methodology consists in the application of general scientific methods (analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction) and methods of art history (comparative, typological, descriptive). The scientific novelty lies in the study of book art, which has always been important in Ukrainian art. Conclusions. Today, we have a large amount of fine works in the genre of book illustrations. These works reflected both the history of the Ukrainian literature, history of the national graphic art, as well as the history of cultural progress of Ukraine in general. Thus, book art is an extremely fruitful object of study, an intersection point, where the complicated process of interaction of socio-political, spiritual, cultural and artistic and aesthetic factors is underway. Thus, Ukrainian book graphics in different periods reflected all European trends – modernism, symbolism, neo-primitive art, futurism, cubism, expressionism, constructivism, realism, surrealism, Art Deco, neoclassicism. The originality of the artistic language emerged through the use of traditional motifs and vanguard image creation tools. Keywords: research, culture, illustration, book, art, national traditions.

Sztuka zwierząt i „paradygmat siatkówkowy” — czym nie jest estetyka ewolucyjna

In the article I defend some of the thesis presented in my book ‘Art as Adaptation: Universalism in Evolutionary Aesthetics’ (Sztuka jako adaptacja: uniwersalizm w estetyce ewolucyjnej) (2018) against the claims of my critics. I focus especialy on some misreadings regarding the explanatory power of evolutionary science. I try to show that even though evolutionarily informed aesthetics is not a handy tool for analyzing the intrinsically diverse currents of modern and neo-avant-garde art, it does an excellent job of explaining the mental tendencies and typical behaviors behind these practices. I also focus on the artistic abilities of animals and the problematic dominance of the visuality paradigm in the evolutionary approach, topics that are unjustifiably considered to be most momentous in evolutionary aesthetics.

Twórczość jako adaptacja? Sztuka zagrożona wyginięciem…

In this paper I try to defend contemporary art (avant-garde and post-modern) from the criticism of evolutionary aesthetics. Referring to selected theses put forward by Jerzy Luty in his book Art as Adaptation. Universalism in Evolutionary Aesthetics (2018), I propose an alternative to them in the form of philosophical anthropology (Gehlen) and evolutionary theory considered as bricolage (Jacob). Above all, I challenge the hypotheses of the evolutionarily and biologically adaptive function of art and the condition of pleasure it must necessarily provide.

The Image of Petrushka in Russian Children’s Books of the 1920s — Early 1930s

The image of Russian puppet theater’s main character, Petrushka, played an important role in the history of Russian culture and embodied some important features of the national character. His images are quite widely and variously represented on the pages of children’s books. At the beginning of the 20th century and in the first post-revolutionary years, publications about the adventures of Petrushka fulfilled an important mission: they recorded characteristic examples of folk art, preserved the memory of farcical performances, and supported the tradition of the art of “Petrushka makers”. The books served as manuals for novice puppeteers.In the 1920s — early 1930s, Petrushka continued to be one of the most popular characters of children’s books and aroused interest of many Russian writers and graphic artists. This indicates their desire to find a basis and support in the popular laughter culture, to continue its traditions, to bring elements of theatrical aesthetics into books.Using a complex of methods of book, art and source studies, the article aims to consider the transformation of the image of Petrushka in children’s books of the 1920s — early 1930s.The author draws attention to the significant differences between the literary component of such publications and their visual range. Writers, as a rule, sought to “re-educate” the areal joker and brawler, to ennoble his manners, modernize his appearance, and involve the popular character in solving actual ideological and pedagogical problems. Artists were more careful about the canonical, historically formed image of Petrushka, resisted too radical reinterpretation of it. Of particular interest in this regard are the illustrative cycles of I.S. Efimov, A.I. Sokolov-Asi, A.A. Radakov, V.M Konashevich, L.V. Popova, F.F. Kondratov.The best writers and artists of those years managed to preserve the most essential features of the character, breathe new life into him, save him from oblivion, from complete loss of identity, and pass him on to new generations of creators and readers of children’s books.

Visualizing Superman: Artistic Strategizing in Early Representations of the Archetypal Man in Comic Books

In 1933, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, two Jewish teenagers from Ohio, fashioned an ideal personality called Superman and a narrative of his marvelous deeds. Little did they suspect that several years after conceptualizing the figure and their many vain attempts to sell the story to various comic book publishers, their creation would give rise to the iconic genre of comic book superheroes. There is no doubt that the Superman character and the accompanying narrative led to Siegel and Shuster, the writer and artist, respectively, becoming famous. However, was it only the appealing character and compelling narrative that accounted for the story’s enormous popularity, which turned its creators into such a celebrated pair, or did the visual design play a major part in that phenomenal success? Recent years have seen a burgeoning interest in the comic book medium in several disciplines, including history, philosophy, and literature. However, little has been written about its visual aspect, and comic book art has not yet been accorded much recognition among art historians. Since the integration of storyline and art is what allow the comic book medium to be unique and interesting, I contend that there should be a focus on the art as well as on the narrative of works in comic books. In the present study, I explore the significance of the visual image in the prototype of the Superman figure that Siegel and Schuster sold to DC Comics and its first appearance in the series American Comic Books. I argue that although the popularity of Superman’s first appearance was due to the conceptual ideals that the character embodied, the visual design of the ideal man was also an essential factor in its success. Accordingly, through a discussion of the first published Superman storyline, I emphasize the artistic-visual value of the figure of this protagonist in particular and the comic book medium in general.

The Philosophy of the “Late” Era of the UkrSSR: Specificity of Criticism of Bourgeois Theories (a Case Study of the Books by Larysa Levchuk)

The article examines the specifics of philosophical criticism in the period of the “late” UkrSSR Western concepts of philosophy, psychology, and arts using Larysa Levchuk’s books “Art in the Struggle of Ideologies” and her “Psychoanalysis: From the Unconscious to ‘Fatigue of Consciousness’”. The specific involvement in the Soviet philosophical discourse of the theoretical achievements of psychoanalysis in all its forms is shown, as well as the acquaintance of the Soviet reader with the ideas of the cult artists of the West with the help of these books. Among the representatives of “neorealism”, which played a significant role in the development of art, especially in Italy and France, L. Levchuk focuses on the works of R. Guttuso, C. Levy, V. Pratolini, R. Rossellini, V. de Sica, A. Fougeron, and others.The book “Art in the Struggle of Ideologies” was published in 1985, when at the official level it was not so much about “perestroika” but “acceleration of socio-economic development”. The book is written from the standpoint of “philosophical socialistic realism”, when the presentation and conclusions are adjusted to the externally set ideological pattern, although it differs in professionalism and breadth of coverage. The author’s application of the theory of psychoanalysis in the study of the phenomena of Western art deserves special attention. The book “Psychoanalysis: From the Unconscious to ‘Fatigue of Consciousness’” was published in 1989, at the peak of perestroika. It is built on the same typological material (only with the involvement of a much wider range of ideas and sources) and testifies the author’s free possession of this material, its statement introducing the readers to the range of problems stated in the book.The conclusions indicate that the introduction of concepts of Western philosophical thought and the names of Western artists in the intellectual circulation of society of the UkrSSR expanded its worldview, creating a sense of richness and diversity of artistic and philosophical life abroad. The removal of ideological pressure in the midst of perestroika showed that some philosophers of the Soviet era were freely oriented in the global philosophical, culturological, and psychological thought.The study of the past, including the philosophy of the USSR, is a necessary condition for creating a holistic picture of that era and clarifying a number of current trends.

Влияние конструктивизма на дизайн башкирских национальных печатных изданий 20-х – начала 30-х гг. ХХ в.

Introduction. The article discusses the features of Bashkiria’s printed matter as of the 1920s–1930s through the lens of typographics and artistic design. Goals. The work analyzes design patterns, features of font compositions, and identifies the influence of Constructivism on the shaping of their stylistic essentials through specific examples of book covers, magazines, and posters published in the 1920s–1930s in the Republic of Bashkortostan. The authors show how the synthesis of European trends and national traditions of Arabic writing determined the originality of the then Bashkortostan’s graphic designs. Results. The article shows how the ornamental character of Arabic script was transformed into dynamic compositions of covers and title pages characteristic of Constructivism. Conclusions. Nowadays, the public are again trying to outline ways to develop the national book art. Therefore, the experience and traditions from the printing art of early 20th-century Arabic and Cyrillic editions are again in demand. Nobody doubts the significance and greatness of the national cultural heritage, the need to develop it, the need to understand what happened through the prism of national consciousness. The appeals to artistic and aesthetic ideas, creative experiments of the Russian hinterland, traditions that existed in other republics and peoples at the beginning of the 20th century do enrich the history of domestic graphic design. All these together serve sources of inspiration for contemporary art experts, book artists and design practitioners.

Readers and Their Pleasures

The chapter explores the ways in which the high value of reading and, especially, its association with various kinds of pleasure were constructed and conceived in Byzantium. More specifically, it examines what the effect of reading was, how its experience was perceived, and who was conceived as the ideal reader. It also explores the social profile of readers in Byzantium, and demarcates two main types of readers from the perspective of the typology of ideal discourse: the “ritual” and the “aesthetic” reader, the former predicated on the likely existential transformation enacted by reading, and the latter focused on the materiality and sensuality of reading. In relation to the aesthetics of reading, the chapter also examines the public recitation of texts in Byzantium as well as Byzantine “book art” (both the illustration and the decoration of manuscripts).

Spatiotemporal Concepts in Book Art

The perception of a book as an architectonical construction is a well-known fact. We could use the stage as a metaphor for the book, or, in other concepts the book becomes the equivalent of an exhibition space or even replaces it. In all these metaphoric circumlocutions the book not only reproduces content, but itself functions as an exhibition place, a stage, or another conception of space. Curiously enough, the consideration of the material aspects of books are taken into account at a time when digitalisation seems to dissolve the material body of books and, while theory makes it clear that texts and books are not equivalent. Therefore the question of what characterises a book is raised again. This question must take into account the variety of different approaches to books throughout the centuries. The perception of the book and, moreover, its relation with the user or reader becomes visible mainly through material aspects. The awareness of the spatial dimension of a book goes back to at least the Medieval period or even earlier.