No 1 (2023)
ARTICLES
Pulkovo Airport Terminal in Leningrad is a Masterpiece of Domestic Modernism
Abstract
This article is devoted to the Pulkovo airport terminal complex in Leningrad – Saint-Petersburg. The article offers comprehensive research on the architectural project (the project leader A.V. Zhuk) and its implementation as an architectural phenomenon in a sociocultural context. The research methodology is based on historical, chronological, structural, functional, and semiotic approaches. Based on historical and cultural analysis of the transformation and improvement of the project during the period of its realisation, the article shows a few innovative functions of the airport, besides its primary technological function, such as: representative function; memorial function, preserving results of the creative team's work and builders work; artistic function within the ensemble perception of the project. The article also shows the project's dynamic of development and enhancement throughout fulfilled work on it. The article illustrates the design solutions embodied in full in the construction, reflects the scale of construction and improvement of professional methods and techniques. The author also reviewed and analysed texts and documents contemporary to the architectural conception and its implementation. Based on the research, the author makes a conclusion about the Pulkovo airport being an object, perfect by its function and artistic image, representing a synthesis of innovative methods, taking landscape features into account, and translating the author's cultural experience. The relevance of the preservation of the airport is related to its characteristics, which are unique for world architecture and Saint-Petersburg's environment. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the statement about the building of Pulkovo airport being a perfect example of an embodiment of rationalism ideas in conjunction with the creation of vivid artistic imagery. Also, the thesis is presented, about the creative team successfully combining bold technological innovations with a humanistic focus of the functional object.
Man and Culture. 2023;(1):1-23
1-23
Signs of a New Era: the "Female" Vocal Cycle during the Renewal of Russian Music of the 1960s and 1970s
Abstract
The subject of the study is the "female" chamber vocal cycle in Russian music of the 1960s and 1970s, which, according to the author, became a special sign of the time of changes and renewal that came to the musical culture of the Soviet Union together with the Khrushchev "thaw". The article is devoted to the typology of the "female" vocal cycle, the appearance of a large number of works based on poems by A. Akhmatova and M. Tsvetaeva, music for children and youth, numerous vocal compositions in the spirit of the "new folklore wave", works dedicated to outstanding interpreters of vocal music by modern Soviet composers - Z. Dolukhanova, L. Davydova, G. Vishnevskaya, E. Obraztsova, E. Gorokhovskaya, N. Yureneva and others. The main conclusion of the study is the idea that there are several stable types of "female" chamber vocal cycles associated primarily with the modern poetic tradition, folk music, with the concert performance practice established in the country, with various vocal capabilities of singers, the width of their vocal range, flexibility, timbre characteristics etc. Russian chamber and vocal music is being studied for the first time in such a perspective and this direction must be recognized as fruitful. It is quite obvious that it was the "female" vocal cycle that became the most important sign of the time of the radical renewal of the national musical art in the 1960s and 1970s.
Man and Culture. 2023;(1):24-32
24-32
Representation of the Baroque Style in the Decor of the Crimean Architecture of the Art Nouveau Period
Abstract
The subject of the study is the characteristic of the Baroque style and the integration of its elements into the decor of the architecture of the Crimea of the Art Nouveau period. The object of the study is the architecture of the Crimea and its decor of the period of the late XIX – first third of the XX century. The research uses the methods of art criticism analysis of Baroque visual forms and their integration into modernity, the method of analysis of previous studies, the method of synthesis in conclusions regarding the connotations of Baroque symbolism. The author considers such aspects of the topic as: a general overview of the origin of the Baroque style; features of the architecture of the Crimean Art Nouveau; integration of Baroque elements into the decor of the Art Nouveau of the Crimea. The main conclusions of the study are: 1.The appearance of the Baroque style in architecture and decor is attributed by architectural historians to the XVII century. However, its origins should be sought in the Middle Ages, since many Baroque elements repeat Arabesques brought by the Crusaders to Europe. Baroque has established itself as a church and palace style. In turn, the Asia Minor (Turkish) Baroque was a synthesis of traditional Arab elements and Western European influence in the XVIII century. 2. The Art Nouveau style in architecture and its decor is a synthesis of various elements of previous styles, arbitrarily used by architects in accordance with their personal tastes, as well as with the wishes of customers. The basis of the Crimean Art Nouveau, represented in country villas, mansions, palaces, apartment buildings, is classicism, Renaissance and Mudekhar style, with the introduction of individual features into them with the help of decor. The use of Baroque elements enlivened the buildings, giving them an elegant, southern flavor. A special contribution of the author to the study of the topic is to clarify the periodization and origin of the Baroque style. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the fact that the author for the first time analyzed the decor of the architecture of the Crimea of the modern period, identified and analyzed the elements of the Baroque, their origin and role in the style of modernity.
Man and Culture. 2023;(1):33-45
33-45
Fireplaces in public interiors: typological and stylistic features
Abstract
The article raises the problem of the need to study fireplaces as artistic and applied objects in modern interiors from the point of view of design design. A range of issues related to the design projects of original fireplace objects in public interiors is outlined. The subject of the study is the development of a typological approach to the study and classification of these interior objects. The object of the study is fireplaces in public interiors. Particular attention is paid in the article to the analysis of the stylistic unity of interiors and fireplaces, in connection with which the location of fireplaces in the interiors of executive class, sanatorium facilities, museum environment, libraries, hotels, restaurants and gaming establishments is shown. The main conclusions of the study are the following: the dominant functions of fireplaces in public interiors are revealed. These are primarily those that serve interior decoration as a means of aestheticization and as a means of creating solemnity and grandeur. The creation of fireplace halls in modern public interiors are designed for receptions, recreation or cultural leisure as they create a relaxed and comfortable area. The main stylistic preferences include styles that have signs of grandeur, solemnity, such as Baroque, classicism, Petrovsky style. But in any case, the stylistic characteristics are determined by the features of the interior and are interconnected with it.
Man and Culture. 2023;(1):46-58
46-58
Stages and Features of the Development of Chinese Monumental Sculpture
Abstract
Monumental and religious sculpture was the main form of ancient Chinese sculpture. There were very few public monumental sculptures. This phenomenon was associated with traditional Chinese culture and the socio-economic situation. It was only after 1949 that many monumental sculptures on the theme of the revolution appeared in China, which had an important connection with the politics of that time. This article is written in the following three parts: an overview of the development of monumental sculpture in ancient China; The history of the development of monumental sculpture from 1840 to 1949; An overview of the development of monumental sculpture after the founding of the People's Republic of China. Chinese sculptural art has a long history. As for monumental sculptures, with the development of society, the Policy in the field of culture and art supported diversification, artists received more free creative space. The range of creative topics gradually expanded, and there were more opportunities to choose style and language. It was only in the 1990s that the Chinese economy began to transform into a market economy. Under the influence of the latter monumental sculpture came under the influence of foreign cultures. We believe that China can rely on its own history, culture and national spirit, and combining China's historical resources with foreign cultures is the way to develop Chinese monumental sculpture.
Man and Culture. 2023;(1):59-66
59-66
Elements of Shamanic costume in the context of the cultural and historical evolution of the Buryat and Mongolian peoples
Abstract
Questions of the origin of the shamanic costume constantly remain in the focus of attention of researchers who have studied the phenomenon of shamanism of the Buryats and Mongols. Since material artifacts are the most stable object that has preserved semantic content in a symbolic form. At various times, M. N. Khangalov, Ts. Zh. Zhamtsarano, B. E. Petri, S. V. Ivanov, E. D. Prokofiev, T. M. Mikhailov, G. R. Galdanova, M. Eliade and many others addressed this problem. However, the final understanding of the process of emergence, formation and development of the Buryat shaman costume has not been achieved. At the moment, there are several opinions of venerable scientists on this issue, which not only differ, but often directly contradict each other. The author has made an attempt to understand this topic. The works of the predecessors, as well as the manuscripts of M. N. Khangalov on shamanism from the State Archive of the Irkutsk region are studied. Along with religious aspects, socio-cultural, economic conditions of the formation of Buryat shamanism were studied, the mutual influence of Turkic-Mongolian, Tibetan archaic cults was taken into account. Methods of historical analysis are used. In the process of work, it became clear that it is impossible to put a final point on this issue because of the very large number of layers of various cultural, religious, ritual and everyday traditions that the shamanic cult of the Buryats and its main attribute - the shaman's costume have absorbed. However, the author obtained new results in the semantics of individual attributes and the shamanic costume as a whole. Two main hypotheses of the genesis of the shaman costume are given: a) transformation of the armor of Mongolian warriors, b) evolution of animalistic imitation vestments. The author's position is stated on each of these theories. The semantic meaning of the "skeletal style" in the design of the shamanic ritual cloak is given.
Man and Culture. 2023;(1):67-81
67-81
Understanding and Practice of the Future in History and Modernity
Abstract
The article discusses historical and modern synonymously understood images, discourses and concepts of the future. The author introduces the concepts of the actual and uncertain future, physicalist and social future. It offers a reconstruction of Plato's distinction between the past, present and future in the dialogue "The State", which allows the author to introduce a schematic diagram of the future. It is shown that the discourse of the future contains three planes: the position and the concept of the future, allowing to think rationally about the future and the past, and the present, the attitude of the subject (individual) to these time modalities, objective reality, as a rule, including time and non-temporal (objective) reality. In addition to the image of the future introduced by Plato, the features of the image and understanding of the future of St. Augustine, the natural science understanding and the image of the future, the understanding of the future conditioned by the construction of social sciences are discussed. The author claims that at present a new image of the future is being formed, which is characterized by: opposition to the physicalist understanding of the future, epistemological opacity of the reality of the future, natural-artificial modality of thinking, new ontological foundations. All these statements are illustrated by the material of several cases, including the novels of A. Bogdanov, two modern foresight studies, the concepts of Plato and Aristotle, the project of F. Bacon, V. Zenkovsky's statements, F. Julien's book and the case of the Donor project, which the author analyzed in detail.
Man and Culture. 2023;(1):82-96
82-96
The specifics of the choreographic interpretation of the main characters in the ballet "Zephyr and Flora, or Metamorphoses" (2021) in the context of modern plastic trends.
Abstract
In this article, an attempt is made to comprehend the features of the choreographic embodiment of the images of the main characters (Zephyr and Flora) by choreographer A.S. Belyakov in the play "Zephyr and Flora, or Metamorphoses" (2021). This ballet is a modern appeal to the theme of the pre–romantic ballet Sh. Didlo (early XIX century). Such a plan cannot but be relevant, as well as the study of its creative results, first carried out in this article. Based on the methods of ballet studies analysis approved by Russian historians and ballet theorists (Dobrovolskaya, Krasovskaya, Slonimsky, Surits), the author applied comparative historical, ideological, artistic and analytical methods, as well as the method of included observation (based on personal experience working on the part of Flora). The main research tools were analytical description and semantic analysis of the variation of Zephyr and the duet of Zephyr and Flora. With their help, we managed to draw the following conclusions. The choreographic vocabulary of the fragments is distinguished by an organic combination of classical positions and pas with the author's movements (pictorial, ornamental poses; somewhat broken positions of the arms and body; originally modified technical elements). The dramaturgy of the modern reading of the plot of the pre-romantic ballet is developed by the choreographer by plastic (not pantomime) means in key dance fragments. Thus, the choreographic embodiment of the images of Zephyr and Flora demonstrates an organic synthesis of the ideological idea and the general aesthetics of pre-romantic ballet with the unconventionality and innovation of the modern author's plastic solution.
Man and Culture. 2023;(1):97-105
97-105