"Still the River Flows" gives ancient winter solstice rituals meaning in the present day (01/01/06)

"Still the River Flows" gives ancient winter solstice rituals meaning in the present day

by Olena Jennings

NEW YORK - At The Ukrainian Museum on Sunday, December 11, 2005, Yara Arts Group presented the art installation "Still the River Flows" along with a short performance for the opening. "Still the River Flows" provides a window into the significance that ancient winter solstice and Christmas rituals have in the modern day.

The title has a dual meaning. "Still" has both the sense of the frozen river and "still to this day." The installation by Watoku Ueno showcases the beauty and mystery of the rituals, using the photographs of Alexander Khantaev and video by Andrea Odezynska.

Work on the installation began when Mr. Khantaev accompanied Yara director Virlana Tkacz to the Carpathian Village of Kryvorivnia to photograph koliada, or Ukrainian Winter rituals, in January 2003. They did not expect to encounter such an ancient, colorful and extensive performance of traditions. The winter ritual that began on January 6, with the dinner of 12 dishes captivated them.

In the performance piece that preceded the opening of the installation, Olga Shuhan played a lonely housewife in an excerpt from Yara's "Koliada: Twelve Dishes." The excerpt not only entertained, but served to introduce the dinner traditions. The housewife invited the spirits to dinner and recited a poetic list of traditional dishes.

The koliada rituals continue with "Twelve Days of Song" during which the "koliadnyky," or carolers go from house to house. Ms. Tkacz explained that the koliadnyky sing a separate long song to each member of the household. The songs are chosen specifically for that person by the lead singer. In a display of traditional songs that was part of the performance, Vera Slywotzky and Allison Hiroto emphasized the enchanting quality of the music with the song in which they repeated "Dai Bozhe," Oh Lord, May it by so!

The next performance was by acclaimed Ukrainian singer Mariana Sadovksa. Sadovska involved the audience in a soulful performance of two traditional koliada songs from Central Ukraine.

When Mr. Ueno began to design the art installation, his first step was the exploration of the koliada rituals. He set out to discover why they were performed, but found no complete authoritative explanation. The river appeared to be central to the rituals that concluded with the blessing of the water. Mr. Ueno, therefore, made the river image central to the exhibition.

Mr. Khantaev's photographs, which follow the chronology of the ritual, are pasted against a flowing background of white paper supported by birch branches. The image of the river is also important in Ms. Odezynska's videos, serving as a foundation and connective tissue in the story of the koliadnyky in Kryvorivnia. The video footage of the performing koliadnyky played in opposite parts of the room creates the impression, through the use of echoes, that the viewer is experiencing the rituals firsthand.

The words to a winter song about that village of Kryvorivnia wind around the room. They anchor the installation in the place where the winter solstice and Christmas rituals remain central to the lives of the people. The Yara Arts Group effectively combined visual media and text to re-create the feeling and emotion associated with these rituals.

The exhibit "Still the River Flows" continues Wednesday to Sundays 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. through January 29, as part of the exhibition "The Tree of Life, the Sun, the Goddess: Symbolic Motifs in Ukrainian Folk Art" developed by Lubow Wolynetz, curator of the museum's folk art collection. To find out more about The Ukrainian Museum in New York City, log on to www.ukrainianmuseum.org.

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