art

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Art

What is art?

The first time that the question of what art is came up was in the 19th century in an essay by Leo Tolstoy. In his work he argues against numerous theories which define art in terms of the good, truth, and especially beauty. In Tolstoy's opinion, art at the time was much more than that. According to him, art must create an emotional link between artist and audience, one that "infects" the viewer. The idea that art is actually about communicating the feelings of the artists is a romantic one which is widely popular among the researchers. Or as Frank Zappa once said “Art is making something out of nothing and selling it.” Art plays a large part in making our lives infinitely rich. Art stimulates different parts of our brains to make us laugh or cry, calm down or start shouting. On the other hand, art is such a large part of our everyday lives that we may hardly even stop to think about it. Look at the desk or table where you are, right this minute. Someone designed that. It is art. Your shoes are art. Your coffee cup is art. All functional design, well done, is art. So, you could say "Art is something that is both functional and (hopefully) beautiful."

Art is something that makes us more thoughtful and well-balanced humans

What are the forms of art?

architecture, animation, collage, comics, computer art, design, drawing, filmmaking, graffiti, illustration, installation art, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture

Is there a size limit to art? Is art defined by its materials?

What’s the largest piece of art you can imagine? How small is the smallest? We're all used to thinking of paintings as art. Or bronze sculptures. But art can be made from all kinds of materials. Try to think of some. Various kinds of paint and metal, wood, plastics... it can even be an old shoe or a newspaper. What about putting different materials together?

Does art have to be understandable?What about abstract art?

Is it necessary for it to actually look like something, such as a woman, or a vase of flowers? Does art have to be realistic? Is it better if it is realistic? What is abstract art about? Can art describe feelings?

Does art have to be beautiful?Does art have to “say” something?

What about a piece that looks truly ugly to you? Is it still art? Sometimes the artist is trying to shock the viewer, or to make you feel uncomfortable. Why would an artist want to do that? Perhaps to make people see things in a new way? Communicate some feeling, idea, a record of fact, another way of looking at something? Just try to think of an example of art that does not communicate anything... can you?

Art vocabulary

Belarusian artists

Belarusian artists have made an enormous contribution to the development of world culture. In the 12-18th centuries the most popular genres of fine arts in Belarus were frescos, icon and portrait painting. The 16th century portraits created in Belarus were influenced by the Italian and German Renaissance. Ivan Chrutsky (1810-1885) is considered to be the greatest figure in Belarusien art of the 19th century. His sentimental portraits and luminous (светящиеся) still-life paintings had been assiduously (усердно) collected by Russian and Polish art galleries.An important role in the formation of young artists in Belarus was played by the opening of art schools in Vitebsk (1898) and Minsk (1906).Among the various genres of Belarusian fine arts water-colour painting is of undoubting importance and interest. Here we should mention V. Tsvirko, one of the leading Belarusian artists. His water-colours Willows Have Burst into Blossom, The Melted Snow and April are superb.The most famous Belarusian artists who painted in oils are Mikhail Savitski, Evgeniy Zaitsev and Ivan Akhremchik. The war theme predominates in their pictures, though, of course, they also painted landscapes and portraits. The series Figures on the Heart by M. Savitski has become a specific phenomenon in Belarusian art.At the beginning of the 20th century a new trend of abstract painting developed in Vitebsk. Among the artists who belonged to that trend were the world famous Marc Chagal, Kazimir Malevich, Yehuda Pen and others. Some of them had to leave Belarus and live abroad.

Belarusian writers

Cinema

Belarus is the birthplace of many film directors, screen writers, and famous actors. The name of Mikhail Ptashuk is popular with film lovers of all ages. He made his film debut in 1973 with the film “About Vitya, Masha, and Marines”, which was a huge success and won two international awards at film festivals and earned him fame. Among Ptashuk’s other outstanding films are “Black Castle Alshansky” based on Uladzimir Karatkevich’s book and “In August of 1944”, which became a real box-office success. There are a lot of actors in Belarus who played the leading roles in different films. Vladimir Gostiukhin starred in “American Boy”, “General” and “Nobleman Zawalnia”. The role which earned him fame with modern audience is the role of a truck-driver in the series “Dalnoboyschiki”. Aleksandra Bortich is a Belarusian-born actress who played the leading roles in many successful films. For example, she starred in the Russian comedies “About love” and “Serf”. In 2016 she played Rogneda in the historical action film “Viking”.

Yakub Kolas

Yanka Kupala

Ivan Shamiakin

Maxim Bagdanovich

Sviatlana Aliakseevich

Vasil Bykau

Mikola Gusouski

Maxim Tank

Yanka Maur

“Come and See” is a feature film directed by Elem Klimov. It is shot in the genre of military drama. The film is based on the novel “I Am from the Fiery Village” by Ales Adamovich. The action takes place on the territory of Belarus in 1943. The film tells the story of the horrifying treatment of locals by German soldiers. In the center of the story is a Belarusian boy, who witnesses the horrors of the Nazi punitive action, turning from a cheerful teenager into a gray-haired old man for two days. The film was released on 17 October 1985, drawing 28.9 million viewers and ranking sixth at the box office of 1986. “Come and See” received the FIPRESCI (International Federation of Film Critics) prize at the 14th Moscow International Film Festival. It has since come to be considered one of the greatest films ever made.

Sculptor Osip Zadkin