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Folk Art
The aesthetic aspirations of the people, their opinions, ideas, and national peculiarities obtained their reflection in poetical and material kinds of art, which can be rightfully attributed to the decorative and applied arts. As an integral part of the material culture of the people, arts were developed mainly to satisfy the immediate household and economic needs. Home and its interior decoration, tools and utensils, clothes and household items could be characterized by convenience, utility, functionality; however, constructive logic and reasoning of forms, were often highlighted in some type of decor, which strengthened undoubted artistic merits of the products of craftsmen.
Belarusian folk art was developed mainly as a home craft, and only some of its kinds had a trade character and could be presented at the market. Its limited use for household only and week connection with the market determined characteristic features of the Belarusian folk art: deep traditionality, pronounced functional orientation of products, generalization of forms, mainly geometric decor of the symbolic nature.
Those principles to solve utilitarian and decorative tasks were used by craftsmen, involved in the artistic treatment of wood – the most common and all-purpose material for the people of the forest zone of Europe. Rich decorative carving was not a distinctive feature of the products of the Belarusian craftsmen; their artistic expressiveness was reached by plasticity and original sculptural forms. In the shape of small carved utensils we can view some zoomorphic motifs – an echo of the ancient cults of animals and birds. Some of the items, first of all, tools, used for flax processing, were decorated with ornamental carvings. The dominant place belonged to geometric triangular and sinuate carving, traditional for the Slavs and other nations in Europe.
Logic and functionality of forms were features of pottery samples, the production of which was common. Their artistic aspect was created by plasticity and perfect shape, underlined and strengthened by natural characteristics of the material, and peculiarities of chemicothermal processing – fuming or tempering. Secrets of these ancient utilitarian and artistic techniques, long ago forgotten in Europe, have been preserved in Belarus until the present day. Complicated shapes and bright paintings were uncommon for the traditional Belarusian pottery. The same features distinguished a jiguline toy. Its shape was extremely generalized and compact, stylistics during many centuries of its existence has changed a little; yet until recently many craftsmen created a jiguline toy, that reminded archeological finds by its shape.
Braiding from natural materials – straw, withe, root, bark, etc. – was a very typical and traditional folk handicraft. With its artistic features, products made from straw – almost idolized material for the agricultural cultures – could be put in the first place. Plasticity and expressive shape were features of the big vessels for dry substances made from straw wisps; clearly identified decorativeness was a feature of caskets, cases, boxes from traditional straw braiding. The original spatial structures from straw (“spider”) were attached to a ceiling in the “red” corner. The applique technique of straw on wood was used to decorate trunks, frames, saltcellars.
Refinement and delicacy of colors and ornamental patterns were features of woven articles; an important place among those belonged to towels (“rushnik”), which performed not only utilitarian and decorative functions, but also an important ceremonial one. Traditional colors of these articles were created by the combination of bleached and unbleached flax threads of warp and weft, which formed a delicate white and silver geometric drawing. Ancient rhombogeometrical motifs predominated in woven or embroidered ornaments of symbolic red color.
We can observe the intensification of the visual, decorative side of the Belarusian folk art from the beginning of XIX century in connection with the development of capitalism and associated with it socio-economic changes in the traditional way of life. Better interior designing, equipment and general view of the national house with a “clean” part of it (“svyatlitsa”) caused the need for its decoration. Decorative fabrics, lacy items, figured ceramics, embroideries, etc. became widespread in decoration of the interior; in harmony with those went new types of folk art – delicate paper patterns (“vytinanka”), paintings on wood, fabrics, glass.
Those tendencies become more evident in folk art of recent decades. Many traditional utilitarian handicrafts yielded to manufactured ones; and folk art began to loose its practical basis. But it has not disappeared finally as it could be expected. On the contrary, there is a clear tendency towards its revival and development, associated with national and cultural processes of the recent time and the evident increase in the interest in national traditions and cultural heritage. Those kinds of folk art, in which decorative and visual aspects prevail, experience a second birth. Today, goods of craftsmen are used primarily as works of art, unique gift items, original national souvenirs, etc. Such changes in the functions of folk art could not fail to influence its formal aspect. Shape and decor become more complicated, the range of colors enriches, new methods and techniques of material treatment are applied.
Clearly illustrates these processes straw braiding – one of the most famous kinds of modern Belarusian folk art. Articles for household and ceremonial purposes became the property of the museums’ collections; at the same time, decorative items from straw (caskets, baskets, trays, sweet plates, etc.), and especially – various plastic figures of people, birds, animals, became very popular. Applique of straw on wood got a governmental recognition. Caskets, trunks, pictures, decorated with golden or polychrome straw patterns, are in demand not only in our country, but also abroad.
Artistic treatment of wood is developing today mainly in the form of machine-tool sculptural carving, which is used to decorate parks, children’s playgrounds, memorials and commemorative sites. Religious themes, once dominating in traditional wooden sculpture, gave way to everyday, folklore, and historical images. National hand weaving became more brisk; many weavers came back to their recently abandoned looms. Polychromy with extensive use of vegetable and zoomorphic motifs enriches the traditional two-three color gamut and geometric ornamental patterns. A tradition of artistic smithery with the use of ferrous metals revives; forged grates, handrails, balconies, weather vanes, and storm sewages decorate residential and public buildings in the city, and in the countryside. Wide popularity obtains almost forgotten, but recently revived “vytinanka”; special competitions, holidays and exhibitions are dedicated to it. Various regional and republic competitions and holidays, during which craftsmen demonstrate their secrets, are held in different kinds of other traditional arts: ceramics, smithery, carving, straw braiding, flax braiding, etc.
Saturation of modern interior with standard manufactured articles arouses even bigger interest in unique and original man-made works of traditional folk art, which bring into our standardizated everyday life warmth and specific ethnic flavour. Besides that, products of modern craftsmen – peculiar ethnical souvenirs, are in popular demand in our country and abroad. Therefore, folk art is not only heritage of the past, but a vivid phenomenon of the present. Some of its kinds were left in the past, others changed according to modern demand, satisfying spiritual requirements of their creators and consumers, and contributing to the development of the Belarusian national culture.
© National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, 2011
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