Kharkiv Scenography School of O. Khvostenko-Khvostov: The Experience of Professionalization

The article is devoted to the early years of formation of Kharkiv scenography school and to the creative and pedagogical activities of Olexander Khvostenko-Khvostov (1895–1967). It was reported that the bold experiments of this artist, in the field of theatrical design of 1918–1922, made him one of the central figures of Kharkiv avant-garde scene (“Mystery Buff”; “The Army in the City”; “Lilyuli”, etc), strengthening the reputation of an innovator and causing the beginning of pedagogical activity at the Kharkiv Art College in 1921. The theatrical and decorative workshop was opened at the faculty of painting at the Kharkiv Art College in 1922, it was headed by A. Khvostenko-Khvostov. Among the first graduates were such bright alumni as A. Volnenko, P. Suponin, V. Ryftin, A. Bosulaev, B. Chernyshov, and others. Fundamental provisions of the educational program, which A. Khvostenko borrowed from the teaching practice of A. Exter (Kyiv Studio, 1918–1920), reflected the formation idea of future theater artist’s synthetic thinking. It is known that the education program of the Theater and Scenery Workshop of KAC, equally with the Studio of A. Exter, in addition to the subjects common to all students of painting and drawing faculty as special subjects (theatrical scenery, technique and technology of the stage, etc.) included also the history of theater (I. Turkeltaub), material culture, costume, music and literature (A. Beletsky). O. Khvostenko paid special attention to theoretical and practical issues of composition. He introduced the course of fundamentals of directing (V. Vasilko) as a compulsory subject. Much of what the students mastered at the Workshop was tested on the professional stages of Kharkiv theaters. Associated with the Kharkiv Art School for a quarter of a century (1921–1946), O. Khvostenko-Khvostov has not still been included in the pantheon of its outstanding teachers.

The Department of Restoration and Examination of Works of Art of the Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Arts in the History of Restoration in Slobozhanshchyna

The article is devoted to the scientific, practical and pedagogical experience of the Department of Restoration and Examination of Works of Art of the Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Arts throughout its existence in the context of the development of this industry in the historical territory of Sloboda Ukraine. The REWA department of KSADA is the only educational institution in the East of Ukraine that trains artists-restorers of easel and monumental painting, specialists in expertise. Over the years, the department has restored many hundreds of works of art, and graduates of the department successfully work in restoration and museum institutions in Ukraine and the EU. The establishment of the REWA department was preceded by a long historical process of restoration activities in the region, which dates back to the second half of the seventeenth century, the time of the founding of Slobozhanshchyna. The first local restorers were icon painters, who were invited to perform works of art in cities and monasteries. Later, in the nineteenth century, the role of restorers was performed by local, including well-known, painters (I. Bunakov, I. Kulikovsky, M. Uvarov). Restoration education in Slobozhanshchyna dates back to 1902, when the training and icon-painting workshop was opened in Sloboda Borysivka, where the restoration of icon-painting was taught for the first time in the historical Ukrainian lands. During the First World War, the unveiling of the icon of St. Nicholas of Miletus Monastery became a significant event in Kharkiv (1915). In the 1920s and 1930s well-known restorers and representatives of related professions who mastered the profession of a restorer (M. Kasperovych, I. Sviatenko, P. Fomin, etc.), worked in Kharkiv. A restoration workshop operated at the Ukrainian Art Gallery in 1930s, and in 1938 the first Ukrainian-language edition on this subject was published and a separate section devoted to restoration (V. Lokhanko “Artistic Materials and Painting Techniques”). In 1984, Kharkiv branch of the State Research and Restoration Workshops was opened. Higher restoration education in Slobozhanshchyna was started in 1988, as a section of painting restoration, which was transformed into an independent graduating department in 1994. Teachers and students of the department within the educational process carry out practical restoration of works of art, monitoring of private and museum collections, the state of preservation of monumental paintings. They develop and improve methods of restoration, publish and patent developments and discoveries. The Department of REWA is constantly working on improvement of teaching and methods of evaluating the work of students, planning to open new educational programs.

My Dad. Life and Art of Teacher and Artist Sergiy Solodovnyk

This article dwells upon the life path and the art of an artist and teacher, professor of Kharkiv Art and Industrial Institute (now Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Fine Arts) – Sergiy Solodovnyk (1915–1991) – my Dad. It is described in what way important events or important meetings with talented people can influence the development of personality, the formation of the artist’s and teacher’s views upon the methods of teaching and drawing and imagery in Arts, also the choice of the subject matter and genre. In artistic creation, both innate personality traits and those acquired in the process of studying the world, through which the artist passes in the process of creating a work of art and his formation as a person, as a lecturer or Teacher, are of great importance. The influence of his personality upon the students of several generations. His great importance in my life as a wise, delicate and caring dad. It is underlined in this article that good, honest deeds, love to people, homeland and to his direction in Art, sensitive attitude to the youth will always find reflection in human souls.

Kharkiv Art History School (1900s – early 2020s)

The article attempts to outline the activity of Kharkiv art history school from the time of its formation in the 1900s to the present day. The author reveals the main directions of research of university art history in Kharkiv, as well as figures of museum institutions who were engaged in the study of topical problems of art before the outbreak of Stalinist terror, when Kharkiv art history school was completely destroyed, and its representatives were either shot (F. Shmit, P. Fomin, K. Slipko-Moskaltsiv) or sent into exile (S. Taranushenko, P. Zholtovsky, D. Gordeiev, O. Berladina). It is emphasized that none of them ever returned to Kharkiv. This became a serious obstacle in the restoration of the scientific art history school in the city. This process lasted for a very long time in comparison with other artistic centers, Kyiv and Lviv in particular. The article reveals the traditions of art history science in Kharkiv, laid down in the first third of the 20th century before its destruction in the Stalinist period. The author also shows the changes in the organization of research activities in modern conditions, when university art history has become a thing of the past, and the scientific center has moved to the higher art institution of the city, which became the Kharkiv Institute of Art and Industry (the Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Arts from 2001).The main directions of the development of art history in this higher educational institution of art in Kharkiv are revealed. It is shown that, first of all, Ukrainian studios were resumed as a separate direction and such an outstanding phenomenon of Ukrainian national art as M. Boichuk’s school, destroyed during the Stalinist repressions, was reconstructed. Separate pages about some figures of the glorious cohort of Ukrainian masters who, with their work, personified the bright and tragic era for the Ukrainian creative intelligentsia of the 1920s, namely artist-writer M. Zhuk as well as representatives of the avant-garde phenomenon in the artistic culture of the 20th century in Kharkiv (V. Yermilov, B. Kosarev, A. Petrytsky), were also revealed. Not only was the range of Oriental studies restored, but to some extent expanded, the study of Far and Middle Eastern art was introduced, and the study of Ukrainian art Judaica and Jewish art was brought to the wider modern world. In the Soviet period this was impossible due to the policy of the Soviet power. Ukrainian theater decoration art, Ukrainian school of art photography, contemporary art became new directions. The development of established traditions and deepening of the study of the sacred art and modern art forms are among the prospects for further directions.

A Manuscript Waiting for its Reader: “A Word About Alma Mater” by Leonid Chernov

The goal of the article is to draw attention of the art community to the little‑known memoirs of Leonid Chernov (1915–1990), a famous Ukrainian graphic artist, professor of Kharkiv Art and Industrial Institute. These memoirs are called A Word about Alma Mater and exist as a 120‑page self‑published book. They provide an opportunity for modern readers to learn firsthand how art education was organized in Kharkiv Art College and Kharkiv Art Institute in the 1930s–1950s. The original text is kept in the artist’s family and exists only as a single typewritten copy. In recent decades, about a dozen scholars have had the opportunity to get acquainted with the literary heritage of L. Chernov. Only some theses from this unique text have been quoted in individual academic papers. Chernov’s memoirs are valuable both in terms of literary merit and in terms of truthful testimony about the aspirations and feelings of the author himself and the people close to him, about real historical facts and personalities with whom his fate and the fate of his home university were closely related. L. Chernov wanted to publish his memoirs in the form of an illustrated photo album, back in the 1980s. However, something then thwarted his intentions. At this stage, with the permission of the artist’s family, one of the fragments of such valuable material – the author’s theses to the memoirs and the first section of the main text is published. Unique photo documents from the artist’s albums are published together with the text.

Yevhen Pavlovich Yegorov’s Roads of Life

The article contains personal memories of communication and years of study and work with a Professor, an Honored Art Worker of Ukraine Ye. Yegorov (1917–2005). He appears before us as a person, teacher, rector and a founder of a whole dynasty of talented artists. His fate is viewed through the prism of life circumstances: his youth, the war, the development of the country, his attitude to art. The article shows Ye. Yegorov’s role in the development of KSADA, his professional and creative qualities. Everything shows his love for people and high demands on himself, the culture of drawing and painting, the education system. Much attention is paid to the dynastic traditions of the family, creativity and teaching activities of his son Serhiy and his grandson Yevgen Yegorov.

Based on the Experience of Cooperation of the Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Arts with Cherkasy State Technological University: Twenty Years of Experience

The article considers and analyzes the historical events of the twenty-year cooperation of the Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Arts with Cherkasy State Technological University. Practically all stages of formation of the Cherkasy School of Design in ChSTU are connected with the Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Arts (KSADA): starting with the Agreement between Cherkasy Engineering and Technological Institute (ChETI) and Kharkiv Art and Industrial Institute on the establishment of a general technical faculty – in 1999 year, the creation of the Department of Design in 2002, the first graduation of bachelors in 2005, specialists – in 2007 and masters – in 2009, holding regional, national and international conferences in 2008, 2010, 2017, respectively. They are years of not only fruitful cooperation, but of constant gaining experience of teachers, associate professors and professors of the Department of Design of ChSTU on educational, methodical and scientific work in KSADA. Constant involvement of leading specialists of KSADA in educational and methodical work: conducting entrance examinations of the first set of students-designers, teaching professional disciplines, management of diploma projects, chairing of state examination commissions on defence of diploma projects of bachelors, specialists and masters. Separately, the author draws the reader’s attention to the essential role of KSADA in the training of scientific personnel. Postgraduate studies, doctoral studies, systematic work of the specialized council K 64.109.01 became the launching pad for dozens of candidates of art history of Ukraine. 57% of the teaching staff of the Department of Design of ChSTU, who have a scientific degree, were engaged in postgraduate studies or defended a PhD degree at KSADA. The experience of cooperation at the modern level demonstrates the benefits of cooperation of related schools not only for the development of regional design centres, but also the methodology of design education in Ukraine in general.

The Symbolic Journey of E. Pavlov’s “Violin” from the Actual World to the Virtual and Back

Pavlov, Ye. & Pavlova, T. (2018). Violin. Kyiv: Rodovid. [In Russian & English].

Architectural Style as a Symbol of Hudprom: The History of Battles of a Hundred Years Ago

The article deals with the problems of finding a national style in architecture in the early twentieth century. The issues of the main polemical aspects of the choice of artistic language as an expression of the artistic direction of the institution, the influence of the stylistic decision on the symbolism of the content of the institution are considered. The events that preceded the construction: competitions, discussions, confrontations of political opponents formed a very relevant discussion in search of an authentic form that would express the Ukrainian spirit. This is what created a clear image of the building, which is an association and a business card with Hudprom.

The Poetics of the Ukrainian Font and Graphic Image of Hudprom: A 100-year Search

The article deals with the search for a graphic style for the Kharkiv Art School for the 100th anniversary of Hudprom (the previous informal name of KSADA). Based on a study of Ukrainian font tradition, a visual image was found that links different generations of Kharkiv artists. The author of the article shows how the bridge between the Kubo-Futuristic finds of Kharkiv art-craftsmen Vasyl Yermilov, Borys Kosarev and modern design thinking was stretched in the development of inscriptions and signs. The features of working with typographic and aesthetic clusters to reveal the identity of time and place in graphic design are described. A variable font has been developed, combining both grotesque and avant-garde forms and more plastic historical graphemes based on cursive heritage. The flower of Kosarev, which has become a graphic image of the academy, simultaneously in different contexts and compositional solutions embodies the flourishing Ukrainian modernism (historical background), as well as represents the modern multimedia postmodernist pattern.