"We Are Komi": Symbolic Reproduction of Ethnicity in the Works of Young Applied Artists from the Komi Republic

Abstract

Abstract:In this article, I analyze the ways young applied artists and designers from the Komi Republic visualize and represent ethnicity in their works. My focus is particularly on those artists and designers who are involved in producing ethnic souvenirs and in working out "new ethnic brands" of the republic. I discuss the obvious "crisis of ethnic identity" in works of applied art: the symbols and images used in modern "ethnic souvenirs from the Komi Republic" are not those used in Komi mythology and folklore, and "ethnic replicas" are not produced using traditional techniques and decorative designs. Furthermore, designers from the Komi Republic obviously prefer constructing their own "ethnic images" and so-called "decorative patterns," which could become recognizable "brands" or "trademarks" of the republic in the souvenir market. In my opinion, the only way to overcome this obvious "identity crisis" in the works of young artists and designers is to study more carefully the authentic technologies and techniques that gave rise to the unique aesthetic of Komi folk art. The discussion is placed into the context of the history of the Komi souvenir tradition and its "model samples," which were created already in the Soviet period. I also discuss the penetration of Komi (Zyrian) craft techniques and decoration patterns into the traditional arts and crafts of many peoples of the North and Siberia in order to prove that folk technological and aesthetic traditions are indeed unique rather than borrowed. Modern trends in the visualization of Komi ethnicity are analyzed on the example of the history of the brand "Vychegda wood painting and Vasilii Kandinskii" and in the context of a discussion about the possibility of "actualizing" traditional artistic technologies. It can be suggested that the data and the discussion presented in this article can contribute to the debate about possible mechanisms of visualization and representation of ethnic identity in both traditional and modern folk and applied art.