DECORATIVE-APPLIED ARTS
DECORATIVE-APPLIED ARTS, a field of decorative art: the creation and artistic processing of the items of practical, house hold, ritual and ceremonial purpose. In D.-a.a., there is a distinction between the traditional folk art and the professional art. The folk D.-a.a. was formed by the Bashkir people throughout the centuries old history in the traditions of the nomadic culture of the Turkic peoples; a habitual and necessary circle of household items: utensils, clothes, shoes, horse decorations and horseback rider’s equipment, etc was developed in the atmosphere of this culture. The peculiarities of the subsistence economy, nomadic cattle breeding and agriculture determined the nature of the traditional occupations and types of D.-a.a. of Bashkirs (applique, embroidery, knitting, carpet making, blanket making, braiding, clothmaking, weaving), as well as methods of artistic processing of wood, metal, wool, leather, horse hair, etc. It was a rule to put a family and patrimonial symbol on them — one of the most ancient and informative sources of the origin and development of Bashkir ornament. The ideal model of the order and coherence of the mentality was the dwelling, first of all its internal space and its traditional decoration (ref. Yurt, Traditional Interior). The samples of fine jewelry are chains made of a single piece of wood (up to 1.5 m long), ending with a Bashkir totem symbol in the form of a ring with an animal figure carved in it. Carving often decorated spinning wheels, horse collars, arcs, saddles; from the 2nd half of the 19th century it was
widely used in the design of village dwelling (window trimmers, gates, etc).
Bashkirs made leather footwear with felt or cloth upper bootleg, made vessels for airan, milk and kumys. Artistic beauty distinguished the items of military and hunting equipment (ref. Caparison): leather products with embossed pattern were supplemented with decorations — metal patches with silver plating, less frequently with gilding; embossed, blackened patterns with a predominant shamrock theme. Silver items richly decorated women’s costume (ref. Traditional Jewelry, Bashkir Costume). Clothes and household adornments were woven on a hand machine. Widespread was patterned weaving, where two of the most characteristic groups of objects were distinguished: those made in insert and selective techniques from woolen threads of fine spinning (scarshau, tablecloth, ritual and ceremonial towels, women’s aprons) and items of lint free carpet weaving (napless woven woolen carpets, rugs, mats for stools, benches, chests). A unique type of weaving are the traditional woven shawls. Items made of felt, home woven and factory cloth, rarer of cotton fabrics were decorated with applique or embroidery.
In the late 19th century, the fabrication of felt was significantly reduced in the new economy conditions, the art of leather embossing, appliques, needlework, and the traditions of the artistic metal processing were getting lost. In the 30s, eclectic pseudonational culture evolved, only externally similar to the traditional folk culture. In late 50s, the revival of some crafts has occurred: felting, fur knitting, lint free carpet weaving, tambour embroidery, patterned weaving, the fabrication of furniture and rustic implements. Between 1950—60s, the art handicraft enterprises of factory type began to be opened (ref. Agidel). Cooperative craft societies were established in the areas of the Republic, many timber industry enterprises mastered the fabrication of products from birch bark, wood, osier (Burzyan birch bark baskets, Karlaman and Blagoveshchensk osier products).
Professional D.-a.a. in Bashkortostan arose in the middle of the 50s of the 20th century and is associated with the name of T.P.Nechayeva. L.N.Galeyeva, L.A.Gosachinskaya, N.V.Karpova, V.G.Kuznetsova, V.K.Nikolayev, R.A.Salimgareyev, etc worked fruitfully in the field of decorative porcelain and ceramics. In the modern art of wood carving there are two directions: the revival of ancient national techniques (idzau Burzian by I.M.Yamaletdinov) and the creative rethinking of the tradition in combination with author’s experimentation (izhau The Flower of Kurai by M.H.Davletyarov, Izhau by M.R.Khalilov). Interest in metal arose in 60 — 70s and it was associated with the creative work of Yu.S.Grushevsky, G.G.Pronin, M.K.Yakubov, etc. The traditional art of the fabrication of combat and hunting weapons and equipment with utilization of the artistic processing of metal, wood and leather is revived in the creative work of Z.G.Gayanov, the technique of hand forging traditionally used in Bashkirs’ blacksmithing — in the creative work of I.M.Badretdinov. The objects of interior and exterior design were created in this technique by R.R.Sibayev and I.P.Yudintsev. The development of the art of decorative leather as an independent type of modern professional D. a.a. is associated with the name of L.M.Stratonova.
The establishment of PO Agidel and the Ufa branch of Moscow Fine Arts Production School named after M.I.Kalinin contributed to the origination of the art of lacquer miniature, represented by the works of artists R.F.Amineva, N.A.Burzyantseva, A.Sh.Kudayarov. etc. The creative work of L.I.Habibrakhmanova in the field of decorative textile is distinguished by universalism. Textile miniature develops in the creative works by L.M.Stratonova, G.I.Ismagilova; non woven tapestry — in the works by K.M.Muradov and G.T.Mukhamedyarova. The emergence of interest in batik is associated with the creative works by V.V.Valiullin. G.Z.Gareeva, O.Yu.Zozulya, O.P.Kareva, and O.A.Martyanova are also involved in this industry. The first works in the technique of textile plastic art (relief and applique) and patchwork were created by V.M.Shibayeva.
Since the end of the 20th century, the artists’ interest in embroidery and felt has grown. The history of world culture, the plots of myths, legends and fairy tales, as well as landscape, architectural and plant ornamental themes found their embodiment in the embroideries by S.S.Stremoukhova, L.M.Stratonova, working in the technique of hand embroidery; the canonical specimens of the Bashkir, Tatar and Russian folk embroidery are recreated by M.A.Nigametzyanova and R.R.Yuldashbayeva. Since the 90s, A.F.Galin turned to the decorative felt and was followed by O.V.Litvinenko, A.A.Bairamgulova, etc.
In the modern professional D.-a.a. of Bashkortostan, there is growing interest in the decorative processing of fur. The following sections are actively developing: art doll, art design and modeling of clothes, assemblage and installation, as well as types not traditional for the Bashkir D.-a.a.: bone carving by G.N.Berezin, author’s mass by S.A.Lebedev, G.L.Novikov and A.A.Petrikov jointly created works in the ‘fusing’ technique.
