Museum in New York to exhibit rescued sculptures and icons (12/03/06)

Museum in New York to exhibit rescued sculptures and icons

by Marta Baczynsky

NEW YORK - The Ukrainian Museum is honored to present the exhibition "Ukrainian Sculpture and Icons: A History of Their Rescue" that opens on December 13. This show has a unique distinguishing feature: it includes many objects from the private collection of the president of Ukraine, Victor Yushchenko.

Presented in the exhibit are 57 works from the president's collection, as well as from the private collections of Petro Honchar, Ihor Hryniv, Volodymyr Koziuk, Vasyl Vovkun and Lidia Lykhach.

Since the opening of its new modern and elegant building in 2005, The Ukrainian Museum has been enjoying one success after another. Its inaugural exhibition, "Alexander Archipenko: Vision and Continuity," brought new audiences to its galleries and the attention of New York's highly competitive arts community. The current exhibition, "Crossroads: Modernism in Ukraine 1910-1930," opened to critical acclaim (The New York Times, November 4) and is drawing visitors from near and far.

Coming on the heels of such major achievements, the new exhibition, "Ukrainian Sculpture and Icons: A History of Their Rescue," is a wonderful complement to the ongoing success story of the museum. The exhibit is a cooperative endeavor between The Ukrainian Museum in New York City and the Ivan Honchar Museum, Rodovid Gallery and V-Art in Ukraine, further solidifying The Ukrainian Museum's objective to work in concert with the museum and arts community in Ukraine.

"The museum considers it a privilege to welcome the exhibition 'Ukrainian Sculpture and Icons: A History of Their Rescue,' " said Olha Hnateyko, president of the museum's board of trustees. "The museum is honored that President Yushchenko accepted our invitation to share the treasures from his collection with our museum, and we thank the other esteemed collectors for enriching the exhibition with priceless objects from their collections as well."

These objects - icons and religious wood sculptures - have been rescued from obscurity and destruction and have found a new life in the care of private collectors. The exhibit will run through February 28, 2007.

The objects on exhibit date from the end of the 17th to the beginning of the 20th centuries and, for the most part, were created by folk artists. Among the objects are sculptures on religious themes such as depictions of the Crucified Christ, angels and saints. The three-pronged, elaborately decorated candelabra known as "triitsii" are part of this exhibition as well. Also featured are icons that display the varied styles produced during this 200-year period.

In the exhibition catalogue President Yushchenko speaks about the essence of these objects: "The works of iconography and sculpture presented in this exhibition ... are not just elements of sacral ritual: they are fundamental components of their historical context, of the social and economic changes occurring at that time, as well as the spiritual expression of the interplay of various cultures."

The 160-page bilingual, illustrated catalogue is a very important component of the exhibit in which art historians Oleh Sydor and Mykola Mozdyr discuss Ukrainian iconography and religious sculpture. Also contained in the catalogue is a revealing historical survey by Serhii Bilokin, Ph. D., whose expertise is in the field of historical sciences, describing the devastating systematic destruction of Ukraine's cultural heritage by the Soviet regime during the better part of the 20th century.

Since Ukraine proclaimed its independence in 1991 there has been a revival of interest among the population in its cultural heritage. Restorations of historical landmarks and public monuments are on the rise, as are the renovation of old churches and the building of new ones. Museums are reclaiming their prominence and cultural patronage is finding acceptance once again.

Several of the icons on exhibit were created in monastery- or church-supported icon workshops and were used in church applications. Other icons included in the exhibit were painted by non-professional village painters and were executed on wooden boards or homespun cloth. These types of icons were an integral part of the village home life and had religious functions that were performed in the home and the community, thus playing a significant role in the lives of the villagers. For example, a newborn would receive an icon as a gift, newlyweds were blessed with icons, and icons were placed in coffins of the deceased. The people prayed before icons prior to a long journey or during a difficult life situation.

The art of iconography is more than a thousand years old in Ukraine and the art of religious and Christian painting during that time span formed unique characteristics that reflected a national cultural identity. This is evident in the massive number of icons that survived through the centuries, withstanding the turbulence of geopolitical changes on Ukrainian territory, which due to its location, was subject to the influences of various cultures and the world's major religions. Most ancient icons were preserved in churches and villages farthest from the main trade routes and large cities. Although it was the custom to periodically refurbish, renew or even replace icons and, in fact, entire iconostasis, many such art works remained intact by being stored in church attics or bell towers.

In Ukrainian folk culture religious wood sculpture was most prevalent in the Halychyna and Podillia regions of the country. This art form stems from two sources. One source consisted of folk craftsmen trained in cities or villages. For the most part, these craftsmen imitated the professionals, adhering to their compositions and styles. The second source were the untrained folk craftsmen, whose work displays features of primitivism. It is unfortunate that very little of the primitive sculpture remains today, and one of the most important reasons for this is that primitive art was not considered an accepted art form for a very long time, and thus its preservation received very little attention, if any, until modern times.

The themes and functions of the folk wood sculptures were used for religious applications, were ritualistic in nature and carried with them the power of protection. An identifying characteristic of these sculptures is the personification of saints with features of simple people. Thus, an earthly quality was projected in these works. The artist's execution of a work was dictated more by the local understanding of religion, and by the prevailing customs and traditions. Although some folk sculptures were displayed in churches, for the most part they were found in chapels and cemeteries, and at roadsides.

The physical personification of saints was always a reflection of how the people envisioned them. This is very clearly seen in another popular sculpture figure - that of an angel. Because there was no developed iconographic blueprint for angels, nor were angels a developed image in the folk culture, artists portrayed them as boys or girls, with wings or without, and dressed in various attires. Their faces, however, presented a unified vision - they were soft and round, with clear eyes and luxuriant hair.

Museums in Ukraine and the practice of collecting art works can both trace their origins to churches, monasteries and royal treasuries, which had accumulated remarkable wealth during the first three centuries of Christianity in Ukraine (10th to 13th centuries). In later centuries the collections of the Kozak elite and those of the affluent merchant class served as stellar examples of collecting. In the 19th century the first museums were established in Ukraine, motivated by interests in antiquities and archeology and based on very extensive private collections. In the 20th century the Soviet policy of annihilation of the Ukrainian cultural heritage created a foundation of destruction, upon which newly independent Ukraine is attempting to reverse and rebuild.

The exhibition "Ukrainian Sculpture and Icons: A History of Their Rescue" is a very telling example of the vital resurgence of Ukraine's national cultural identity. It is also a testament to the importance of private collectors in the preservation of cultural treasures and in the building of museum collections. The Ukrainian Museum has greatly respected and valued the private collectors, since its own collections have been built, for the most part, with gifts from private collections.

The Ukrainian Museum was founded in 1976 and is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. The museum is located at 222 E. Sixth St., New York, NY 10003. Hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 11:30 a.m.-5 p.m. For information call 212-228-0110, e-mail i[email protected], or log on to www.ukrainianmuseum.org.

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