The style palette of Alla Horska's scenography on the exampleof sketches for the play "That's how the Guska died"
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17721/1728-2640.2024.160.11
Keywords:
Theatrical scenography, Ukrainian sixties, Ukrainian avant-garde, theatrical art, naive art, Alla HorskaAbstract
Background. The article explores the little-studied field of theatrical and decorative art by Alla Horska – a representative of the Ukrainian Sixtiers – with a focus on her scenographic work for the production That's How the Huska Died, based on the play by Mykola Kulish. The relevance of the topic lies in the lack of scholarly research dedicated to Horska's scenographic legacy, despite her significant contribution to the development of Ukrainian theatre during the Thaw period.
Methods. The study is based on an anthropocentric approach, incorporating historical-anthropological, biographical, iconographic, historical-analytical, figurative, and stylistic methods. The authors focus on analyzing Horska's scenographic language as a form of the artist's selfobjectification, tracing the influences of modernism, the avant-garde, and folk art in her creative practice. Special attention is given to her work with color, composition, and form, which shaped a unique artistic system of stage design.
Results. By analyzing scenographic sketches, the authors sought to demonstrate the fusion of visual traditions from the Ukrainian avant garde of the 1920s with techniques of naïve art and socialist realism. The key artistic tools – grotesque, collage, flatness, and color symbolism – are identified as central elements in her costume and set designs. The study also reveals intertextual connections with the works of Anatol Petrytsky and Vadym Meller, as well as Horska's attempt to renew Ukrainian scenography through visual experimentation. The results highlight the eclectic nature of her artistic thinking and her pursuit of an innovative synthesis of the local and the universal.
Conclusions. The study emphasizes that Alla Horska's scenographic legacy is a vivid example of the transformation of Ukrainian theatrical tradition, although it was never fully realized due to the ideological constraints of the time. Her scenography remains a significant phenomenon in the history of Ukrainian theatrical modernism.
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