{"title":"CONTEMPORARY MUSIC(AL) THEATRE IN LATVIA: PROBLEM OF DEFINITIONS AND FORMATS","authors":"L. Mellēna-Bartkeviča","doi":"10.55877/cc.vol21.270","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.55877/cc.vol21.270","url":null,"abstract":"The article aims to discuss the existing problem in contemporary art criticism, when previous genre definitions and descriptions do not match to current phenomena in question. The contemporary music(al) theatre productions tend to by diverse and often produced as hybrids, interdisciplinary projects that do not allow a single method of analysis characteristic to one of the combined artistic disciplines. The three examples provided are defined by their authors as a contemporary chamber opera, a contemporary musical and opera-film, showing the diversity of music(al) theatre genres emerging today in new form. The author concludes that the hybridization of genres and the devised creation method implies the questioning of former analytical instruments and discourses in order to develop the criticism of performing arts along with the research subject.","PeriodicalId":333506,"journal":{"name":"Culture Crossroads","volume":"3 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127696568","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"THE ART OF PERESTROIKA: NEW MOVEMENTS IN GEORGIAN ART OF THE 1980s","authors":"Ketevan Tsetskhladze","doi":"10.55877/cc.vol21.275","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.55877/cc.vol21.275","url":null,"abstract":"The study of Georgian art of the perestroika is very important, especially in the context of the history of art movements of the 1980s, linked to the establishment of the non-official art groups in Tbilisi. \u0000The aim of this article is to analyze the history of the establishment of the art groups Archivarius (1984) and Tenth Floor (1986) and to discuss the art movements of the 1980s in Tbilisi. The generation of Georgian artists involved in the non-official art groups fundamentally changed the art scene of that period and played an important role of the development of contemporary art in Georgia. Perestroika, associated with Mikhail Gorbachev’s policy of openness, contributed to a shift in political and sociocultural discourse throughout the Soviet Union and also played an important role in the artistic processes in Georgia. All the events that took place in the 1980s art scene of Tbilisi portray a vigorous willingness to hasten away from the Soviet dimension and maintain the memory of a historical discourse. Some artists found a way out through emigration; others discovered an intangible shelter via working collectively. Perestroika had clearly formed a special environment in which things that were previously unseen became visible. The Georgian avant-garde managed to create its own sui generis aesthetic and theoretical principles in just a decade, alongside expressing postmodernist hues at certain points.","PeriodicalId":333506,"journal":{"name":"Culture Crossroads","volume":"29 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133238914","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"CHOREOGRAPHER IN CONTEMPORARY THEATRE: THE CASE OF LATVIA","authors":"Dita Jonīte","doi":"10.55877/cc.vol21.272","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.55877/cc.vol21.272","url":null,"abstract":"As the paradigm of dramatic theatre has changed and the genre of contemporary dance has evolved, a new approach to theatrical choreography has emerged. In Latvia, a new generation of contemporary dance choreographers has been active for two decades. They have significantly influenced both the aesthetics of their productions and developed the degree of the participation and co-responsibility in dramatic actors. \u0000By working together with contemporary dance choreographers, some actors and directors have changed their attitudes toward their body, its role, and the meaning of their movements. There is a growing awareness of how much time, effort, and precision would be required for smart and valuable choreography. This is a new experience and an opportunity for dramatic theatre. To delve deeper, Ben Spatz, researcher and theorist of embodied practice, through his research encourages artists to focus on the process of exploring the body rather than endlessly developing technical virtuosity. \u0000While the director is still primarily responsible for the staging, the work of the rest of the creative team is often of equal importance. According to the postdramatic theatre theory of German theatre scholar Hans-Thies Lehmann and the performing arts scholar Erika Fischer-Lichte, this is related to a general tendency in the contemporary theatre – the focus is set on living, immediate relationship between theatre and audience, and in this contemporary art discourse the choreographer plays a very important role.","PeriodicalId":333506,"journal":{"name":"Culture Crossroads","volume":"133 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130646588","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"ECOTHEATRE: CHANGING PERSPECTIVE FROM WHO WE ARE TOWARDS WHERE WE ARE","authors":"Kitija Balcare","doi":"10.55877/cc.vol21.271","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.55877/cc.vol21.271","url":null,"abstract":"Looking from the perspective of Anthropocene, there is an urgency of environmental concerns which is growing day by day. While there is an emphasis on environmental education made by NGOs, it is important to analyze what is the role of the performing arts, especially, theatre, to raise awareness of environmental issues among society. \u0000The article focuses on the development of ecotheatre on a global perspective and also highlights local examples of ecodramaturgy in the performing arts in Latvia. \u0000This article lets to conclude that in the last years (2019-2022) there is a growing trend in Latvia reflecting on environmental topics through medium of theatrical performance and an essential raise in original ecodramaturgy. Also there is a development of various forms in performing arts related to environmental issues. Ecotheatre becomes the form of environmental activism or, so called artivism, of theatre practitioners in Latvia.","PeriodicalId":333506,"journal":{"name":"Culture Crossroads","volume":"80 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116430224","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"CREATIVE PEOPLE, INDUSTRIES AND PLACES IN SMALL CITIES AND RURAL AREAS","authors":"Z. Eglite","doi":"10.55877/cc.vol21.267","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.55877/cc.vol21.267","url":null,"abstract":"Richard Florida’s states that ‘creativity’ – the ability to generate new knowledge or to convert existing knowledge into economically successful applications – is an increasingly important resource for economic development [Florida 2002]. But 20 years after this statement, creative industries were the sector which had the hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic [UNESCO 2021], affecting businesses and especially, creative individuals. While forced to stay at home, people also changed their daily routines, places to live and many of them moved out of the big cities to smaller ones or rural areas. In many cases, online tools and resources allowed them to continue their creative practices and businesses or created new opportunities. Several questions arise – how do creative people choose the place to live? What are the factors which influence these choices? Can small cities and rural areas compete with large cities, and what are the preconditions for these small cities to attract creative people? \u0000Theoretical review has been developed, and the goal of this article is to formulate the insight into relation between creative people, creative industries, and creative places in small cities and rural areas. ","PeriodicalId":333506,"journal":{"name":"Culture Crossroads","volume":"120 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129939765","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"TRANSDISCIPLINARY AND TRANSNATIONAL MANIFESTATIONS IN OJĀRS FELDBERGS’ ART: THE CONCEPT OF BORDERS","authors":"Laine Kristberga","doi":"10.55877/cc.vol21.274","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.55877/cc.vol21.274","url":null,"abstract":"In this article the author examines the concepts of transdisciplinarity and transnationalism as methodological tools in art analysis. By applying these tools to the case study of Latvian artist Ojārs Feldbergs and addressing the concept of borders in his art, the author questions knowledge production systems, especially in terms of Western art discourse. The author doubts that in our hybrid globalised world it is still possible to look at artists and their oeuvre through a monoethnic perspective. It is important to be aware of parallel processes, intercultural encounters and sources of inspiration beyond the borders of one country or discipline. Yet, in doing so, the centre-periphery relationship should be addressed critically and the dictate of cultural metropolises as centres should be avoided. Given that Feldbergs’ art cannot be seen as a constituent of isolated elements – object (sculpture), space (environment), time, spectatorship – but, indeed, as a complex whole, which is hybrid and synthesised, it is crucial to define Feldbergs’ artistic strategies addressing the concept of borders – both physical and symbolic.","PeriodicalId":333506,"journal":{"name":"Culture Crossroads","volume":"21 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126551335","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"RUSSIAN SPEAKERS FROM LATVIA IN SWEDEN: BETWEEN IDENTITIES AND MEMORIES","authors":"Mary Simons","doi":"10.55877/cc.vol21.269","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.55877/cc.vol21.269","url":null,"abstract":"This ethnographic research looks into Russian speakers from Latvia, who now live in Sweden. Russian speakers from Latvia have been adapting to the new life situation after the collapse of the Soviet Union, being challenged by requirements to adjust rapidly. It has not been an easy path, as well for those Russian speakers who were born or grew up already in the independent Latvia. They have been carrying along stories and memories from their families, which did not always fit in in the newly re-built Latvia. The research investigates how did they adjust and remade themselves to adjust to the new life situation. It looks into their identity and belonging issues and their interpretations of the sensitive historical events.","PeriodicalId":333506,"journal":{"name":"Culture Crossroads","volume":"127 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124505078","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"ARTISTIC FREEDOM, CENSORSHIP AND SELF - CENSORSHIP IN THE FILM INDUSTRY OF LATVIA","authors":"Laura Brutāne, Ketrisa Petkeviča","doi":"10.55877/cc.vol21.268","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.55877/cc.vol21.268","url":null,"abstract":"The concept of censorship associates with authoritarian regime; however, it is not unequivocally, i.e., also in a democratic country there may be obstacles that create barriers for artistic self-expression and limit the artistic process by stimulating the topicality of self-censorship. Also, in Latvia the parliamentary democracy creates legal framework that formally excludes the ideological censorship of creative process and artistic creativity. Simultaneously, the society’s attitude towards artistic expressions, as well as dominant ideologic values among various groups of society and within the country may create critically condemnatory or supportive framework for certain expressions of art. The main aim of this article is to find out how the artists of today comprehend and explain manifestations of artistic freedom, censorship, and self-censorship in Latvia nowadays. Eighteen in-depth interviews involving the Latvian directors of the films were conducted in the framework of FARP “The art of nationalism: Social solidarity and exclusion in contemporary Latvia”. In general, the study (1) reveals multi-shaped manifestations of censorship in the creative activities and dominant conditions in which it forms; (2) allows to follow up the sources of self-censorship for artistic activity, and (3) draws conclusions on the conditions and barriers of creative freedom in Latvian society.","PeriodicalId":333506,"journal":{"name":"Culture Crossroads","volume":"151 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131602692","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"FOUNDATION AND OPERATION OF THE ASSOCIATION OF LATVIAN TEXTILE ART (1994–2014)","authors":"Elīna Veilande-Apine","doi":"10.55877/cc.vol21.276","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.55877/cc.vol21.276","url":null,"abstract":"Influenced by political and economic changes in Latvia in the mid-1990s of the 20th century artists in different fields of art came together and formed independent associations. Aija Baumane (1943–2019), artist and professor, the head of the Department of Textile Art at the Art Academy of Latvia (AAL), founded the Association of Latvian Textile Art (ALTA) together with ten textile artists from different generations. \u0000 The aim of the research: to describe the significance of the Association of Latvian Textile Art activities in first 20 years of operation and to identify changes in textile art since the 1990s. ALTA's attempt to motivate and encourage Latvian textile artists to become involved in world art processes marks a transition in various aspects. New ways for expression were searched and different understanding developed in textile art, and thus the question of the traditionally accepted function of textile work was raised. Until now the operation and significance of ALTA have not been studied, although its impact on the development of the textile art sector is undeniable. \u0000The research is based on ALTA activity materials, mainly documented in the press - “Literatūra un Māksla”, “Māksla”, “Diena”, “Kultūras forums”, etc. as well as little studied and not systematized so far archive of the Association of Textile Art, located at the Department of Textile Art of the Art Academy of Latvia since the foundation of the association.","PeriodicalId":333506,"journal":{"name":"Culture Crossroads","volume":"85 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126600435","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"THEATER ARTISTS BETWEEN THE CITY AND THE NON-CITY: THE SPRING OF WITHDRAWALS AND RETURNS","authors":"R. Balevičiūtė, Agnė Jurgaitytė-Avižinienė","doi":"10.55877/cc.vol21.273","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.55877/cc.vol21.273","url":null,"abstract":"In the West, theater has always been strongly associated with city culture and urbanization processes. By combining the methods and insights of the arts and psychology, the article aims to explore the impact of the city and non-city environments on the work of theater artists, to find out what happens when a creator withdraws from a usual city environment. Qualitative approach – case study analysis – is applied in this research by interviewing two theater artists. The research identified four meta-themes: move back and forth, together and separately, change of perspective, create a new universe. Analysis of the aforementioned themes revealed that withdrawal from the city, as from the usual creative space, is useful and productive for the theater artists, but becomes meaningful only when the latter come back to the city. The metaphor of the spring is suitable for describing this process: creativity is most stimulated by dynamics of withdrawals and returns, which determines the change of perspectives and, at the same time, creative states, rather than withdrawal from the city itself. Withdrawal provides impulses for new universes to emerge: both in the aesthetic plane of creation and in the psychological plane.","PeriodicalId":333506,"journal":{"name":"Culture Crossroads","volume":"13 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116490137","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}