"In considering the relevance to aesthetics of traditions and of the knowledge embodied in artistic traditions, we can begin by looking at aesthetic reactions in terms of practical knowledge. Practical knowledge is knowledge of how to act, and, by extension, of how to feel. It is knowledge of the responses and feelings that are called for by specific circumstances. Practical knowledge is, in other words, the sort of knowledge that underlies moral activity and aesthetic appreciation. A man who responds to circumstances or to objects on impulse or at random and with no consistency manifests his lack of such knowledge."
(Cooper D. A Companion to Aesthetics. – Great Britain, 1996. – P. 431.)
Amongst the many art exhibitions which were held during the Soviet era, the exhibition “Svétki” (Celebrations) in 1972 at the exhibition hall of the Institute of Scientific Technical Information and Propaganda of the Republic of Latvia (the Stock Exchange building) during the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic’s 9th Young Artist’s Exhibition can be singled out. This displayed examples of Op Art, Pop Art and Kinetic Art to the wider Latvian public – under the label of design, of course.
The Historical Situation
The year of the exhibition – 1972 – can be related to a period in the Latvian Soviet Socialistic Republic (LSSR) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) which historians refer to as “stagnation” (1960–85). Paraphrasing the slogan of the Soviet authorities, this situation could be defined as totalitarian in form and utopian in content.
As an illustration of the era I will use Gunårs Astra’s statement expressed in the LSSR High Court hearing on 15 December 1983: “It is necessary for a person as a reasonable being to constantly receive information about the objective world: the more diverse, the better. It was recognised long ago that if opposing viewpoints are not expressed then from what does one make a choice? Audiatur et altera pars! A lack of information makes a person unable to make the right decisions, condemns their thinking to atrophy – if their thinking manages to develop at all. A person with atrophied thinking is an inferior, degraded person, they are an object of manipulation, a doll, a slave.“ (XX gadsimta latvietis – Gunārs Astra (XX century Latvian – Gunårs Astra), Rîgas Laiks, 1998, Nr. 2, pp. 6–7)
Why the applied arts students?
Since the late 1960s, the newspaper “Literatüra un Måksla” (Literature and Art) began to publish a number of significant articles by painter Ojårs Åbols, which were dedicated to the concepts of “space” and “environment” and their artistic expression (Åbols O. Vide un cilvéks, måkslinieks un arhitekts (The Environment and the Person, Artist and Architect), Literatüra un Måksla. 13 June 1970; Åbols O. Laiks, telpa un poézija.(Time, Space and Poetry), Literatüra un Måksla, 19 February 1972; Åbols O. Arhitekts, måkslinieks un vide (The Architect, Artist and Environment), Literatüra un Måksla, 14. October 1972).
These publications and the exhibitions of “design” organised by Estonian artist Bruno Tomberg, with the support of Voldemårs Íusts, head of the Interior Design Department of the State Academy of Art served as an inspiration for the idea of a Riga exhibiton of the work of the Applied Arts students of the Academy of Art (The first exhibition initiated by Bruno Tomberg, “Space and Form” was held in 1969 in Tallin, and the last – the fifth – in 1989).
In relation to the quotation of Gunårs Astra, it must be explained that it was the applied arts students who were those to fill the informative space, who became messengers of the new artistic direction.
What was the significance of the exhibition "Svētki"?
The exhibition “Svétki” was set up by a collective of 49 artists led by Jånis Pipurs. (Jånis Pipurs was the chief artist of the exhibition, but it was also conceptually contributed to by a committee: Jånis Borgs, Laimonis Íenbergs, Leo Preiss, Viesturs Vilks, N. ivulis, Valdis Celms, Jånis Osis).
The exhibition was comprised of works with differing “feels”, which were divided into four different themes: “State Celebrations”, “Work Celebrations“, “Youth Celebrations” as well as “Song and Dance Festivals and Carnivals“. Jånis Osis’ suggestion for the overall layout of the exhibition was accepted. This layout prescribed a total replanning of the space, dividing it into boxes of even dimensions (2m x 2m x 2m) and lifting some of these to the second floor level. In this way a view from various perspectives was provided and part of the second story art works were created on the one plane.
Of course, one cannot deny the dues paid to ideology in this exhibition, which were included in the theme “State Celebrations”. This was also demonstrated by the introductory text to the exhibition catalogue written by Jånis Borgs: “This (the exhibition) is dedicated to the planned application of the artistic possibilities of colour and form. This is demonstrated by the diversity of spatial treatments, which have been arranged for youth and for a theme so important to our era, “Celebrations”, particularly referring to the 50th anniversary of the Soviet Union” (Borgs, J., Republikas jauno mākslinieku 9. darbu izstādes katalogs (Catalogue of the Republic’s 9th Young Artists Exhibition), Riga, 1972).
The installations for the theme “State Celebrations” were created by a group led by Jånis Borgs, Laimonis Íénbergs and Henrihs Vorkals. To my mind, the work of this group successfully demonstrated the existing syllogism, which was included in the Soviet Union’s tendency to politicize art. There is no need to say that the art works for this theme were central to the layout of the exhibition. They were executed in the minimalist style, utilising an interplay of one colour and different planes, reflecting various symbols of Soviet power. Photographs of these objects have been preserved and the design for “State Celebrations” by Jånis Borgs‘ installation group allows one to discuss conscious reference to the traditions of Soviet Constructivism of the 1920s. In a review of the exhibition “Svétki”, artist Ojårs Åbols wrote about this group: “The theme “State Celebrations” has been executed in a monumental way. (..) A number of symbols and their distinctive treatment create interest: in the centre – a step pyramid – the most ancient type of monumental architecture with a pulsting light at its zenith, similar to a lighthouse. But the step pyramid is represented in perspective, split off and as if from the inside! This creates an illusion of volume. The inverted has become expanded. The space transforms to relativity right before our eyes. A large star is interpreted as an elementary structure.” (Åbols O. Laiks, telpa un poézija).
Another style, that of Op Art, was used in the theme of “Youth Celebrations“. The leader of this group was Jånis Andris Osis. The group consisted of Ausma Auziña, Maija Galdiña, Dace Kokina, Visvaldis Kokins and Lauma Lancmane. (Interview with Jånis Pipurs, Jånis Osis, Viesturs Vilks and Valdis Celms, Riga, 8 April 2000. Notes from the personal archive of the author). There were three thematic variations. The works in this theme were also all executed in shades of the one colour. The white color created a feel of lyric lightness. In turn, with the help of thread and paper it was possible to achieve an an illusory monochromatic image in a three-dimensional space, about which Ojårs Åbols wrote: “Discretely fashioned light energy, “a wandering of white energy” (Paul Klee), makes the space into an intangible substance. Here there is much music and dreaming“(Åbols O. Laiks, telpa un poézija).
A group led by Nora ivule and Auseklis Ozoliñß worked on the theme of “Work Celebrations”. The kinetic objects in this theme were also made in an Op art style. The materials utilised suited the theme: metal wires and bent pipes. These helped to make an association with electric circuitry: “Vital constructivism, a symbol – the unceasing movement and urge to move towards the centre, that is, a sign of humanity’s never-ending search for the essence of the matter, an electronic circuitry scheme and a light hidden in an object, which shines through in certain places – which tells us in a picturesque way of energy locked withinthe substance. Organic forms interchange with synthetic ones.” (Åbols O. Laiks, telpa un poézija).
The most colourful interpretation was provided by the kinetic objects in the theme “Song and Dance Festivals and Carnival“. This was represented by proportionally the largest number of objects, which stylistically displayed variations of both Op Art and Pop Art. Similarly to essays on a “free topic“, it was here where creativity could be expressed the most strongly. The leaders of this group were Leo Preiss and Viesturs Vilks. The kinetic fish by Jånis Krievs and Valdis Lîcîtis was made in a Pop Art style. Relating to the tendency to use utilitarian objects in Pop Art, the central part of this work was a hanging blow-up fish, painted silver, which moved in an uncharacteristic way, as if jerking with electric shocks. The sub-text was more than the simple interpretation of “suffocating fish”.
It must be noted that engineer Valdis Kleinbergs constructed an interconnected electric grid.to provide for the technical needs of the kinetic objects. Kleinbergs was invited to participate by Aldona Veide, one of the authors of the exhibition (Interview with Jånis Pipurs, Jånis Osis, Viesturs Vilks and Valdis Celms, Riga, 8 April 2000). The kinetic objects were synchronised in terms of light and movement, but not allowing the viewer to completely understand the interconnection between them.
This part of the exhibition also had individual works. Among these was the legendary “Soft Floor”, by Viesturs Vilks. This was made from a mattress block, which had been sewn in between two pieces of canvas and sheets of veneer, between which were squeaking rubber toys, invisible to the eyes of the viewer. This provided the floor with instability and sound. From a contemporary view, this installation was ironic in the fact that the toys had been bought at “Bérnu Pasaule” (well-known Riga Department Store “Children’s World”) and were rubber soldiers with painted soviet army uniforms, chosen for a totally pragmatic reason – they squeaked the loudest. (Interview with Jånis Pipurs, Jånis Osis, Viesturs Vilks and Valdis Celms, Riga, 8 April 2000).
Valdis Celms also created both of his works independently: “Rotating Cylinders“ and “Op Art Cube Installation”. (Interview with Jånis Pipurs, Jånis Osis, Viesturs Vilks and Valdis Celms, Riga, 8 April 2000).
Ojārs Ābols evaluated the works in this section in the following way: “The rotation and uncoordinated movement reminds one of the whirls of a dance. The fantastical fish makes strange movements in the spectrally flooded infinity, where gravity has been removed. The silver foil makes colourful shadows, which look like fantastic calligraphic signs. These move with the help of the viewer. All of these forms have a sense of growing uneasiness, and are full of changeability and fantasticism.” (Åbols O. Laiks, telpa un poézija)
Meaning
This exhibition was undoubtedly proof that diverse artistic directions co-existed in Latvian artistic life in the 1970s and 80s. On one hand, earlier artistic styles continued to develop and adapt to suit the new era; on the other hand, new artistic directions also appeared alongside these. This occured slightly later, irrespective of the supposed “iron curtain“ – Latvia observed the trends of Pop Art, Op Art, Minimalism, Conceptualism and Kinetic Art.
Not long after the exhibition in 1972, defining new trends and noting changes in the functionality of art, Ojårs Åbols wrote: “The world is becoming more colourful, and a new tempting challenge has presented itself to artists: to create an informative psychological model of this world.” (Åbols O. Arhitekts, måkslinieks un vide)
Nevertheless in the 1970s–80s, the system for classifying art accepted during the Soviet era continued to be used by the official administration of arts organisations and in their evaluation criteria. In accordance with the existing pyramidical system of art administration there was no place assigned to visually adaptable art forms such as happenings, performances, objects and installations. Under this system, photography was also not accepted as an independent art form, equal with other art forms. However, in reality, artistic activities undoubtedly occurred outside the strictly prescribed confines of art forms, undergoing periods of ebb and flow.