Повний текст - Інститут проблем сучасного мистецтва

The distinctive features of the fine arts in the Soviet UkraineAlready in the early post-war years the posters and caricatures became oneof the spiritual factors of Ukraine’s culture and self-consciousness development.The artists started to work without war censorship, though the ideologicalclutches intensified their pressure on the creators — this might be explained bythe beginning of «the cold war», ideological, military and political confrontationof East and West. On coming back from the war the Ukrainian artists started toexperience the clutches and strict instructions that gradually drove them into acorner of the primitive topics.The common themes, topical social problems of the everyday life that usedto be far from the politics provided larger scopes for creation of the satiregraphic artists in the post-war period.The printed output returned to its pre-war volumes after the war, masters ofthe graphic arts began to work over the illustrations to the Soviet and foreign classics.The contemporary Ukrainian literature held a significant place in the worksof the artists. Creators of the elder and younger generations tried to restore thearsenal of the expressive means of book graphics. The best works of the leadingUkrainian artists of 1940–1950 gave a sense of resistance to the government ideologyto follow the shallow canons of the vital activity. Servile flattering to the socialorders of the Party clique guided for «varnished» and pseudo-optimistic depictionof the reality. It should be mentioned though that there was much development ofthe style and characters in many types of graphic arts that led to the qualitativechange in the art of many Ukrainian masters in the middle of 1950. V. Kasian,O. Pashchenko, M. Deregus, O. Dovhal, Z. Tolkachov, I. Dayts, V. Myronenko,O. Kulchitska, O. Danchenko, O. Shovkunenko, V. Lytvynenko, K. Agnit,V. Hlyvenko, O. Koziurenko, B. Shapoval, O. Reznychenko, F. Samysev and manyothers were working productively in the genres of poster, caricature, book illustration,and easel-graphics. The artists did not lose their individual manner andstyle; even under the Stalin’s dictate they did not betray their creative approachand adhered to the national and progressive traditions. Unfortunately, the greatpowerpoliticians had many followers among the Soviet art nomenclature.The Thaw years changed the features of the many Ukrainian periodicals —the manner of illustrations and subjects got new tendencies. At the end of 1950there appeared feeble attempts to turn back to the formal ideas and plasticsearches. The tendency would get specific features only in 1960 — the lag momentwas explained by the violent acts of the peripheral environment.595