REVIEW OF PUBLICATIONS. WOMEN AND ART

The world of art for a long time remained strictly male, it appeared and existed in the system of their established values. Historically, a brief moment of women's participation brought new meanings into contemporary art. Talented artists, art critics, gallery designers, art dealers, publishers brilliantly write new pages of art history (although they resist feminist).

In our review, we included books that the world saw precisely because of such women who actively form the contemporary art space.

Publishing House “ArtHuss”

Marina Abramović “Walk Through Walls”

Marina Abramović is one of the most famous contemporary artists. Behind her back is a great personal story and the continuous expansion of the boundaries of a person’s understanding.

This autobiographical story about the life of the artist who works in the genre of performance. She is full of fear, pain, exhaustion, danger and uncompromising desire to expand the boundaries of emotional and spiritual experience. Autobiography can be not only the key to understanding Marina Abramović, but also to the latest art, the history of post-socialist countries and contemporary times.

The book “Walk Through Walls” was published in English at the end of 2016. The ArtHuss Publishing House has prepared a Ukrainian translation of the star's autobiography of contemporary performances. The publication appeared in the Ukrainian Art Book series and occupy high positions in the All-Ukrainian rating “The Book of the Year 2018”.

Publishing House “ArtHuss”

Bridget Quinn “15 Women Who Made Art and Made History”

In the ArtHuss Publishing House, the world saw the book of famous art critic Bridget Quinn “15 Women Who Made Art and Made History” translated into Ukrainian. The book also became one of seven best editions of the All-Ukrainian rating “The Book of the Year 2018”.

Historically, women had almost no place in the great artistic canon. Despite the gradual growth of the role of feminism in contemporary culture, the author of this book proposes to fill these gaps. Curious, witty, and sometimes quite embarrassingly, the American scholar of the history of art, Bridget Quinn tells about the life and work of 15 incredible artists from different countries and epochs – from the XVII century to the present. It is instructive and very interesting book, supplemented by reproductions of works as well as contemporary portraits of the heroes of the stories that created the popular American illustrator Lisa Congdon.

Vydavnytsvo Staroho Leva

Françoise Barbe-Gall “How to Talk to Children about Art”,

“How to talk to Children about the Art of the Twentieth century”

The top 100 most successful women in Ukraine in 2019 according to the magazine “New Time” include the editor-in-chief and co-founder of the Publishing House “Vydavnytstvo Staroho Leva” Mariana Savka.

The publisher clearly understands how important it is to produce quality children's literature, even on not entirely children's topics. Thus, in the publishing house it was published two great books by French art critic Françoise Barbe-Gall “How to Talk to Children about Art” and “How to Talk to Children about the Art of the Twentieth Century”.

In books in a convenient and accessible form, the author suggests how to teach children to “see” the picture, understand and feel it. This is a notebook, a guidebook, a guide and an art album at the same time. The book is addressed not only to inspired parents and pedagogues seeking to interest children in the world of art since their childhood – it is also for those curious readers who could not find the time to learn it.

 

Publishing House “Phoenix”

Lesia SMYRNA “100 NON. The Age of Non-conformism in the Ukrainian Visual Arts”

Nonconformism of the 20th century as an artistic, socio-cultural phenomenon is an immense topic for researchers of art, literature, and general cultural-historical continuity. A contemporary Ukrainian has an idea of the tragic fate of prominent cultural figures of Alla Horska, Vasyl Stus, Sergei Parajanov, their opposition to totalitarian ideology, but non-conformism in all its complexities, contradictions, and uncommonness has yet to be understood.

At the end of 2017, the world saw Lesia Smyrnova's monograph titled “The 100th Anniversary of Non-conformism in Ukrainian Visual Art”, which immediately raised interest and debate in art-related circles. The book is included in the short list of the All-Ukrainian rating “The Book of the Year 2018” in the category “Painting/photography/plastic”.

Polygraphic company “Kolir PRO”

Orest Holubets, Olsia Dvorak-Halik, Volodymyr Khyzhynskyi

“Contemporary Ukrainian Ceramics of Twelfth Century”

In 2018, according to the co-authorship of the famous artist, the founder of the contemporary ceramics festival “TseGlyna” and the “TseGlynaArt” gallery Olesia Dvorak-Halik, art connoisseurs got the opportunity to get acquainted with the first edition of the book of the album “Contemporary Ukrainian Ceramics of Twelfth Century”, which, in particular, included works the talented compatriots of Beata Korn, Nata Popova, Olha Pylnyk, Valentyna Bero, Marianna Vakhniak, Yanina Myronova, Lesia Padun and Olesia Dvorak-Halik.

The book gives new insights on the art of ceramics, which confidently fits into contemporary contexts.

In the preface to the album, a Ph.D. in History of Arts, Professor Orest Holubets notes: “This publication presents a significant share of the creative development of the young generation of Ukrainian ceramists... In their compositions, the influences of various artistic trends and phenomena are strangely intertwined: from the folk primitive and the grotesque to surrealism, constructivism, pop art and conceptualism.”

Vydavnytsvo Oleksandry Harkushi

Mykhailo Syrokhman “Pavlo Bedzir”

Every book that is born in her publishing house, Oleksandra Harkusha cherishes as a child. Many great publications about the life and work of the artists have been published precisely because of the professional approach to the process of creating the book, and of course, the natural sophisticated taste inherent in creative women.

In 2018, in the framework of the Transcarpathian Regional Program “Support for the publication of works by local authors, popularization of the Transcarpathian book and promotion of the book distribution for 2018-2020 years”, the publication of the book “Pavlo Bedzir” by the author of Mykhailo Syrokhman was chosen and published in “Vydavnytsvo Oleksandry Harkushi”.

The book, mixed thoughts, memories of friends and entries from the artist’s diary, presents the life and career of the famous Transcarpathian artist of the sixties, Uzhhorod avant-garde Pavel Bedzir. His path is devotion to art and immersion in the philosophical doctrines of different times and peoples. Pavlo Bedzir was an “academy” in one person, through which many young artists went through. A separate section in the book is devoted to the wife of the artist – talented artist Yelyzaveta Kremnytska.

Thanks to Pavlo Bedzir, his wife, Liza Kremnytska and the artist, Ferents Seman Uzhhorod, belongs to cities where freedom of creativity lived in totalitarian times and where the free development of art did not stop.

Based on materials from open sources
© Art & Culture Foundation Brovdi Art