Historic Insights
Jagiellonian University
A Path-dependent Approach to Cultural Programming in the Former Soviet Republics
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Brad Lister
At the time former Soviet republics regained their independence, the population was using the Russian language for most daily activities, the economies were structured with the state firmly in control, and generations had been taught history through the lens of the Soviet Union. The new governments faced many challenges in rebuilding themselves as nations, and one of these tasks included codifying new cultural policies that would nurture the reorientation of society around a uniquely native cultural paradigm. The new governments confronted challenging questions ranging from funding the cultural budget, representing minorities—including sizeable Russian minorities—in cultural activities, and even the role of the government in cultural programming. The former Soviet republics inherited cultural blueprints from the Soviet Union, and this paper explores the extent to which the cultural policies of the newly independent republics were path-dependent on the cultural policies of the Soviet Union.
The Encounter of the East and West at the Sao Paulo Biennial during the Cold War: Tracking the Origin of the Term Radical New Style in Taiwan's Art History View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Chieh-Hsiang Wu
Recently in Taiwan, the National History Museum (NHM) published its 3-volume archive of the ROC’s (Republic of China, Taiwan) participation in the São Paulo Biennial from 1957 to 1973. With similar ambition of building up diplomatic relations through art, the Biennial took the model of Venice Biennial and was inaugurated in 1951. In NHM's archive, the ROC was invited to exhibit its modern art in the name of “orthodox China”. While reporting the invitation to the Ministry of Education, the ROC’s ambassador in Brazil Li Jun-Di emphasized in the letter that the “Radical New Style” of art was strongly recommended, a term invented by him. The Style Taiwan's ambassador recommended might be traced back to the Bauhaus, whose post-war members such as Josef Albers and Max Bill had given lectures in Brazil in the 1950s. Their curriculum had been then adapted by the Brazilian activists for their socio-historical context. During that time. among the counties of the "free camp", abstract art from Brazil, Taiwan and Germany might have signaled the freedom of expression in contrast to the communist ideology. It was in fact an illusion for Taiwan which was under the Nationalist's rule of Martial Law (1949-1987). This paper tries to answer the origin of the "Radical New Style" regarding the art historiographic question. At the same time, this study is highly interested in looking into art history in a broader scope of international relations, especially during the Cold War, when the interpretation of art was deeply intermingled with ideologies.
Between Intimacy and Exposure: Faces of Creative Attitudes Towards the Camp Wound in Relations between Ukraine and Russia
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Kinga Anna Gajda
This study presents an interdisciplinary analysis of cultural testimonies of the unique wound left by the camps in Ukrainian-Russian relations. Gulag literature, explored for decades by the humanities, is perceived mainly through the prism of the heritage of totalitarian systems and creative attitudes in the face of suffering: extreme physical and mental experience. The paper analyzes the works of Ukrainian artists of the last decades created as a result of imprisonment. Their literary and film creations make up the image of a wound inflicted in the name of achieving imperial goals while imprisoned in a camp. The juxtaposition of their diverse artistic reactions to the suffering of testimonies helps to highlight the power with which the unsettled, forgotten, silenced, and now and unexpectedly updated wound of the camp past is reflected in today's attitude of Ukrainians towards Russians.
Interpretation and Participation: Allan Kaprow’s Experienced-based Pedagogy
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Rebecca Sprowl
Allan Kaprow had a long career as an experimental artist, educator, and educational reformer. In his speeches and essays, he made it clear that he was against the explicit teaching of formalist principles. He felt they were formulaic and outdated as they did not align with the new forms and innovations happening in the contemporary art world. Instead, he was a strong advocate for appointing artists as teachers, seeking to bring contemporary concerns into classrooms. Kaprow was not interested in the objectivity or measurability of art and his work with Happenings created a new relationship with form. In 1966, he outlined eleven rules for Happenings, one of which was that there should be no audience as the performances were created for the participants. With this rule, participation became his medium, and he found the most willing participants in his students. Kaprow looked to methods in children’s play when writing his scores, as it takes place naturally without a script or audience and is grounded in inquiry. As his Happening scores allowed for some level of interpretation, students inevitably took on some of the authorship, creating shared authorship with their teacher; raising ethical questions. An interesting comparison can be drawn between Kaprow’s Happenings with public-school adolescents and his older CalArts students, as they both displayed his interest in systems and their disruption or dismantling. They also explored the concept of futility, allowed the chance for complex social dynamics to ensue, and were generally reflective of some metaphor for life.
