The Visual Arts Journal is an academic periodical whose aim is to present a wide range of studies and projects focusing on different areas of the visual arts. The journal is open to research that relates to various fields of the humanities (art theory and art history, philosophy, aesthetics, cultural studies, etc.) as well as to analyses of processes and phenomena in contemporary art.
Факултет по науки за образованието и изкуствата (СУ „Св. Климент Охридски“)
My second solo exhibition - "ORNAMENTS" – was presented during the international festival SOFIA CHARTER ART FEST at the National Palace of Culture from 10th to 30th June. The article outlines the author's concept and the ideological and philosophical framework of the works, included in the exposition. The use of hand recycled paper plays a key role, as the process of making the paper has a special place in the concept of the works themselves – the paper is not just a medium, it is an essential element in the overall plastic solution of the works. At the same time, although in general terms, the main decorative images I use and which are largely based on traditional sign-symbol systems, are discussed. References: Blazhieva, Milena. Hartiya, raka i razum – razkazi v izkustvoto. Izlozhba na Tereze Veber. Info SBH, 2019, no 4, p. 20 – 22. https://www.sbhart.com/data/kfm/bulletin_2014-2015-2016-2017/Bulletin_4_2019.pdf (accessed 12 May 2021). Dimitrova, Laura. Postmoderniyat ornament. Sofia: St. Kliment Ohridski University Press, 2018.
Cultural relations of the bulgarian contemporary art at the beginning of the xxi century with the european modern and contemporary art
The present article focuses on the sociocultural relations of Bulgarian contemporary art in the context of European modern and contemporary art. Objects of analysis are both the social setting and the public attitudes, which have affected the new forms of art in late 20 / early 21 century in relation to European traditions. The resulting artistic dispositions and processes in the country are largely borrowed from western culture, and the adaptation and definition of notions like “modernism”, “avant-garde”, „unconventional forms of art“, „contemporary art“, „happening“, etc., pose certain challenges to the Bulgarian art critics, especially with a view to their use and application in art theory and critique. The historical perspective is fundamental for the shaping of artistic processes; it offers a parallel examination of the social and political situation, in which these have developed, further reinforced by the author’s chosen approach to present the place of the artist in community life in traditional terms. It is essential to fully recognize the interrelations between Bulgarian and European cultural processes, in order the reasons behind them and the ensuing local achievements formulated from the viewpoint of alternative and contemporary art in the country to be explained. The author suggests a correlation of the established terminology, designating the internationally accepted notions for contemporary artistic trends, and their interpretation in sociocultural aspect. The text is an attempt to conceptualize a pan-European perspective for the development of innovative practices in Bulgarian contemporary art. References: Avramov, Dimitar. Estetika na modernoto izkustvo. Sofia: Nauka i izkustvo, 1969. Genova, Irina. Drugoto litse na izkustvoto: razgovor s Pierre Restany. Kultura, no. 49, p. 10 https://newspaper.kultura.bg/bg/article/view/38183 (accessed 27 April 2021). Danto, Arthur. Politika na vaobrazhaemoto. Philosophical Alternatives, 1992, no. 3 – 4, p.146. Lunghi, Enrico. Savremenno izkustvo dnes–preformulirane na mestata. Kultura, no. 31, p. 9. http://newspaper.kultura.bg/bg/article/view/16008 (accessed 27 April 2021). Nikolov, Toni. Razgovor s Bernard Blistène, director na Centre Pompidou, Paris.Kultura, no. 2, p. 41 –42. https://www.kultura.bg/article/33-iskame-da-popylnim-kolekciyata-si-s-tvorbi-ot-bylgariya (accessed 27 April 2021). Nozharova, Vessela. Introduction to Bulgarian Contemporary Art 1982 – 2015. Plovdiv: Janet 45, 2018. Ortega y Gasset, José. Evropa i ideyata za natziya. Sofia: Colibri, 2019. Stefanov, Svilen. Avant-garde and Norm: Innovational tendencies from the end of 20th century in Bulgarian art.Sofia: Agata-A, 2003. Suchkov, Boris. Istoricheskata sadba na realizma. Sofia: Partizdat, 1975. Kosinsky, Richard, Elantkowski, Jan, Dudás, Barbara. A way to follow: interview with Piotr Piotrowski. Art margins[online], vol. 4, issue 2 https://artmargins.com/a-way-to-follow-interview-with-piotr-piotrowski/ (accessed 27 April 2021). Lubow, Arthur. The New Leipzig School. The New York Times Magazine [online], no. 6, p. 38. https://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/08/magazine/the-new-leipzig-school.html (accessed 27 April 2021).
The article presents the newly published monograph by Plamen V. Petrov: Art and Power in Bulgaria in the 1970s. S., 2021, Kliment Ohridski University Press, 727 pp. and discusses aspects of Bulgarian culture and art in the late socialist period. This period and its art, which was subordinated to the one-party rule of 45-year regime, today are usually underestimated, dismissed, overlooked or treated in a biased manner. Plamen Petrov attempts to give a new light and a different perspective - he examines in detail the management of culture and its artistic outcomes during the period of the 1970s, starting from the assumption that the positive moments in it predominate, forming a narrative of the main trends, artists and works that remain timelessly significant today. The book's contributions are the unfolding of the rich context, evidenced by new archival documents, that support the author's suggestion, the proposed periodization of the "long decade" (1967- 1981), the detailed analysis of the official strategies, directives, programs, projects, events, bearers of culture, cultural institutions, their functioning as governing bodies, the state of the various arts during the period in this context, the import and export of cultural products, the gradual opening of the country to the Western world, the role of State Security Service in culture management and for survival of the regime, etc., whereas the author consciously avoids moral judgements. The research focus is mainly on the transformation of the government towards a more liberal attitude towards the intellectuals, compared to the previous sub-periods of the regime, and involvement of the government in the expansion of cultural infrastructure, the establishment of creative public organizations, patronage and material privileges for artists. The new state of power-art relations led to a cultural paradigm, different from the totalitarian phase of the communist regime. References: Georgieva, Milena. „Savremenno izkustvo” i mechtata za DRU. Istorichesko badeshte, 2001, no. 2, p. 111-144. Dimitrova, Tatyana. Mezhdu modernizma i totalitarizma: proektsiite na darzhavnata politika varhu balgarskiya hudozhestven zhivot prez 30-te – nachaloto na 40-te godini. Problemi na izkustvoto, 1996, no. 1, p. 3-13. Doynov, Plamen. Sotsialisticheskiyat realizam – hroniki i upotrebi. In: Sotsialisticheskiyat realizam: novi izsledvaniya. Sofia: Nov balgarski universitet., 2008, p. 13-38. Koka, Yurgen. Sotsialnata istoriya mezhdu mikroistoriyata i globalnata istoriya. In: Mezhdu makroistoriyata i mikroistoriyata ili istoriyata v mnozhestveno chislo. Sofia: Dom na naukite za choveka i obshtestvoto, 2010, p. 31-45. Milchakov, Yani. Sotsrealizmat i ideologicheskata dezintegratsiya na rezhima prez 60-te/80-te godini na HH vek. In: Sotsrealisticheski kanon/alternativen kanon. Sofia: IK „PAN“, 2009, p. 381-419. Petrov, Plamen V. Izkustvo i vlast v Balgariya prez 70-te godini na XX vek. Sofia: St. Kliment Ohridski University Press, 2021. Ostoich, Dimitar. Iz borbata za sotsialisticheski realizam v balgarskoto izobrazitelno izkustvo. Sofia: Balgarski hudozhnik, 1967. Ryovel, Zhak. Eseta po istoriya i istoriografiya. Sofia: Dom na naukite za choveka i obshtestvoto, 2010.
cultural governance in People's Republic of Bulgaria
Various cinematographers (avant-garde artists of the first half of the last century, as well as modern experimenters) and their films are discussed in the article in an attempt the concept of visual music in film to be clarified. Historical review supports the search for the roots of the idea of art in which sound is visible. The aspiration of avant-garde cinematographers to free filmmaking from the influence of other arts does not concern music, as it has a similar feature to the moving image - development over time. The harmonious or chaotic interaction of music with the cinematic image provokes the imagination of the spectators, who have the opportunity to touch a film that extends beyond the framework of entertainment. The chronotope techniques, which are well known in the cinematic, contribute to the formation of common and recognizable aesthetic features of the visual music films, although they are not limited to them. Located in the field of digital technology, the visual music film is both a historical heritage, a model for the infinity of imagination, and a contemporary creative practice. References: Adorno, Teodor. Esteticheska teoriya. Sofia: Agata-A, 2019. Astrukov, Yo. VideoDance. Sofia: Sdruzhenie “Tants BG”, 2015. Marinchevska, Nadezhda. Kvadrati na vaobrazhenieto. Estetika na animatsionnite tehniki. Sofia: Kolibri, 2005. Milev, Nedelcho. Teoriya na elementite na kinoto. Sofia: University Press St. Kliment Ohridski, 1998. Neykova, Radostina. Komiksat i kinoto. In: Art Readings. Sofia: Institute of Art Studies – BAS, 2007, p. 324 - 328. Yapova, Kristina. Muzikalnata estetika kato tema ot film („Hauards End“ na Dzheyms Ayvari). In: Art Readings. Sofia: Institute of Art Studies – BAS, 2010, p. 344 - 349. Beckman, Karen (ed.). Animating Film Theory. Duke University Press, 2014. Campen, Cretien van. The Hidden Sense: Synesthesia in Art and Science. MIT Press, 2007. Chion, Michel. Audio-Vision: Sound on Screen. Columbia University Press, 1990. Dulac, Germaine. Writings on Cinema (1919-1937) [e-book]. Paris Expérimental, 2018. Horak, Jan-Christopher (ed.). Lovers of Cinema. American avant-garde 1919-1945. The University of Wisconsin Press, 1995. Horrocks, Roger. Art That Moves: The Work of Len Lye. Auckland University Press, 2013. Mollaghan, Aimee. The Visual Music Film. Palgrave Macmillan, 2015. Moritz, William. Optical Poetry: The Life and Work of Oskar Fischinger. John Libbey Publishing, 2004. Pisters, Patricia. The Matrix of Visual Culture: Working with Deleuze in Film Theory (Cultural Memory in the Present). Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2003.
Adaptation of a literary work in the form of a graphic novel
Graphic novels are book editions of high artistic value, which have their origins in the art of the picture book and comics. One of the main features of the genre is its thematic diversity. Some of the topics covered in the publications are existential universal issues, others are encyclopaedic or biographical works, and there are some that interpret classical literary texts. There are also graphic novels in which the literary text is interwoven with an author's parallel narrative. Such an example is The Glass City by the British illustrator Isabel Greenberg. It is an author's edition, in which the artist reviews the early texts of the sisters Charlotte, Emily and Anne Bronte and their brother Branwell and the fictional world, created by these young authors. They called the imaginary universe "paracosm" - created own world, which is characterized by detailed rules, common language, geography and characters, shared by all participants in the fantasy. This phenomenon is common in children who later in life become famous artists and reveals rich imagination, but also a trauma and desire to detach from reality and the difficulties that may be encountered in it. References: Arsenault, Isabelle, Britt, Fanny. Jane, le Reanrd & Moi. Montreal: Les Éditions de La Pastèque. 2012. [Britt, Fanny, Arsenault, Isabelle. Jane, the Fox and Me. Toronto: Groundwood Books. 2013.]. Bechdel, Alison. Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 2006. Bloch, Serge, Boyer, Frédéric. Bible: Les récits fondateurs. Paris: Bayard Culture. 2016. Cohen, David, MacKeith, Stephen. The Development of Imagination: The Private Worlds of Childhood. London: Routledge, 1992. Cervantes, Miguel de, Davis, Rob. The Complete Don Quixote. London: SelfMadeHero. 2013. Eisner, Will. A Contract with God and other Tenement Stories: a Graphic Novel. New York: Baronet Books. 1978. Greenberg, Isabel. Glass Town. London: Jonathan Cape. 2020. Jenkins, Henry. Convergence Culture: When Old and New Media Collide. New York: New York University Press. 2006. Kafka, Franz, Kuper, Peter. The Metamorphosis. New York: Broadway Books. 2009. Mattotti, Lorenzzo, Piersanti, Claudio. Stigmata. Seattle: Fantagraphics Books. 2011. Mellier, Denis, Frey, Hugo. The origins of adult graphic narratives : graphic literature and the novel, from Laurence Sterne to Gustave Doré (1760 – 1851). In: Baetens, Jan, Frey, Hugo, Tabachnik, Stephen E (eds.). The Cambridge History of the Graphic Novel. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019, pp. 21-38. Miller, Frank. Sin City: The Hard Goodbye. Milwaukie, Oregon: Dark Horse Comics. 1991. Nilsen, Anders. The End. Seattle: Fantagraphics. 2013. Popova, Maria. Jane, the Fox and Me: A Gorgeous Graphic Novel about the Travails of Youth Inspired by Charlotte Brontë. Brain Pickings [web blog], https://www.brainpickings.org/2013/11/25/jane-the-fox-and-me/, (accessed 22 November 2020). Silvey, Robert, MacKeith, Stephen. The paracosm: A special form of fantasy. In: Morrison, Delmont C. (Ed.). Organizing early experience: Imagination and cognition in childhood. New York: Baywood Publishing Co., 1988, pp. 173–197. Spiegelman, Art. Maus: A Survivor’s Tale. New York City: Pantheon Books. 1980. Steinbeck, John, Dautremer, Rébecca. Des souris et des hommes. Paris: Tishina. 2020. The Brontës’ Secret sciende fiction stories. British Library [website]. https://www.bl.uk/press-releases/2011/may/the-bronts-secret-science-fiction-stories (accessed 18 May 2021). Töpffer, Rodolphe. Histoire de Mr. Vieux Bois. Geneva. 1837. Ware, Chris. Building Stories. New York: Pantheon. 2012.
Innovative verbal-visual narrative models in modern author's editions for children
The article typologies, classifies and analyzes innovative verbal visual narrative models, created in leading author's editions for children, in which the illustrator is the only author. The picture book is defined as a narrative construct, in whose entirety the text and the illustration can be segmented, compared and connected through completely new and alternative interrelations. The focus is on the specific spatial and temporal definition of the verbal-visual structure, which allows the implementation of unique authorial dramaturgical approaches in the book composition. The implemented innovative narrative models expand in practice indefinitely the territory of plot, semantic and artistic interaction between the verbal and the visual in the complex integrity of today's illustrated book editions. Their decisive importance in determining and formulating the current contemporary understanding of the meaning and function of artistic illustration as an independent narrative reality, which in equal and non-literal partnership with the verbal, realizes the conceptual and dramatic integrity of the book, is discussed. References: Scientific literature Hickethier, Knut. Film- und Fernsehanalyse. Stuttgart: J. B. Metzler Verlag, 1996. Lämmert, Eberhard. Bauformen des Erzählens. Stuttgart: J. B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1972. Kuhn, Markus. Filmnarratologie: Ein erzähltheoretisches Analysemodell. Berlin: Verlag Walter de Gruyter, 2011. Metz, Christian. Sprache und Film. Frankfurt am Main: Athenäum Verlag, 1973 Roxburgh, Stephen D. A Picture Equals How Many Words? Narrative Theory and Picture Books of Children. In: The Lion and the Unicorn, 7/8 1983-84, 1983. Schwarcz, Joseph H. Ways of the Illustrator, Visual Communication in Children’s Literature. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1982. Tabbert, Reinbert. Maurice Sendak. Bilderbuchkünstler. Bonn: Grundmann, 1987. Thiele, Jens. Das Bilderbuch: Ästhetik - Theorie - Analyse - Didaktik - Rezeption. Oldenburg: Isensee Verlag, 2000. Varga, Aron Kibédi. Visuelle Argumentation und visuelle Narrativität. In: Wolfgang Harms (ed.). Text und Bild. Bild und Text. Stuttgart: J. B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1990, p. 356-367. Author's publications for children, commented on in the article Allsburg, Chris van. Die Geheimnisse von Harris Burdick. Hamburg: Carlsen Verlag, 2012. (The Mysteries of Harris Burdick. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1984.) Banyai, Istvan. Re-Zoom. Aarau: Verlag Sauerländer, 1996. Erlbruch, Wolf. Nachts. Wuppertal: Peter Hammer Verlag, 1999. Pacovska, Kveta. Farben des Tages. Hamburg: Carlsen Verlag, 2010.
alternative narrative approaches in the book
Among the scarce evidence of the mural decoration of the Episcopal Basilica of Philippopolis is a fragment in the lower part of the northern portico, consisting of two layers of paint, laid successively in the 4th – 5th century and in the 5th – 6th century. The technique is buon fresco and represents imitation of stone. The earlier image is of a square construction. The decoration of the second layer of paint follows a complicated compositional pattern, the so-called "columns and orthostats". The analysis outlines analogues of various materials from the Roman and early Byzantine periods. It is suggested that the picturesque columns in the lower register of the walls are a projection of the real columns in the church and depict the church interior. They are intended to "liberate" the sacred space in the infinity and visualize the idea that it is the God's house, Container of the Uncontainable, where God exists in an invisible and indescribable manner. References: Kantareva-Decheva, Elena, Decheva-Uchkunova, Rayna. Prouchvane na stenna dekoratsiya – zhivopis i plastika ot Episkopskata bazilika na Filipopol. V: Vtora mezhdunarodna nauchna konferentsiya. Nauka, obrazovanie i inovatsii v oblastta na izkustvoto, Plovdiv, 24-26 oktomvri 2019, Akademiya za muzikalno, tantsovo i izobrazitelno izkustvo „Prof. Asen Diamandiev“, Plovdiv, 2019, p. 385-390. Kesyakova, Elena. Aristokratichniyat dom na Filipopol. V: Gencheva, E. (red.) Studia in honorem Aleksandrae Dimitrova-Milcheva. Yugoiztochna Evropa prez antichnostta, VІ v. pr. Hr. – nachaloto na VІІ v. sl. Hr., Sofia, 2008, р. 235-255. Rakotsiјa, Misha. Јosh јednom o slikarstvustarokhrishћanske gobnitse sa figuralnim predstavama u Nishu. In: Nis and Byzantium, Nish, 2014, ХІІ, p. 49-70. Valeva, Yuliya. Dekorativni i ikonografski osobenosti na pogrebalnata zhivopis (ІV-VІ vek.). Izkustvo, 1984, no. 1, p. 20-25. Valeva, Yuliya. Elitna zhilishtna arhitektura i dekor v diotseza Trakiya. - In: Stanev, St., V. Grigorov and Vl. Dimitrov (red.). Studies in honour of Stefan Boyadzhiev, Sofia: NAIM, 2011, p. 17-56. Anderson, Maxuell, L. Pompeian Frescos in the Metropolinan Museum of Art. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, Winter 1987/88. Vol. XLV, no. 3, p. 3-56. Cyrilli Alexandriae Archiepiscopi Homilia, XI. PG 77. https://books.google.bg/. (accessed 13 September 2020). Ćurčić, Sloboban. Architecture as Icon. In: Ćurčić, Sl. and Ev. Hadjitryphonos (eds.). Architecture as Icon: Perception and Representation of Architecture in Byzantine Art, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Art Museum, 2010, p. 3-38. Jelicic Radonic, Jasna. Ranokrscancke Freske u Lovrecini na Bracu. Prijateljev zbornik I Prilozi povijesti umjetnosti u Dalmaciji (Split), 1992, no. 32, р. 133-150. Kantareva-Decheva, Elena, Stanev, Stanislav. New mosaic floors in the Episcopal basilica of Philippopolis. Proceedings of XIV Conference of Association Internationale pour l‘Étude de la Mosaïque Antique (AIEMA), (Nicosia, Cyprus, 15-19 October 2018). (in print). Lidov, Aleksey. The Temple Veil as a Spatial Icon Revealing an Image-Paradigm of Medieval Iconography and Hierotopy. IKON, 2014, no. 7, p. 97-108. Mincev, Aleksandar. Mosaiken aus der früchristlichen Basilika in der Han Krum-Strabe. Im: Pillinger, R., Al. Lirsch und V. Popova (Hg.). Corpus der spätantiken und frühchristlichen Mosaiken Bulgariens, Reihe: Denkschriften der philosophisch-historischen Klasse, Bd. 483, Reihe: Archäologische Forschungen, Bd. 25, Erscheinungsjahr, 2016, Nr 34, p. 25-37, Nr 2. Nikolov, Dimitar. Malereifragmente einer fruhchristlichen Kirche in der Thermen. Im: Pillinger, R., V. Popova und B. Zmmermann (red.) Corpus der spätantiken und frühchristlichen Wandmalereien Bulgariens, Wien, 1999, p. 36-37. Osterchout, Robert. The Virgin of the Chora: An Image and its Contexts. In: Osterchout, R. and L. Brubaker (eds.). The Sacred Image. East and West : Illinois Byzantine Studies IV. Chicago, 1995, p. 91-161. Ousterhout, Robert. Eastern Medieval Architecture: The Building Traditions of Byzantium and Neighboring Lands. Onassis Series in Hellenic Culture. Oxford, 2019. Petrova, Svetla. The Roman Architectonic Decoration Reused in the Early Christian Buildings of Parthicopolis. Patrimonium. MK. Spisanie za kulturnoto nasledstvo - spomenitsi, restavratsiјa, muzei, Skopјe: Kalamus 2017, God. 10, br. 15, s. 137-186. Petrova, Svetla. The Baptistery of the Episcopal Basilica in Particopolis. In: Nis and Byzantium, Niš, 2016, XVI, p. 133-152. Popova-Moroz, Vanya. Nicopolis ad Nestum. Wandmalereireste der früchristlichen Basilika 2 und deren Gräber. Im: Pillinger, R., V. Popova und B. Zmmermann (red.) Corpus der spätantiken und frühchristlichen Wandmalereien Bulgariens, Wien, 1999, p. 81-83, Nr 66. Popova-Moroz, Vanya. Sandanski. Malereifrgmente der Basilika 1 und des angeschlossenen Gebäudekpmplexes. Im: Pillinger, R., V. Popova und B. Zmmermann (red.) Corpus der spätantiken und frühchristlichen Wandmalereien Bulgariens, Wien, 1999, p. 84-87, Nr 69. Popova, Vanja, Lirsch, Alexander. Mosaiken aus der extramuralen sog. Basilila Nr 7 odre Basilika des Bitus. Im: Pillinger, R., Al. Lirsch, V. Popova (Hg.). Corpus der spätantiken und frühchristlichen Mosaiken Bulgariens. Reihe: Denkschriften der philosophisch historischen Klasse, Bd. 483, Reihe: Archäologische Forschungen, Bd. 25, Erscheinungsjahr, 2016, p. 410-421, Nr 92. Rakocija, Miša. Painting in the crypt with an anchor in Niš. In: Nis and Byzantium. Niš, 2009, VII, p. 87-106. Stanev, Stanislav, Tankova, Jeni. The Episcopal Basilica of Thracian (Plovdiv, Bulgaria). Proceedings of XVII International Congress of Christian Archaeology (Utrecht & Nijmegen, The Netherlands, 2-6 July 2018) (in print). Stoyanova-Serafimova, Dimka. Sandanski. Wandmalereireste der Basilika 3. Im: Pillinger, R., V. Popova und B. Zmmermann (red.) Corpus der spätantiken und frühchristlichen Wandmalereien Bulgariens, Wien, 1999, p. 87-88, Nr 70. Tutkuvski, Miško. Paintings in the Old Episcopal Basilica in Stobi – Analyses of the Technical-Technological Characteristics. Folia Archaeologica Balkanica, Skopje: Faculty of Philosophy, 2018, IV, p. 377-403. Valeva, Julia. La peinture funéraire dans les provinces orientales de l’Empire romain dans l’Antiquité Tardive. Hortus Artium Medievalium (Journal of the International Research Center for Late Antiquity and Middle Ages), Zagreb, Croatia, 2001, Vol. 7, p. 167-208. Valeva, Julia. La peinture murale en Thrace pré-romaine. In: Dubois, Y. avec U. Niffeler (dir.) Pictores per provincias II – status quaestionis, Actes du 13e Colloque de l’Association Internationale pour la Peinture Murale Antique (AIPMA), Université de Lausanne, Anthropole, du 12 au 16 septembre. Antiqua 55. Basel, 2018, p. 37-54. Valeva, Julia. La peinture romaine des provinces de Mésie, de Thrace et de Dacie. In: Dubois, Y. avec U. Niffeler (dir.) Pictores per provincias II – status quaestionis, Actes du 13e Colloque de l’Association Internationale pour la Peinture Murale Antique (AIPMA). Université de Lausanne, Anthropole, du 12 au 16 septembre, Antiqua 55. Basel, 2018, p. 927-974. Vladkova, Pavlina, Valeva, Julia. Fresco fragments from the extra muros residence in Novae (Sector VIIIA). In: XXIV International Limes Congress, Serbia, September 2-9, 2018 (in print). Zimmermann, Barbara. Sandanski. Wandmalereireste der Basilika 4. Im: Pillinger, R., V. Popova und B. Zmmermann (red.) Corpus der spätantiken und frühchristlichen Wandmalereien Bulgariens, Wien, 1999, p. 88-92, Nr 71. Δουκατά – Δεμερτζή, Σοφία. Η τοιχογραφία του Βαπτιστηρίου της Βασιλικής Α΄ των Φιλίππων. Σέμογλου, Αθ., Ι. Π. Αρβανιτίδου και Εμμ. Γ. Γούναρη (επιμέλεια). Σε: ΛΕΠΕΤΥΜΝΟΣ. Mελέτες Αρχαιολογίας και Τέχνης. Υστερη Ρωμαϊκη, Βυζαντινη, Mεταβυζαντινη Περιοδος. Θεσσαλονικη 2018, σ. 135-152. Ενοτητα Πιεριας, Περιφερειακη. Διον. Σε: Ασημακοπουλου-Ατζακα, Π. (γενίκός συντονίμός) Σύνταγμα των παλαιοχριστιανικών ψηφιδωτών δαπέδων της Ελλάδος. ΙΙΙ. Μακεδονία-Θράκη, 2: Τα ψηφιδωτά δάπεδα της Μεκεδονίας και της Θράκης (εκτός Θεσσαλονίκης), Βυζαντινα Μνημεια 18 (ΑΠΘ, ΚΒΕ-ΜΙΕΤ), Θεσσαλονίκη 2017 Μερος Αʹ-Βʹ.
The GRAPHIC TRANSFORMATIONS – II (Digital and hybrid printing techniques) forum is an artistic project that was implemented in 2019 with the support of the Scientific Research Fund of Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”. Assoc. Prof. Snezhina Biserova was the project manager, organizer and curator of the exhibitions and artistic events within the forum. Participants in the forum were distinguished Bulgarian and foreign artists who use digital technologies in their artistic and teaching practice. The project was implemented as a consecutive stage within an initiative that had been launched in 2018 and is envisaged to continue over the coming years. The aim of the 2019 forum was to present the outcomes of the teaching and artistic practice of lecturers, undergraduates and PhD students from Sofia University, the National Academy of Art as well as from leading high schools of art in Poland in the context of the current practices in contemporary graphic art.
The impact of French music on works by Lyubomir Pipkov and Marin Goleminov
Unlike the large number of studies on the personality and cultural heritage of Lyubomir Pipkov and Marin Goleminov, the current paper focuses on an aspect of their personal and professional biographies that traditionally remains outside, or at least in the periphery of, musicology. It concerns an important period of the two composers’ life, related to their student residence in Paris, which is of fundamental significance not only for their personality formation, but also for the emergence of the Bulgarian national music style. It is now possible to study in retrospect the works by L. Pipkov and M. Goleminov and, through the prism of the historical perspective, to appreciate their place in the circumstances of their creation. In this context, the current paper addresses the issue of how the Bulgarian music style emerged and, in particular, it deals with the two composers’ pursuit of incorporating the knowledge, approaches, methods and techniques from the West European (mainly French) music. References: Apostolova-Neykova, Rumyana, Pavlova, Margarita. Marin Goleminov. Sofia: Balgarski izdatel, 1993. Apostolova Neykova, Rumyana. Marin Goleminov. Sofia: Muzika, 1998. Arnaudova, Boyanka. Marin Goleminov. Sofia: Nauka i izkustvo, 1968. Arnaudova, Boyanka. Muzikalna dramaturgia i stilovi osobenosti v stsenichnoto tvorchestvo na Marin Goleminov ot 40-te i 50-te godini. Sofia: Demaks, 2000. Balareva, Agapia. Balgarskite muzikalni deytsi i problemat za natsionalnia muzikalen stil. Sofia: Sofia: Professor Marin Drinov Publishing House of BAS, 1968, p. 85. Brashovanova-Stancheva, Lada. Marin Goleminov: Bibliografski ocherk. Sofia: Balgarski izdatel, 1990. Buleva, Mariyana. Harmoniyata na Lyubomir Pipkov. Bulgarian Musicology, 2004, no. 4, p. 3–49. Goleminov, Marin. Dnevnitsi – draski i sharki. Sofia: Tsentar za izkustva “Soros”, 1996. Hlebarov, Ivan. Lyubomir Pipkov: zhiznen i tvorcheski pat. Sofia: Sofia pres, 1976. Hlebarov, Ivan. Lyubomir Pipkov: problemi na tvorchestvoto. Sofia: Nauka i izkustvo, 1975. Kehlibareva, Nadya. Krasota varvi prez delnika. Sofia: Izdatelstvo na Otechestvenia front, 1980. Koen, Lea. Lyubomir Pipkov. Sofia: Nauka i izkustvo, 1968. Lazarov, Stefan. Marin Goleminov. Sofia: Nauka i izkustvo, 1988. Neykov, Rumen. Tri desetiletia po balgarskite muzikalni stseni. Sofia: Domino-GD, 2007. Pipkov, Lyubomir. Izbrani statii. Sofia: Muzika, 1977. Sagaev, Lyubomir. Kniga za operata. Sofia: Muzika, 1983.
The first bulgarian children’s operettas by Panaiot Pipkov – an attempt at a contemporary interpretation
Panaiot Pipkov’s children’s operettas were performed on multiple occasions in different cities in Bulgarian in the period from 1910 until end-1930s and were received very well by the audiences. Nevertheless, today they are almost entirely excluded from concert and school performance programmes. The article poses the following questions: are Pipkov’s works topical today and are they relevant to our national music scene; are they capable of tugging at the heartstrings of children’s and adolescents’ audiences that grew up amidst a digital and multimedia environment; can the characters from “Children and Birds” and “The Cricket and the Ant” and their musical features provide excitement and cultivate moral backbone? The present publication is an attempt at a new musical and dramaturgical analysis of the two operettas - an analysis which is focused upon the compositional concept of the composer viewed through the prism of the above-stated questions. References: Andreev, A. Panayot Pipkov. Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1952. Bix, R. Bulgarian Concepts about Musical Theatre Down the Ages. In: 100 years since the beginning of Bulgarian operetta (1914 – 2014). Sofia: Union of Bulgarian Composers. Bulgarian Musicological Society, 2018, р. 29-35. Boychev, D. Detski musikalni kursove. In: Rodna pesen, 1942, No. 5– 6, p. 107-109. Buleva, M. Muzikalnoto mislene na Panayot Pipkov v konteksta na balgarskata musikalna kultura ot kraia na XIX i nachaloto na XX v. In: Panayot Pipkov I muzikalnata kultura na negovoto vreme. XVI natsionalna nauchna konferentsia na prepodavatelite po istoria na muzikata ’96. Pleven, 1997, p. 3-15. Еntsiklopedia „Bulgaria“. Vol. 1, Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1978. Еntsiklopedia na balgarskata muzikalna kultura, Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1967. Karakostova, R. The Operetta in Bulgaria – Familiarizing with the Operetta Genre and First Amateur Performances. In: 100 years since the beginning of Bulgarian operetta (1914 – 2014). Sofia: Union of Bulgarian Composers. Bulgarian Musicological Society, 2018, р. 36-45. Kouyumdzhiev, Y. Polovin vek po patya na duhovnostta. NUI „Panayot Pipkov“ otbelyaza svoyata 50-godishnina. In: Musical Horizons, 2010, No 10, р. 13-14. Ovcharova, Zh. „Shturets I mravki“ na Burgaska operna stsena pres 20-te I nachaloto na 30-te g. In: Panayot Pipkov I muzikalnata kultura na negovoto vreme. XVI natsionalna nauchna konferentsia na prepodavatelite po istoria na muzikata ’96. Pleven, 1997, p. 34-37. Pipkov, P. The Cricket and the Ants. Operetta in two scenes. Piano score. Sofia: Hemus, 1925. Toncheva, E. Panayot Pipkov. Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1962. Trichkov, B. Balgarski metod za saznatelno notno peene. Vol. 1, Sofia: 1940. Hadzhigeorgiev, D. Uchebnik po penie za parvi klas na narodnite progimnazii. Sofia: Pechatnitsa St. Atanasov, 1924. Hlebarov, I. Za teatralno-dramatichnoto tvorchestvo na Panayot Pipkov. In: Panayot Pipkov I muzikalnata kultura na negovoto vreme. XVI natsionalna nauchna konferentsia na prepodavatelite po istoria na muzikata ’96. Pleven, 1997, p. 28-34. Hristov, D., D. V. Radev i V. Mirchev. Uchebnik po penie za treti klas na gimnaziite i pedagogicheskite uchilishta. Sofia: Pechatnitsa S. M. Staikov, 1914. Harkov, S. Origins of the Operetta in Bulgaria (from Szökött katona/ The Fugitive Soldier in 1850, through Royal Dindon in 1883, to Carmosinella in 1914 and Csárdásfürstin in 1918. In: 100 years since the beginning of Bulgarian operetta (1914 – 2014). Sofia: Union of Bulgarian Composers. Bulgarian Musicological Society, 2018, р. 46-63. Harkov, S. The Beginning of Musical Theatre for Children and Adolescents in Bulgaria in 1883. In: 100 years since the beginning of Bulgarian operetta (1914 – 2014). Sofia: Union of Bulgarian Composers. Bulgarian Musicological Society, 2018, р. 285-307. Yapova, K. Arhivat na Dobri Hristov. Katalog. Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Art Studies. Sofia: Matom, 2002. Internet sources: Bozhinov, Vasil. Narodno chitalishte „Postoyanstvo“, 1856 Lom. [Viewed 30 June 2019]. Available from: https://postoyanstvo1856.alle.bg/история/. Vasilev, G. Iz istoriyata na Muzikalnoto druzhestvo „Kaval“ v grad Lovech. In: Izvestiya. Vol.2. Lovech: Regionalen istoricheski muzey 1996, p. 137-145. [Viewed 30 June 2019]. Available from: https://lovechtoday.eu/на-23-ти-февруари-точно-преди-100-години-е-с/. Dubarova, K. Varban Varbanov. Conductor and composer. Regional historical museum – Burgas. [Viewed 30 June 2019]. Available from: http://www.burgasmuseums.bg/index.php?page=encdetail&id=172 Narodno chitalishte „15 septemvri 1903 g.“. [Viewed 30 June 2019]. Available from: http://librazlog.com/читалище/самодейност/. Nova izlozhba v Darzhaven arhiv – Stara Zagora, 20.03.2017. [Viewed 30 June 2019]. Available from: https://dolap.bg/2017/03/20/нова-изложба-в-държавен-архив-стара-за/.
The first films which were shot on the Balkans (1896 – 1900)
The general history of early filmmaking on the Balkans is little known in the countries on the peninsula itself as well as in the West. Even prestigious publications such as ‘Encyclopaedia of Early Cinema’ (compiled by Richard Abel) abound in debatable information in that particular field. The reasons thereof are multiple: the language diversity which is characteristic for the region; the hermeticism of research that remains restricted within the frameworks of national cinematic historiographies; the scarce information offered in the local print media issued at regular intervals of time at end-19th century. Over recent years, though, some publications came out, providing hitherto unknown facts about the early years of cinematography on the Balkans, including data that endorse the beginning of film shoots on these territories, undertaken mostly by foreign cinematographers. In parallel to that, the Internet provides a much wider access to databases of libraries, archives and specialised websites. The current publication consolidates the facts that are otherwise available at widely dispersed sources; presents some newfound information that is relevant to the topic; analyses the data so as to render the information pertinent not only the experts in the field but to a larger reading audience (including university undergraduates). The current article constitutes a follow-up of a text which was published in the first issue of this journal. The present second part focuses on the period between 1898 and 1900. Films from different genres are presented – such as ‘geographical’ films which highlight the nature of the Adriatic region and the landmarks in some of the larger cities; scientific (related to medical research); newsreels which represented a panegyric coverage of the monarchies; as well as the probably one and only ethnographic film ‘A Bulgarian Holiday’. References: Publications (monographs, publications in collections and scientific journals) Guseynov, Abdul A. Turezkoe kino: istorija i sovremennie problemi. Moskva: Nauka, 1978. Nedić, Lilijana. Slovenechkiot film i kinematografija (1896–1945). In: Razvojot i proniknuvanieto na balkanskite nazionalni kinematografii vo periodot od 1895 do 1945 godina. Skopje: Kinoteka na Makedonija, 2003. Abel, Richard (ed.). Encyclopedia of Early Cinema. London–New York: Routledge–Taylor & Francis Group, 2005. Bernardini, Aldo. Cinema delle origini in Italia. I film „dal vero” di produzione estera 1895–1907. La Cineteca del Friuli, 2008. Bernardini, Aldo. Cinema italiano delle origini. Gli ambulanti. La Cineteca del Friuli, 2001. Gifford, Denis. The British Film Catalogue. Vol. 2. Non-Fiction Film, 1888–1994. London– Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 2000. Knežević, Srđan. Filmske predstave putujućih prikazivača kao početni oblik kinematografskih delatnosti na teritoriji Jugoslavije (1896–1900) Ph.D. diss. Beograd: Univerzitet umetnosti u Beogradu, Fakultet dramskih umetnosti, 1992. Kosanović, Dejan. Leksikon pionira filma i filmskih stvaralaca na tlu jugoslovenskih zemalja 1896–1945. Beograd: Institut za film, Jugoslovenska kinoteka, Feniks film, 2000. Kosanović, Dejan. Počeci kinematografije na tlu Jugoslavije 1896–1918. Beograd: Institut za film, Univerzitet umetnosti, 1985. Ripeanu, Bujor T. Filmat in Romania. Filmul documentar 1897–1948. Bucuresti: Meronia, 2008. Rittaud-Hutinet, Jacques. Le cinéma des origines: les frères Lumière et leurs opérateurs. Seyssel: Editions du Champ Vallon, 1985. Slijepčević, Bosa. Kinematografija u Srbiji, Crnoj Gori, Bosni i Hercegovini 1896–1918. Beograd: Univerzitet umetnosti u Beogradu, Institut za film u Beogradu, 1982. Traven, Janko. Pregled razvoja kinematografije pri Slovencih (do 1918). Ljubljana: Slovenski gledališki in filmski muzej, 1992. Ţuţui, Marian. A Short History of Romanian Cinema. Bucharest: Noi Media Print with the support of The Romanian Film Center, 2011. Online resources McKernan, Luke. Dr Gheorghe Marinescu. Rumanian neurologist. In: Who’s Who of Victorian Cinema. http://www.victorian-cinema.net/marinescu (accessed 13 May 2019). McKernan, Luke. Francis Doublier. Lumière operator. In: Who’s Who of Victorian Cinema http://www.victorian-cinema.net/doublier.htm (accessed 24 October 2019). Online-Filmdatebank (OFDb). https://ssl.ofdb.de/film/267683,Orient-Reise-desKaiserpaares-Marktplatz-in-Beirut (accessed 14 May 2019). The German Early Cinema Database (TGECDb). http://earlycinema.dch.phil-fak.uni-koeln.de/films/view/39781 (accessed 14 May 2019).
The first movies shot on the Balkans (1896–1900)
The overall history of early cinema on the Balkans is scarcely known both in the particular countries in the peninsula and in the West. Even prestigious publications such as “The Encyclopedia of Early Cinema” (edited by Richard Abel) abound in unreliable information on this topic. The reasons thereof are plenty: language diversity which is characteristic for the region; the hermetic nature of studies which remain limited within the national historiographies of cinema; the scarce information offered by the local printed mass media at the end of the 19-th century. Over the last decade, though, a number of publications appeared, making available some hitherto unknown data on the early ears of cinematography on the Balkans, including some who testify to the launching of movie shooting in that region by foreign moviemakers exclusively. The author of the present article has personally discovered a newspaper notification which unquestionably testifies to the fact that the expository documentary “The Port of Varna” (1896) is not only the first expository documentary movie shot in Bulgaria but also the earliest (that we know of) on the entire Balkan peninsula. Meanwhile, with the help of the Internet we have a much greater variety of options for access to databases in libraries, archives and specialized websites. The current publication brings together the available facts that are otherwise hugely dispersed in numerous sources; it announces newly-discovered information relevant to the topic; analyses the data and renders them comprehensible not only to the experts in this field but also to the broader audience (including that of undergraduate students). References: Guseynov, A. Turezkoe kino: istorija i sovremennie problemi. Moskva, Nauka, 1978. Kosanović, D. Sto godina filma u Srbiji. Vek filma. Beograd: Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti, Jugoslovenska kinoteka, 1995. Sadoul, G. Vseobshchaya istoriya kino. V. 1. Moskva, Iskusstvo, 1958. Shekeroglu, Sami. Turskiot film – od pochetozite do Vtorata svetska vojna. In: Razvojot i proniknuvanieto na balkanskite nazionalni kinematografii vo periodot od 1895 do 1945 godina. Skopje: Kinoteka na Makedonija, 2003. Škrabalo, Ivo. 101 godina film vo Hrvatska 1896–1997. In: Razvojot i proniknuvanieto na balkanskite nazionalni kinematografii vo periodot od 1895 do 1945 godina. Skopje: Kinoteka na Makedonija, 2003, с. 135. Abel, R. (editor). Encyclopedia of Early Cinema. London–New York: Routledge–Taylor & Francis Group. 2005. Bernardini, A. Cinema delle origini in Italia. I film „dal vero” di produzione estera 1895–1907. La Cineteca del Friuli. 2008. Bottomore, St. Frederic Villiers – War Correspondent. Sight and Sound, 1980, vol.49 (no. 4), pp. 250–255. Bottomore, St. Turkey/Ottoman Empire. In: Encyclopedia of Early Cinema, edited by Richard Abel. London–New York: Routledge–Taylor & Francis Group. 2005, p. 646. Bousquet, H. Catalogue Pathé des années 1896 à 1914. Vol. I (1896–1906). Bures-sur-Vyette: Edition H. Bousquet. 1996. Chardère, B. Catalogue 1905 des vues pour cinématographe. In: Les images des Lumière. Liège: Gallimard, 1995. Kosanović, D. Počeci kinematografije na tlu Jugoslavije 1896–1918. Beograd: Institut za film, Univerzitet umetnosti, 1985. Mrent, G. Promio, Alexandre. In: Encyclopedia of Early Cinema, edited by R.Abel. London–New York: Routledge–Taylor & Francis Group, 2005. Musser, Ch. Edison Motion Pictures, 1890–1900. An Annotated Filmography. Gemona (Italy): Smithsonian Institution Press, 1997. Ripeanu, B. T. Filmat in Romania. Filmul documentar 1897–1948. Bucuresti: Meronia, 2008. Rittaud-Hutinet, J. Le cinéma des origines: les frères Lumière et leurs opérateurs. Seyssel: Editions du Champ Vallon, 1985. Rossell, D. Philipp Wolff. In: Encyclopedia of Early Cinema, edited by R.Abel. London–New York: Routledge–Taylor & Francis Group, 2005. Slijepčević, B. Kinematografija u Srbiji, Crnoj Gori, Bosni i Hercegovini 1896–1918. Beograd: Univerzitet umetnosti u Beogradu, Institut za film u Beogradu, 1982. Shavik, Viola. Egypt and other Arab countries. In: Encyclopedia of Early Cinema, edited by R.Abel. London–New York: Routledge–Taylor & Francis Group, 2005. Ţuţui, M. A Short History of Romanian Cinema. Bucharest: Noi Media Print with the support of The Romanian Film Center. 2011. Ţuţui, M. Manakia Bros or the Moving Balkans. Bucharest: Romanian Film Archive with the support of The National Film Center. 2004. Оnline resources: Balan, C. Changing Pleasures of Spectatorship: Early and Silent Cinema in Istanbul. (PhD diss. University of St. Andrews), 2010. https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/handle/10023/1985. Barnes, J. Philipp Wolff. German supplier. In: Who’s Who of Victorian Cinema. [Viewed 29 April 2019]. Available from: http://www.victorian-cinema.net/wolff. Bottomore, St. Filming, faking and propaganda: The origins of the war film, 1897–1902. Chapter III. (Dissertation, Utrecht University Repository), 2007. [Viewed 4 May 2019]. Available from: http://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/22650. Bottomore, St. Frederic Villiers. British war correspondent and war artist. In: Who’s Who of Victorian Cinema. [Viewed 29 April 2019]. Available from: http://www.victorian-cinema.net/villiers.htm. Catalogue des mille premiers films Lumière. [Viewed 24 June 2019]. Available from: http://www.lesgensducinema.com/biographie/LumiereLouis.htm. Films Lumière non signalés dans les catalogues. [Viewed 30 April 2019]. Available from: http://www.lesgensducinema.com/biographie/LumiereLouis.htm. Georges Méliès. Star Films Catalogue. [Viewed 24 June 2020]. Available from: https://thebioscope.net/2008/03/20/georges-melies-first-wizard-of-cinema-1896-1913/. McKernan, L. Jean Alexandre Louis Promio. Lumière operator. In: Who’s Who of Victorian Cinema. http://victorian-cinema.net/promio Periodicals: Vatreshni novini. Narodni prava, 8 December.1896, p. 4.
movie advertisements in printed mass media
In retrospect, a number of brilliant examples of the interpenetration of science, art and technology are revealed. Thus formulated topic – “Digital imaging – photography and print. Possibilities for image manipulation, changes and novelties in the field of collage and editing photographic techniques during the second half of the 20th century”, deals with an essential stage of the development of visual arts and aims to confirm the autonomous nature of photography as art and to establish photography as a form of contemporary art in particular. The topic is especially relevant due to the technological progress and mass introduction of digital technologies into the life of present day humans. As a result, a natural need arises to process this situation through new manifestations in art and photography and theoretically afterward. The founding idea of the exhibition is the deep conviction that due to digital technologies photography finds a wider range of expression, which is difficult to describe briefly. Therefore, the aim should be to focus on a specific issue, in the present study – the potential for manipulation of digital media, and the various collage and editing techniques in photography of the second half of the 20th century in particular. References: Bart, Rolan. Smartta na avtora [online]. Literaturen klub, June 25, 2003. http://www.litclub.bg/library/kritika/bart/dead.html (accessed 17 September 2020). Benyamin, Valter. Hudozhestvenoto proizvedenie v epohata na negovata tehnicheska vazproizvodimost [online]. LiterNet, April 14, 2006, № 4. https://liternet.bg/publish18/v_ beniamin/hudozhestvenoto.htm (accessed 16 September 2020). Décollage. In: Art Terms: Tate’s online glossary. https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/d/ decollage (accessed 20 September 2020). Fineman, Mia. Faking It: Manipulated Photography Before Photoshop. Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.), National Gallery of Art (U.S.) & Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 2012. Johnson, William. A History of Photography. From 1839 to the Present (The George Eastman House Collection). TASCHEN, 2005. Lopes, Dominic. A Philosophy of Computer Art. London: Routledge, 2010. Paul, Christiane. Digital Art. Farnborough: Thames & Hudson Ltd, 2015. Renner, Eric. Pinhole Photography: From Historic Technique to Digital Application. Amsterdam: Focal Press, 2009. Wollheim, Richard. Art and Its Objects: With Six Supplementary Essays. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015.
Referent images as a reaffirmation of the copy-paste model
The most common working practice in the visual field today is through different stages of discussing and creating a project, usually illustrated by other visual references. As logical as it may seem at first glance, this practice leads to an endless recreation of already existing and wellknown images. Thus, the “creation process” turns into a mere reaffirmation of a copy-paste model. The present article analyzes this practice and the possible causes and results. References: Dimitrova, M. Vazpriyatie na avtorskoto i art-kinoto v digitalnata epoha. Individualen izsledovatelski proekt kam sector “Ekranni izkustva”. 2018. Archive of Institute of Art Studies -BSA. Foto forum. Tsena za RAW faylove. Diskusia vav foruma. форума. [viewed 14 December 2018]. Available from: https://photo-forum.net/forum/read.php?f=1&i=1909059&t=1909059&offset=all.
Sculpture and artistic constructions – from the studio to the exhibition site
The present article outlines the entire process which the sculptor and the sculpture undergo together – from the very moment when the initial idea is conceived all the way through to the artwork’s exhibition in a particular site or environment. The aim of this text is to acquaint the reader with the processes involved into the completion of the final vision. The need for such an in-depth research has been justified by the fact that viewers perceive only the end result, while the particular actions and steps that have preceded it remain a mystery. The article analyses the relevant terminology and clarifies the meanings of the terms “sculpture” and “artistic constructions” used widely in the text, as well as the interaction between spatial art and environment. A classification of sculptural artworks on the basis of specific criteria is suggested. The stages within the creative process are presented and the role of the subjective factor is particularly highlighted as the steps largely depend on the individual experience and preferences of the artist. References: Dalchev, Lyubomir. Za monumentalnata tvorba. Izkustvo, 1962, no. 6, p. 10-12. Dinev, Mitko. Skulpturata. Problemi na izkustvoto, 1988, no. 1, p. 30-34. Kanchev, Ivan. Tvortsite govoryat. Sofiya: Magoart, 2019. Polyakova, Nataliya. Skulptura i prostranstvo. Sofiya: Balgarski hudozhnik, 1986.
The contact copies of Cindy Sherman’s ‘Untitled film stills’ and the discrepancy between staged production and improvisation in the photo-taking process
The current article reviews Cindy Sherman’s series ‘Untitled Film Stills’ and analyses the relationship between staged production and improvisation in the photo-taking process. The contact copies show that, contrary to the popular understanding of these works as strictly staged masquerade, the random detail, gesture or facial expression contribute actively to the construction of social and individual identity. The study analyses the contact copies of twelve photos and discovers an intriguing discrepancy in the selection principle. In some of the photos Sherman intentionally excludes any specific facial expressions, opting to stick to the individual obscurity of her objects, while in others she chooses the most vivid and definitive character. Thus, instead of constructing a consistent image of stereotypical social roles, undertaken by women who lack any awareness, Sherman rather shows the different degrees of individual inclusion into the social field. References: Benjamin, W. Ozareniya. Sofia: Kritika i humanizam, 2000. Benjamin, W. A Short History of Photography. Screen, no. 1 (Spring), 1972, p. 2-26. Cruz, A., Jones, А. Cindy Sherman: Retrospective. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2000. Crimp, Douglas. “Pictures.” October, no. 8 (Spring), 1979, p. 75-88. Krauss, R. Cindy Sherman 1975-1993. New York: Rizzoli International Publications, 1993. Krauss, R. Optical Unconscious. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1993.
Signs of the times: architecture in the images on banknotes from the Balkans (1944 – 1990)
Ever since antiquity monetary units have been used as means of exchange in economy, commerce, etc. As an archive of visual images, they contain a broad range of information about historical events, ruling institutions and state authorities, everyday life and culture. Paper banknotes appear much later in time. They inherit the traditions in the artistic and decorative design of monetary units (broadly speaking) and in parallel to societal development their design incorporates new forms. Additionally, banknotes are a rich source of information about the state systems, the forms of social and societal relations, values (mindset), doctrines, fashion, etc. The current study presents banknotes from the second half of the 20th century, emitted in several Balkan countries: Bulgaria, Romania, Yugoslavia and Greece. They are viewed through the perspective of art analysis. The article outlines the reproduction of architectural objects onto the banknotes, analysed in a much broader context. The latter concerns the prevailing political, ideological, value-related and cultural atmosphere of those times. The following questions are posed during the analysis of the banknote sample: What is represented onto the banknotes and why? How is it represented? What are the messages in the architectural images and the affiliated motifs? The interpretation of the selected banknote sample is elaborated from a historical and cultural-anthropological perspective. The article highlights both the specific and the common in the reproduced images onto the banknotes of the above countries. The signs of the past and the related images are presented in terms of their underlying contents. References: Belchesku, Nikolae. In: Bolyshaya rossiyskaya entsiklopediya (website). https://bigenc.ru/world_history/ text/1892976 (accessed 18 March 2020). Goznak (website). https://goznak.ru/about/history/ (accessed 18 March 2020). Abenteuer Reisen – Bis ans Ende der Welt (website). https://www.bis-ans-ende-derwelt.net/Reisen.htm?Menu-B&Code=EN (accessed 18 March 2020). Atsnotes. World Paper Money Catalog and History of World Currency (website). http:// www.atsnotes.com/catalog/catalog.html (accessed 18 March 2020). Greek Banknotes (website). http://www.greekbanknotes.com (accessed 18 March 2020). Numismondo. Word Printed Money Picture Catalog. http://www.numismondo.net (accessed 18 March 2020). Tudor Vladimirescu. In: Encyclopædia Britannica (website). https://www.britannica.com/biography/Tudor-Vladimirescu (accessed 18 March 2020). Wikimedia commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (accessed 3 April 2020). Publications (monographs, articles) Avramov, Rumen. Komunalniyat kapitalizаm, t.II. Sofia: Fondaciya Bаlgarska nauka i kultura / Centаr za liberalni strategii, 2007. Ganchev, Hristo. Doychinov, Grigor. Stoyanova, Ivanna. Krаstev, Todor. Bаlgariya – 1900: Evropeyski vlianiya v bаlgarskoto gradoustroystvo, arhitektura, parkove i gradini 1878–1918. Sofia: ArhiArt, Professor Marin Drinov Publishing House of BAS, 2002. Katalog. Banknotes. София: Bulgarian National Bank, 2020. https://www.bnb.bg/bnbweb/groups/public/ documents/bnb_publication/pub_np_catalogues_notes_bg.pdf (accessed 18 March 2020). Moiseev, Sergei. Proishozhdenie bumazhnih deneg. Finansi i kredit, no. 20. Tasheva, Stela. Chernomorskite kurortni kompleksi i liceto na Balgaria. In: Balgarskiyat XX vek v izkustvata i kulturata. Sofia - The Institute of Art Studies – BAS, 2019, p. 485-488. Cuhaj, George. Standard Catalog of World Paper Money General Issues 1368-1960. 13th edn. Krause Publ., 2010. Cuhaj, George. Standard Catalog of World Paper Money: Modern Issues 1961 – Present. 17th edn. Krause Publ., 2011. Lozanova, Sasha, Tasheva Stela. Tracing religion and cult in the architecture of European totalitarian regimes of the XX century. In: Design. Art. Industry (DAI), 2018, no. 5, p. 25 – 34. Tasheva, Stela, Davcheva, Maria. The Brand: Sunny Beach and Albena, Bulgaria. In: Central Asian Journal of Art Studies, no. 3, T.K. Zhurgenov Kazakh National Academy of Arts, 2016, p. 94-104. Viščević, Zlatko. Coins and Banknotes of Yugoslavia, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia. Rijeka, 2011.
The technique of hand-recycled paper and its place in contemporary plastic art
This article addresses the ways in which hand-recycled paper from paper pulp can be not only a plastic element but also a conceptual component in contemporary art. The historical development and significance of paper for human civilization is briefly outlined while the focus lies on the role of recycling as an important process that restores environmental balance - the meeting point of these two phenomena is placed in the field of art. The technique for paper recycling by hand, presented here, is viewed as a specific means of expression in plastic artworks of different types. The article not only describes the consecutive stages in the making of hand-recycled paper but it also highlights examples from the international and Bulgarian art scene which testify to the growing popularity of this technique in contemporary visual arts. References: Drenska, K. Spisanie za nauka, kultura i obrazovanie na FNPP. Hartienoto izkustvo – sintez na tvorchestvo, traditsiya, istoriya i inovatsiya, 2014, No.1, 130. Bulgarian Journal of Ecology “Ecology and Infrastructure”. Retsiklirane na hartiya, February 28, 2014, viewed 3 June 2020. Available from: https://www.ecology-and-infrastructure.bg/bg/reciklirane-na-hartiya/2/129/ Sardzhieva, R. Tehnologii za pechat. Sofia: Siela, 2009. Hudozhestvena galeriya – Dobrich. Hartiyata! Kak zapochna vsichko, May 28, 2020, viewed 11 June 2020. Available from: http://www.dobrichgallery.org/bg/news/ Hudozhestvena galeriya – Dobrich. Parvi plener na “Hartiyata”, June 6, 2020, viewed 11 June 2020. Available from: http://www.dobrichgallery.org/bg/news/ Hudozhestvena galeriya – Dobrich. V nachaloto be... Hartiyata, June 9, 2020, viewed 11 June 2020. Available from: http://www.dobrichgallery.org/bg/news/ Arts and Crafts Tile. Dard Hunter. viewed 6 August 2020. Available from: http://www.artsandcraftstile.com/dard-hunter/ Bannister T. Hand Papermaking Newsletter ISSUE 42. What Paper Is, and Is Not. April, 1998, viewed 6 August 2020. Available from: http://handpapermaking.net/newsletter/beginner/beg42.htm Durgin, M. Hand Papermaking Newsletter ISSUE 28. The History of Papermaking. October, 1994, viewed 6 August 2020. Available from: http://handpapermaking.net/newsletter/beginner/beg28.htm Hubbe, M., Bowden, C. ResearchGate (Bioresources) Handmade paper: A review of its history, craft, and science. November, 2009. viewed 6 August 2020. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/38106934 Snider, T. Hand Papermaking Newsletter ISSUE 50. Papermaking History. April, 2000. viewed 6 August 2020. Available from: http://handpapermaking.net/newsletter/beginner/beg28.htm Japan Paper Association. Japan in the World. viewed 7 August 2020. Available from: https://www.jpa.gr.jp/states/global-view/index.html#topic01 Official websites: Proekt „Pregradi /i ogranicheniya/“ HG – Dobrich. April 9, 2020, viewed 11 June 2020. Available from: https://www.facebook.com/Проект-Прегради-и-ограничения-ХГ-Добрич/ Project Art-Paper. viewed 11 June 2020. Available from: http://art-paper.org/ AMATERAS FOUNDATION viewed 11 June 2020. Available from: http://amateras.eu/ HAND PAPERMAKING, Inc. viewed 7 August 2020. Available from: https://handpapermaking.org/#
A decline or revival of the eastern orthodox canon?
The present article focuses onto certain important features of the historical development of Bulgarian painting at a time which marked the boundary between two epochs that played a pivotal role in our nation’s evolvement. The significant transformations that painting in general and Christian art in particular (mural and icon painting) underwent in result of the profound social, political, economic and cultural changes, taking place in our country after 1878, are representative both of processes within the development of fine arts, as well as of the public perceptions of the new directions and trends that emerged within fine arts. It is only natural that these changes occur in relation to the strongly pronounced and determined re-orientation of Bulgaria towards the model set by the developed European countries. This shift is easy to comprehend from a socio-psychological and cultural point of view and, in addition, it is inevitable from the perspective of historical development. References: Avramov, Dimitar. Dimitar Gyudzhenov. Sofiya: Stefan Dobrev, 2016. Angelov, Valentin. Nikola Kozhuharov. Po stapkite na edin raznostranen tvorets. Sofiya: Leno, 2003. Genova, Elena. Nepoznatiyat Toma Vishanov-Molera i modernizatsiyata na pravoslavnata zhivopis. Art Studies Quarterly, 1995, no. 2, p. 4-17. Gergova, Ivanka. Prinos kam prouchvaneto na banskiya zograf Dimitar Molerov. Makedonski pregled, 1997, no. 4, p. 93 – 100. Zahariev, Vasil. Stanislav Dospevski. Vazrozhdenski zhivopisets 1823 – 1877. Sofiya: Balgarski hudozhnik, 1971. Ivanova, Blagovesta. Vienskiyat i myunhenskiyat period v obuchenieto na Nikolay Pavlovich. Art studies quarterly, 2007, № 4, p. 54 – 61. Kirov, Maksimilian. Sotsialniyat zhivot na balgarskoto izkustvo prez parvite tri desetiletiya sled Osvobozhdenieto. In: Iz istoriyata na balgarskoto izobrazitelno izkustvo. Vol.1. Sofia: The Bulgarian Academy of Sciencesр 1976, p.9 – 43. Mitov, Anton (under the pseudonym Tonino). Pisma varhu Balgariya. Iskustvo, 1895, no. 1., p. 7 – 11. Popova, Elena. Zografat Hristo Dimitrov ot Samokov. Sofiya: Agata A, 2001. Protich, Andrey. Denatsionalizirane i vazrazhdane na nasheto izkustvo ot 1393 do 1878 g. In: Balgariya 1000 godini. 927 – 1927. Sofia: Ministerstvo na narodnoto prosveshtenie, 1930, p. 383 – 540. Radkova, Rumyana. Hram-pametnik „Sv. Aleksandar Nevski“. Sofiya: Akademichno izdatelstvo „Prof. Marin Drinov“, 1999. Raynov, Nikolay. Nikolay Pavlovich. Grafik i zhivopisets. Sofiya: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1955. Vasari, Giorgio. Lives of the most eminent painters, sculptors, and architects. London : H.G. Bohn, 1850, p. 94. https://archive.org/details/livesofmostemine18501vasa/page/94/mode/2up (accessed 20 November 2020).
Masters of contemporary textile art (Tsetsa Georgieva, Emiliya Panayotova, Maria Kirkova, Margarita Dopcheva and Mariyana Rainova)
The present article is focused on the manifestations of postmodernity in contemporary textile art and outlines the postmodern trends (reflected to a different degree and materialized in a different manner) in the art of five distinguished Bulgarian women artists in the sphere of contemporary textile art – namely, Tsetsa Georgieva, Emiliya Panayotova, Maria Kirkova, Margarita Dopcheva and Mariyana Rainova. References: Vasilchina, V. Savremenen balgarski hudozhestven tekstil. In: The Textile Art in Bulgaria (catalog). Sofiya: Lik, 2002. Dimitrova.L. Postmodern Trends in Bulgarian Textile Art. Appendix-Interview. (Dissertation, “St. Cyril and St. Methodius” University of Veliko Tarnovo), 2019. Maffesoli, M. Ritamat na zhivota. Variatsii na postmoderni temi. Sofia: Prof. M. Drinov, 2011. Slavov, At. Tekstil – 74. Izkustvo, no. 5, pp. 5-8. Internet sources: Vasileva, M. Izlozhba na Emiliya Panayotova v SGHG. Kultura, no. 16, April 18, 2003. [Viewed 15 August 2019]. Available from: http://newspaper.kultura.bg/media/my_html/2271/c-marche.htm. Vyatarat v ratsete na Emiliya Panayotova. Duma, June 7, 2014. [Viewed 15 August 2019]. Available from: http://www.duma.bg/node/79053.. Emiliya Panayotova Painting. Sofia Art Gallery (website). [Viewed 15 August 2019]. Available from: http://www.sghg.bg/?page=izbrana_izlojba&exhibition=2003.04.09-2003.04.20. Da risuvash s konets – razgovor s Mariya Kirkova [interview by Vera Baleva]. Public Republic (website), February 4, 2009. [Viewed 12 August 2019]. Available from: http://www.public-republic.com/magazine/2009/02/13160.php. Mariyana Raynova predstavya izlozhbata si „Moite sezoni“. Bulgarian National Radio, September 29, 2010. [Viewed 12 August 2019]. Available from: http://bnr.bg/hristobotev/post/100079319/mariyana-rainova-predstavya-izlojbata-si-moite-sezoni. Ovcharov, V. Moite spomeni (lichen arhiv na Vasil Ovcharov). Vol. I-IV. Facebook, April 19 – October 9, 2015. [Viewed 10 Mayl 2019]. Available from: https://www.facebook.com/Васил-А_Овчаров-1615815725304945/photos/?tab=album&ref=page_internal. Ceca Georgieva. browngrotta arts [website]. [Viewed 10 Mayl 2019]. Available from: http://www.browngrotta.com/Pages/georgieva.php.
On the use of popular iconographic types of deities in Roman sculpture from Bulgaria
The present article addresses the copying of the familiar iconographic types of deities on votive reliefs dating back to Roman period, discovered on the territory of present-day Bulgaria. The discussed reliefs share a common feature – namely, the combination of the iconographic scheme of a dynamic, hunting Diana, depicted in mid-action, with the static iconographic types of the other deities like Apollo and Dionysus. On another mentioned relief several deities are depicted: Silvanus is rendered in a relaxed pose, Diana is hunting and the Three Nymphs are dancing. Those were the iconographic types which were included in the standard repertoire of the sculptors and, at the same time, which were immediately recognizable for the provincial society in Roman Thrace. In this sense, their mass use could raise the question: Could it be that in these instances the mentioned deity iconographies were so widespread and familiar because they had become “patterns”? “Patterns” that are used whenever needed, in various combinations, without being necessarily included in uniform compositions or in particular interrelations. Rather, the emphasis was on the religious connection in the cults of the deities as well as on the recognizability of the deities that were central to the particular rites wherein these reliefs were used. References: Aleksandrov, Georgi. Pametnitsi ot kulta na Dionis v Montana. Arheologiya, 1990, 1, p. 31-37. Dechev, Dimitar. Kultat na Artemida v oblastta na Sredna Struma. – Izvestiya na Arheologicheskiya institut, 1955, 19, 94-110. (=Sbornik Gavril Katsarov. Statii posveteni po sluchay sedemdesetgodishninata mu, 4 oktomvri 1874 - 4 oktomvri 1944), p. 94-110. Gocheva, Zlatozara. Kultat na Silvan v provintsiya Dolna Miziya. Arheologiya 1993, 2, p. 13-22. Karadimitrova, Krasimira. Pametnitsi na kulta na trite nimfi ot Natsionalniya arheologicheski muzey. Godishnik na Natsionalniya arheologicheski muzey, 1992, 8, p. 189 – 195. Katsarov, Gavril. Antichni pametnitsi iz Balgariya. Izvestiya na Balgarskiya arheologicheski institut, 1926-1927, 4, p. 81-121. Koleva, Marina. Rimska idealna skulptura ot Balgariya. Sofia: Institut za izsledvane na izkustvata, 2017. Kovacheva, Theodora. Selected Sculptural Monuments from the Regional Historical Museum in Pleven. Catalogue. 2014. Kovacheva, Teodora. Neobnarodvani pametnitsi na Diana. Arheologiya, 1987, 4, p. 55-60. Ognenova-Marinova, Lyuba. Skulpturata ot svetilishteto na Diana i Apolon. In: Velkov, V. (ed.) Montana I. Sofia: Izdatelstvo na Balgarskata akademiya na naukite, 1987, 1, p. 37-54. Stoyanov, Totko. Kultat kam Artemida v Trakiya VI v. pr. n. e. – IV v. ot n. e. Ph.D. diss. (abstract). Sofia, Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski, 1986. Valchev, Ivan. Izvangradskite svetilishta v rimskata provintsiya Trakiya (I-IV v). Sofia: Universitetsko izdatelstvo „Sv. Kliment Ohridski“, 2015. Bieber, Margarete. Ancient Copies. Contributions to the History of Greek and Roman Art. New York: New York University Press, 1977. Birk, Stine. Carving sarcophagi: Roman sculptural workshops and their organization. – In: Kristensen, T., Poulsen, B. (eds.) Ateliers and Artisans in Roman Art and Archaeology. (=Journal of Roman Archaeology, Supplementary Series Number 92). Portsmouth, Rhode Island, 2012, 13-38. Gasparri, Carlo. Dionysos. Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae (LIMC), 1986, III, p. 413-514. Kahil, Lilly. Artemis. Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae (LIMC), 1984, II, p. 618-753. Koleva, Marina. Greek Myths, Roman Art and the Thracians. In: Ancient Thrace: Myth and Reality. 13th International Congress of Thracology. Sofia (in print). Moltesen, Mette. Catalogue. Imperial Rome II. Statues. Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. Copenhagen: Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, 2002. Ridgway, Brunilde. Forth-Century Styles in Greek Sculpture. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1997. Ridgway, Brunilde. Hellenistic Sculpture I. The Styles of ca. 331-200 B.C. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1990. Simon, Erika. Diana. Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae (LIMC), 1984, II, S. p. 792-849.
Artistic interpretations on the topic of death in artistic publications for children made available on the german-language book market in the period 1970 – 2010
The present article addresses the interpretation of complex topics of human interest (in particular, the topic of death) in contemporary artistic publications for children that appeared on the German-language book market in the period 1970 – 2010. The author outlines the way in which the dated, idyllic and irrelevant to real-life problems thematical model that was established as the norm in the mass illustration and in the illustrated books for children has been overcome. The focus lies on the leading generative role of the illustrator as an author of both illustrations and texts, thus ensuring artistic autonomy from any existing restrictive notions and commercial marketing considerations. The artistic publications in the 1970s introduced artistic interpretations of topics which had been a taboo for a long time in children’s books and presented them to young readers in the mode of a meaningful and dynamic dialogue. The contemporary views have completely renounced the dated understanding of illustrated publications for children as products of mass culture meant to provide entertainment. Nowadays these publications are viewed as works of art in their own right which need to comply with high aesthetical and conceptual criteria. References: Blaich, U. Tomi Ungerer – ein böser Menschenfreund. Die Welt, 28 November 2001. [viewed 15 May 2020]. Available from: https://www.welt.de/ Bopp, L. Vom Suchen und Finden guter Freunde. Kitty Crowthers Bilderbuch „Der Besuch vom kleinen Tod“. Frankfurter Algemeine Zeitung, 15 September 2011. [viewed 15 May 2020]. Available from: https://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/buecher/rezensionen/kinderbuch/kitty-crowthers-bilderbuch-der-besuch-vom-kleinen-tod-vom-suchen-und-finden-guter-freunde-11130226.html. David, T. Ich bin markiert vom Tod. Die Zeit, Nr.18, 26 April 2007. [viewed 23 April 2020].Available from: https://www.zeit.de/2007/18/KJ-Ungerer-Interview. Erenz, B. Etwas war geschehen. Ein Kinderbuch? Kein Kinderbuch? Ein Totentanz? Wolf Erlbruchs Band „Ente, Tod und Tulpe“ spielt mit dem Nichts. Die Zeit, Nr.12, 15.03. 2007. [viewed 15 May 2020]. Available from: https://www.zeit.de/ Kreye, A. (2012). Der wilde Kerl aus Brooklyin. Süddeutsche Zeitung, Nr. 107, 09 May 2012. [viewed 13 May 2020]. Available from: https://www.sueddeutsche.de/kultur/zum-tode-von-maurice-sendak-wilder-kerl-aus-brooklyn-1.1352191. Kriegel, K. Leo Lionni. In: Rossipotti-Literaturlexikon, hrsg. von Annette Kautt. [viewed 20 May 2020]. Available from: https://www.literaturlexikon.de/illustratoren/lionni_leo.html. Linden, T. Man muss doch von einem Buch ergriffen sein. Der temperamentvolle Melancholiker Tomi Ungerer wird 70 Jahre alt. Eselsohr, Nr. 11, 2001, p. 24. Müller, T. Was macht eigentlich... Tomi Ungerer?. Die Stern, Heft /14, 30 Mars 2005. [viewed 13 May 2020]. Available from: https://www.stern.de/lifestyle/leute/was-macht-eigentlich----tomi-ungerer--3540876.html. Raecke, R. Kindheit zwischen Angst und Mut. Bulletin Jugend und Literatur, Nr. 35 (9), 2004, p. 9-11. Raecke, R. Der mit den Monstern tanzt. Eselsohr, Nr. 6, 1998, p. 4-6. Schnettler, S. Die meisten Kinderbücher sind misslungen. Die Welt, 20 September 2006. [viewed 13 May 2020]. Available from: https://www.welt.de/print-welt/article153954/Die-meisten-Kinderbuecher-sind-misslungen.html. Schnettler, S. Stirbt die Ente, stirbt auch der Teich. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 21.Mars 2007. [viewed 11 May 2020]. Available from: https://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/buecher/rezensionen/belletristik/stirbt-die-ente-stirbt-auch-der-teich-1413110.html.
books written and illustrated by artists
Bulgarian women printmakers in the 1930s and 1940s
The women who represented the first generations of artists who engaged in Bulgarian printmaking played an important role in our national art history. Their art, though, often remains somewhat neglected by researchers and their works are rarely shown at exhibitions and expositions, thus rendering them relatively less known to the general audience. The current article aim at presenting five women artists who played a key role in the development of printmaking in our country – namely, Anna Kramer, Lyuba Palikarova, Petrana Klisurova, Binka Vazova and Sidonia Atanasova. Some of them were active in the graphic arts sphere for decades but the article is focused on the 1930s and 1940s – a period when the specific features of their artistic expression and the scope of storylines and themes emerged, thus predetermining to a great extent the very essence of their art throughout their artistic careers. References: Balcheva, M. The Graphic Art Atelier of Prof. Vasil Zahariev at the State Academy of Art (1922-1944). Sofia: NHA, 2015, p. 5-25. Genova, I. Druzhestvoto na zhenite hudozhnichki v Balgariya. In: 120 godini balgarsko izkustvo. Sofia, 2013, p. 116-127. Georgieva, S. Prints – from technology to poetry. In: Prints. Works from the collection of Sofia City Art Gallery. Sofia: Simolini 94, 2015, p. 5-10. Dzhanovska, N. Women graphists` place in Bulgarian art during the 20th century. In: Izkustvo i zhivot. Veliko Tarnovo, 2015, p. 249-264. Dinova-Ruseva, V. Petrana Klisurova. Zhivot I tvorchestvo. Sofia: Fondatsiya Vasil Levski. 1995. Iosifova, B. Razgovor za grafikata. Sofia: Otechestvo. 1985. Kamenova, D. Sidoniya Atanasova. Sofia: Balgarski hudozhnik. 1974. Kolev, B. Balgarskata grafika. Sofia: Narodna mladezh. 1960. Nestorov, V. Lyuba Palikarova. Sofia: Balgarski hudozhnik. 1974. Nikolaeva, A. Binka Vazova. Grafichni obrazi. Sofia: Institute of Art Studies – BAS. 2016.]. Tomov, E. Balgarskata grafika. Sofia: G. Dimitrov. 1955. Chuhovski, P. Anna Kramer. Sofia: Balgarski hudozhnik. 1973. Genova, I. Women artists in the modernization of the artistic life in Bulgaria – overcoming boundaries. In: Art Studies quarterly, 2002 (4), p. 3-8.
The Society of Bulgarian Sculptors (1930 – 1934)
The present article reviews hitherto unpublished archives, held in Archives State Agency and the Union of Bulgarian Artists, as well as newspaper and journal articles about the history, organization and activity of the Society of Bulgarian Sculptors (SBS). This society is of particular interest because it is first society of artists from the same professional artistic field and its emergence enhances, enriches and broadens the analysis of processes and trends in the development of Bulgarian sculpture in this period. References: Boshev, N. Konkursnata sistema pri sazdavaneto na pametnitsi v Balgariya (1920 – 1944). Sofia: IAS BAS. 2004. Hudozhestven pregled. Literaturen glas, no. 233, 6 May 1934, p. 4. Mitov, S. Hudozhestven pregled. Konkursat za pametnik na zaginalite ofitseri. Literaturen glas, no. 236 , 23 May 1934, s. 1, 7. Archival documents: Pisma do predsedatelya na DBS za napuskane ot samite tyah za konstatirani nerednosti v druzhestvoto protivorechashti na ustava. 24.06.1934. Central State Archives, fond 712, box 1, folder 76, p. 1-2. Pismo ot Blagotvoritelnoto druzhestvo na uchastvalite vav voynite balgarski evrei Sofia do DBS 1932. Central State Archives, fond 712, box 1, folder 72, p. 1-3. Protokolna kniga na DBS. 14.05.1932 – 28.02.1934. Central State Archives, f. 712, 1, a.e. 67, l. 1-15. Protokol ot 14 may 1932. Zasedanie na DBS za izbor zhuri za pametnik na padnalite vazpitanitsi na V.N.V. uchilishte.]– Central State Archives, f. 712, op. 1, a.e. 67, l. 3. Protokol ot 29 yuni 1932 g. Zasedanie za konkurs za statui na Evlogi i Hristo Georgievi pred glavniya vhod na Rektorata.] – [Central State Archives, f. 712, op. 1, a.e. 67, p. 3. Protokol 4 ot 13 mart 1933 g. Zasedanie za izbor chlen na zhuri pri Voennoto ministerstvo za „Neznayniya voyn“.] - Central State Archives, f. 712, op. 1, a.e. 67, p. 11. Protokoli ot zasedanie na DBS sas sekretar Marko Markov 1933 – 1934. Central State Archives, f. 712, op. 1, a.e. 68, p. 1-4. Spisatsi na chlenovete na DBS 1931 – 1934. Central State Archives, f. 712, op. 1, a.e. 65, l. 1-20. Photo sources: Dimo Luchiyanov. (snimka) Godishnik 1896 – 1966, Sofia. NAA, Sofia, 1970. Dosieta na hudozhnitsite (portretni snimki): Zheko Spiridonov, Andrey Nikolov, Ivan Lazarov, Aleksandar Andreev, Kiril Shivarov, Stefan Peychev, Yordan Krachmarov, Kiril Georgiev, Lyuben Dimitrov, Lyubomir Kirov, Mina Ivanov, Marko Markov, Pando Kiselinchev, Ivan Funev, Aleksandar Momov, Dragan Lozenski, Vaska Emanuilova, Mara Georgieva, Vasil Zidarov, Ivan Isaev, Metodi Balalchev, Lyubomir Dalchev, Dimo Lichiyanov in UBA. Metodi Ketskarov (snimka). S Balgaria v sartseto: Katalog, izlozhba noem. 2004 - april 2005: Posvetena na 140-god. ot rozhdenieto na Anton Ketskarov i 100-god. ot rozhdenieto na Metodi Ketskarov. NIM, Sofia, 2005. Spomeni za Andrey Nikolov. (portretna snimka) 3.07 – 8.09.2013, SGHG (broshura za izlozhba v Galeriya “Vaska Emanuilova“, kurator Plamen Petrov).
Boris Denev and his “greek connection” during the period from 1934 to 1943
Boris Denev was a passionate traveler, a curious and committed explorer of Bulgaria and the countries where he stayed for longer (Germany, Greece) or shorter periods of time (Italy, France, Turkey, today's North Macedonia). This text will trace his attitude as an artist, a man of letters, and a public figure to the history, nature, cultural heritage and the people of Bulgaria's southern neighbor, Greece. To him, this was a civilization that embraced ancient cultures and a source of artistic inspiration, yet it also was the land of a people with whom Bulgaria had complicated relations that were finally beginning to warm up in the 1930's, after a prolonged period of animosity and hostility, caused by historical events which had been tragic for both countries. Here I will discuss several reciprocal visits by Greek and Bulgarian artists and intellectuals as a part of the institutional efforts to establish artistic societies, engaged in cultural activities, which also resulted in some personal friendships, both artistic and purely human, where Boris Denev was an active participant/protagonist. References: Genova, I. Izkustvoto v Balgaria i na Balkanite prez parvata polovina na XX vek – modernizatsia i modernizmi. Sofia I Atina: Dve razmeneni izlozhbi. Problemi na izkustvoto, 2000, no. 1, p. 40-54. Georgieva, M. Nazdrave, Maestro! Bohemskite tchasove na Ivan Penkov. Sofia: Institute of Art Studies – BAS, 2013, p. 17, 84. Denev, B. Vpechatlenia i razsazhdenia ot obikolkata s gratskite gosti. Slovo, 1937, no. 4479. Denev, B. Ekskurzia do Atina. Zora, 1934, no. 4626-4630. Denev, B. Approchement et prospérité. Slovo, 1940, no. 5376, 5378. Dimitrova, T. Mezhdu modernizma и totalitarizma: Proektsiite na darzhavnata kulturna politika varhu balgarskia hudozhestven zhivot prez 30-te – nachaloto na 40-te godini. Problemi na izkustvoto, 1996, no. 1, p. 3-13. I.P. Edin vdahnoven maystor na balgarskia peyzazh. Dnes, 5.03.1943, p. 4. Kavala – gledana s ochite na hudozhnika. Signal, 1943, no. 14, p. 28. Krastev, K. Bencho Obreshkov. Sofia: Balgarski hudozhnik, 1982. Krastev, K. Izlozhbata na Boris Denev. Slovo, 6.03.1943. Marinov, M. Razgovor s Boris Denev. [Neizvesten vestnik], 20.02.1943. Support for the Art in Bulgaria Foundation. Mitov, S. V ogania na tvorchestvoto. Literaturen glas, 10.03.1943, p. 3. Mihalcheva, I. Boris Denev. Sofia: Balgarski hudozhnik. 1964, p. 50. Petrov, B. Balgaro-gratskite otnoshenia v navecherieto na Vtoratas vetovna voyna i zavzemaneto na Belomorieto. Voenno-istoricheski sbornik, 2006, no.4 , p. 49-54. Petrov, P. Life – Cynical Procession of Corpes. In: Iliev, K., Petrov, P. (eds.) 130th Anniversary of Sirak Skitnik: SGHG, 2013. Popdimitrov, E. Nashata... , [Neidentificirano pechatno izdanie] p. 12. Support for the Art in Bulgaria Foundation. Raychevski, S. Belomorska Balgaria (1941 – 1944). Balgarski bestselar, 2010. Sirkov, D. Vanshnata politika na Balgaria (1938 – 1941). Sofia: Nauka i izkystvo, 1979. Christova-Radoeva. V. Boris Denev (1883 – 1969).Sofia: Support for the Art in Bulgaria Foundation. Chitelov, S. Videnieto na Kavala. [Neidentifictsirano pecantno izdanie]. 1943, p. 3. Support for the Art in Bulgaria Foundation. Yakimov, A. Balkanskata politika na Gartsia mezhdu dvete svetovni voyni. Sofia: Simelpres, 2012. Πλουμίδης, Σ.Ο Σύνδεσμος Ελληνοβουλγαρικής Φιλίας (1935 – 1941). Τα Ιστορικά, τόμος 18ος, τεύχος 35, Δεκέμβριος 2001. ; Plumidis, S. Druzhestvoto za gratsko-balgarska druzhba (1935 – 1941). Istorika, Vol. 18, no. 35, 12.2001. Archival documents and other sources: Bozhinov, A. Cartoon portrait of Boris Denev. Zora, 6.06.1937. Denev, B. Risunka-proekt za programa. Central State Archives – Sofia, f. 413К, op. 1, а.е. 4, l. 74. Molba za prevod na pari za pokupka na skulptura ot Bela Raftopulu. 18.06.1936. Central State Archives– Sofia, f. 413K, op. 1, a. e. 4, l. 3. Pismo ot A. Sohos do Boris Denev. 5.10.1936. Support for the Art in Bulgaria Foundation. Pismo ot Boris Denev do Pangalos. 13.01.1939. Support for the Art in Bulgaria Foundation. Pismo ot trima gartsi do Boris Denev. 26.06.1936 Support for the Art in Bulgaria Foundation. Pokana za izlozhba na “Savremenno gratsko izkustvo. Central State Archives – Sofia, f. 413K, op. 1, a. e. 4, l. 4-5. Silianovska Dimitrova, T. Sinteza na dva hudozhestveni mirogleda. [Neidentifictsirano pecantno izdanie.] 16.03.1943. Support for the Art in Bulgaria Foundation. Tekst za otkrivane na izlozhba. Central State Archives – Sofia, f. 413K, op. 1, a. e. 4, l. 30. La parole bulgare (n.a.). 6.03.1943. Support for the Art in Bulgaria Foundation. Programme. Central State Archives – Sofia, f. 413К, op. 1, a.е. 4, l. 70-71. Programme. Séjour de la ligue Gréco-Bulgare d’Athènes en Bulgarie. 28.V. – 4.VI.1937. Support for the Art in Bulgaria Foundation.
Two early byzantine fine-toothed acanthus capitals from the Episcopal Basilica of Philippopolis
The subject of the present article are two capitals from the Episcopal Basilica of Philippopolis which are among the most splendid and representative examples of early Byzantine architectural sculpture with their fine-toothed acanthus and a variation of the wind-blown acanthus with a different type of decoration on the two preserved adjoining sides. These artefacts are of smaller dimension and they belonged to the secondary structures of the basilica interior. Chronologically they are approximately synchronous to the large column imposts and Ionic imposts discovered in the basilica – end of the first half of the 5-th century or the 6-th century. Although different in shape and decorative patters, the two capitals from the Episcopal Basilica bear some common specifics in terms of material and fine technique which is unquestionably indicative of their synchronous production and their Proconnesian origin from the emperor’s workshops on the island of Proconnesos in the Marmara Sea. Thus, these capitals reflect the evolving changes in the cultural exchange and material sources, models, and sculptural concepts in the city. The capitals are also important as indicators of the way in which the rare types they actually represented spread about. No other examples of the wind-blown type have been discovered hitherto on the present-day territory of Bulgaria. References: Doseva, I. Arhitekturnata skulptura ot Episkopskata bazilika na Filipopol. Noseshti elementi (kapiteli), chast II. In: Kantareva, E. and Stanev, St. (eds.) Episkopskata bazilika na Filipopol: prouchvaniya i rezultati. (in print). Kesyakova, E. Rannohristiyanska bazilika ot Filipopol. Izvestiya na muzeite ot Yugoiztochna Balgariya, ХV, 1989, p. 113-127. Ovcharov, D., Vaklinova, M. Rannovizantiyski pametnitsi ot Balgariya IV-VII vek. Sofia: Septemvri, 1978. Sharankov, N. Epigrafski otkritiya prez 2015 g. In: Arheologicheski razkopki i otkritiya prez 2015. Sofia: National Archaeological Museum with Institute, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2016, p. 968-970. Biernacki, A. B. Architektura wczesnobizantyjskich budowli sakralnych Chersonezu Taurydzkiego. (2. Wczesnobizantyjskie elementy i detale architektoniczne Chersonezu Taurydzkiego). Poznan: Wydawnictwo Poznanskie, 2009. Dimitrov, Z. Two figural capitals from the late Antiquity in National Archaeological Museum-Sofia. In: M.Rakocija (ed.) Proceedings from the International Symposium “NIS AND BYZANTIUM X. Niš – Martyriopolis and Imperial City” (held in Nish, Serbia, June 2011), Niš, 2012, p. 165-184. Dimitrov, Z. Anatolian Elements in the Order Architecture of Philippopolis. Proceedings of the First International Roman and Late Antique Conference. “Cites, Territories and Identities” (Plovdiv, 3rd - 7th October 2016), Vol 44, 2018, p. 231-243. Dosseva, I. Early Byzantine and Medieval Architectural Sculpture in Sozopol. Sofia: Accent, 2012. Kantareva-Decheva, E., Stanev, St. New mosaic floors in the Episcopal basilica of Philippopolis. Proceedings of XIV Conference of Association Internationale pour l‘Étude de la Mosaïque Antique (AIEMA), (Nicosia, Cyprus, 15-19 October 2018) (in print). Kautzsch, R. Kapitelstudien. Beiträge zu einer Geschichte des spätantiken Kapitells im Osten vom vierten bis ins siebente Jahthundert. Berlin, 1936. Kessiakova, E. Une nouvelle basilique à Philipopolis. Actes du XIe Congrès international d’archéologie chrétienne, (Lyon, Vienne, Grenoble, Genève & Aoste, 21-28 septembre 1986), III. Città del Vaticano – Rome, 1989, p. 2539-2559. Khrushkova, L. G. Byzantine Capitals of the Architectural Complex of the ‘Basilica of 1935’. Chersonesos in Crimea Archaeology of a World of Changes. Late Roman and Early Byzantine Architecture, Sculpture and Landscapes. BAR Publishing, Oxford BAR International Series 2973, 2020, p. 291-301. Kitzinger, E. Byzantine Art in the Making, London, 1977. Ousterhout, R. G. Eastern Medieval Architecture: The Building Traditions of Byzantium and Neighboring Lands. Onassis Series in Hellenic Culture. Oxford University Press, 2019. Pensabene, P., Barsanti, C. Reimpiego e importazioni di marmi nell‘Adriatico paleocristiano e bizantino. La cristianizzazione dell‘Adriatico (Antichità Altoadriatiche 66), Trieste 2008, p. 455-490. Stanev, St., Tankova, J. The Episcopal Basilica of Thracian (Plovdiv, Bulgaria). Proceedings of XVII International Congress of Christian Archaeology (Utrecht & Nijmegen, The Netherlands, 2-6 July 2018) (in print). Terry, A. The Sculpture at the Cathedral of Euphrasius in Porec. Dumabarton Oaks Papers, 42, 1988, p. 13-62. Topalilov, I. The impact of the religious policy of Theodosius the Great on the urbanization of Philippopolis, Thrace. ACTA XVI CONGRESSVS INTERNATIONALIS ARCHAEOLOGIAE CHRISTIANAE, COSTANTINO E I COSTANTINIDI L’INNOVAZIONE COSTANTINIANA, LE SUE RADICI E I SUOI SVILUPPI (Curatela scientifica Olof BRANDT, Vincenzo FIOCCHI NICOLAI), Citta del Vaticano, 2016, p. 1853-1862. Topalilov, I. Christianity, Heresies, and paganism in the religious policy of Theodosius Iin Thrace. Quis est qui ligno pugnat? Missionaries and Evangelization in Late Antiqueand Medieval Europe (4th - 13th centuries), Verona, (s.a.), p. 108, 114-115, 117, 119. Vemi, V. Les chapiteaux ionique à imposte de Grèce à l’époque paléochrétienne. Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique. Supplément 17, Athènes-Paris, 1987, p. 23-25.
The hand-drawn animated films of Suzan Pitt
The current article reviews the diversity of techniques employed by Suzan Pitt in the creation of her hand-drawn animated films. The filmmaker and her team dedicated hours of drawing, modelling, shooting and processing to each frame. Every film that Pitt made is the result of a labour-consuming process which took several years to accomplish. The filmmaker uses animation techniques which precede computer generated images (CGI), such as traditional cel animation, sand animation, 3D animation, film scratching. The amalgamation of images that were generated in different ways and subsequently animated in the course of the film production transforms the durability of collective reality and replaces it with fantasy. Pitt’s aesthetics and her choice of visual and artistic practices sets her further apart from those employed in well known and popular animation films. Her films often lack in aconsistently structured narrative. The images disclose psychological states, emotions and the encounter between the inner world and the outer, collectively shared one. Pitt embodies in images abstract themes such as female sexuality, death, depression, man – nature relationship, the existence of earthly miracles. The movement of the drawn objects on the screen represents the passage of time and the possibility of change. The soundtracks and sound effects create the atmosphere of a holistic experience while the oneiric images on the screen flash by from one emotion to another. The rich thematic and artistic individuality of Suzan Pitt’s films pose a challenge to the viewer’s imagination. References: Manchev, B. Tyaloto-metamorfoza. Sofia: Altera, 2007. Marinchevska, N. Kvadrati na vaobrazhenieto. Estetika na animatsionnite tehniki. Sofia: Kolibri, 2005. Milev, N. Teoriya na elementite na kinoto. Sofia: University Press St. Kliment Ohridski, 1998. Neykova, R. Bozhesvtenoto I choveshkoto v bylgarskata animacia. Art Studies Quarterly, 2004, no. 2, p. 44-48. Neykova, R. Animacionno Ihronofotografsko kino. Specifika na animacionnia obraz. In: Izkustvo I kontekst, Instituteof Art Studies - BAS, 2004. Fingova, S. Montazhat na audiovizualnoto proizvedenie. Sofia: New Bulgarian University, 2008. Franz von, M.-L. Anima i animus vav valshebnite prikazki. Sofia: Lege-Artis, 2004. Gennep von, A. The Rites of Passage.Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1960. Hannah, B. The inner journey: lectures and essays on Jungian psychology. Toronto: University of Toronto Press Incorporated, 2000.