Kasachische Kunst
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The art of Kazakhstan covers all forms of art created by the peoples living in the modern territory of Kazakhstan throughout its history. The great majority of the art of Kazakhstan is applied art, the decoration of practical objects, such as weaving carpets, pottery and leatherwork, decorating of household utensils and harness decorated with patterns. At most historical periods, much of the population of Kazakhstan was nomadic, or at least moved regularly across the vast country. The art of Kazakhstan also includes architecture, fine arts, and sculpture.
Though modern Kazakhs are often keen to assert its national character, Kazakh art has at most times been intimately connected with wider artistic styles, in particular the Scythian art of the first millennium BC, and Islamic art from the eighth century AD onwards. In the 19th and 20th centuries Russian art was the dominant influence.
History
Prehistory
Prehistoric rock engravings and paintings occupy a prominent place among the historical monuments of Kazakhstan. Rock engravings, or petroglyphs, embossed in the rock with stone or metal tools, are particularly common, and the geology and landforms of Kazakhstan's mountain ranges lent themselves to the proliferation of this art form. The absence of anthropogenic impact across most of the country has resulted in preservation of many of these monuments, providing rich material for study.
The earliest examples of art in Kazakhstan are Paleolithic. Found in the Hantau and Karatau Mountains, they take the form of animal images carved into the rocks.
Neolithic and Bronze Age petroglyphs found in the Bayanaulsky cave (Pavlodar region), and in the Tanbaly gorge (Almaty region) (where the images include an elk, a lion, a hunter with a bow, an ox harnessed to a cart, and a cow) and on the northern shores of Lake Balkhash (a duel between two men with sabers, next to which stands a girl, and others) give an idea of the main occupations and customs of the ancient tribes inhabiting the territory of modern Kazakhstan.
The petroglyphs of the Tamgaly archaeological complex, one of the most ancient and vivid rock art monuments of the "Seven Rivers" (Zhetysu, or Semirechye) area near Lake Balkhash, lie 170 km north-west of the city of Almaty in the Anrakai Mountains.[1] The rock paintings and engravings were discovered in 1957 by an archaeological expedition of the Kazakhstan Academy of Sciences under the direction of A. G. Maximova. Study of the sanctuary there, with its many cave paintings, began in the 1970s and 1980s. There are some 2000 petroglyphs, most of which are located in the lower part of the main gorge and on the side of the adjacent gorge to the west.
The themes of the drawings are diverse, and include human figures, animals, horsemen, people and predatory animals hunting, scenes of daily life, ritual dances, sun-headed deities, multi-figure compositions depicting people and animals, scenes of hunting animals and of bull sacrifice.[2] The most common images are of horses; deer, which symbolize power and beauty in Kazakh art; and eagles, representing immortality and the sky.[3][4]
In the Bronze Age, the territory of modern Kazakhstan was inhabited by people of the Andronovo culture, and by the Begazy-Dandybai culture in the south. The Andronovo culture there was worked metal ores, including gold, copper, and probably silver. In some areas this was a large-scale industry.[5] Although significant survivals are rare, it is clear that textiles, mostly woolen, were in general use for clothing, along with leather and fur. Clothing was often richly decorated with metal and stone jewellery. Greek descriptions of Iron Age steppe nomad dress survive, along with Greek and Persian depictions of related steppe-dwelling peoples.[6]
Protohistory
In the first millennium BC, the territory of present-day Kazakhstan in the Ili River area was occupied by the Sakas tribes, whose works of art formed part of the wider tradition of Scythian art across the Eurasian steppe. Most artifacts found have come from kurgan burial mounds. The most famous Sakas-era discovery was made in the Issyk kurgan (burial mound) in south-eastern Kazakhstan, near Almaty city in 1969. Known as the "Golden Man", this wealthy Saka man or woman was costumed in armor, boots and hat decorated with many gold plates, so that the burial resembled a precious metal statue. Most of the jewelry found was of gold, made by casting, stamping, embossing and engraving in the form of circular sculpture, high relief and bas-relief.
The "Golden Man" wears a high-peaked turban decorated with golden plates depicting horses, snow leopards, birds, and trees with spreading crowns, and a necklace in the form of a golden hoop with tips representing tiger heads. In the lobe of the left ear is a gold earring with a turquoise ornament. A sword in a sheath covered with red leather hangs from the belt to the right, and to the left is an iron dagger in a sheath with gold overlays depicting a galloping moose and a horse. On gold plates on both sides of the dagger are carved animal figures, among them the wolf, fox, mountain sheep, fallow deer, fox, and snake.[7] The tall hat compares with the tall saukele head-dress that is today part of the traditional wedding costume for Kazakh women.[8]
The treasures of the Issyk mound, including an exact copy of the "Golden Man", were exhibited at the Kazakh Museum of Archeology, located in Almaty, and are now at the State Museum of Gold and Precious Metals of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Astana.
The "golden man" on the winged leopard became one of the main symbols of Kazakhstan.[9]
Many "balbals" or kurgan stelae, monoliths shaped like human figures, have been found topping kurgans, or surrounding them in groups.
Islamic period
In the Middle Ages, various states succeeded each other in the territory of modern Kazakhstan. There was active trade along the Great Silk Road, and this enriched the culture of the people who lived there, bringing new art techniques and influencing the spheres of application of local artists' creative potential.
On the Great Silk Road, the cities of Isfijab, Yangikent, Suyab, Kayalyk Mirki, and Kulan in the valleys of the rivers Syr Darya, Talas, Chu, and Ili were centers of culture, religion, and trade, providing a connection between agricultural oases and nomadic steppe, between East and West.
The medieval centers of culture, science, and art were the cities of Otrar, Taraz, Balasagun, Sygnak, Sauran, among many others. The mausoleums of Babaji-Khatun (X-XI centuries), Aisha-Bibi (XI-XII centuries), Alash-khan (XII-XIV centuries), Dzhuchi-khan (XIII century), Kozy-Korpesh, and Bayan-Slu (VIII – X centuries), and the tower of Tamerlane (XIV century) are considered to be unique architectural monuments of this time. Of the monuments located in the south of Kazakhstan, the complex of the Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yassavi in the city of Turkistan stands out as one of the largest architectural monuments of Central Asia and of Kazakhstan. The mausoleum was built by order of Timur (XIV century) in honor of the preacher Yassavi. The mausoleum was built of burnt bricks and laid out inside and out with multi-colored tiles of blue and white, decorated with carved and type-setting mosaic, painted majolica. A huge cauldron located in a mausoleum of great artistic value, cast from an alloy of seven metals, can now be seen in the State Hermitage Museumin Saint Petersburg, Russia.
In the XIV-XV centuries, great progress was made in the use of structures such as arches, vaults, and domes. Particular attention was paid to the quality of the bricks, most of which were square in shape. One side of the brick was painted blue, white or green, and such bricks were laid for cladding simultaneously with the building of external walls. Polychrome majolica tiles were also used in wall decoration. In the interiors murals and relief ornaments began to appear. Applied art featured widely in the construction of the mausoleums of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, Kok-Kesen and Alash Khan. Medieval builders attached great importance to the quality of the building material: already at that time, brick and glazed paint of particular strength were made.
In the Middle Ages, among other applied arts, carpet-weaving and pottery became widespread in Kazakhstan. The richly patterned carpets were used both in the home, as decoration, and worn, as protection against the elements.[10]
Common patterns ornamenting carpets, household items and kitchen utensils included floral motifs, hunting scenes, folk games, animals, and birds. The image of the horse as a central motif is found throughout Kazakhstan, personifying beauty and power. Horses were very important to the culture as a means of transport, especially in wartime, and were sacrificed to the gods and interred alongside warriors in burial mounds.[11]
Pottery items were often decorated with inscriptions in different languages, such as Turkic, Uigur, and Sogdian. Examples include the ceramic inscriptions found in the archaeological city of Aktobe, located in the middle reaches of the Chu River. Many inscriptions found on these ceramics date back to the 9th-11th centuries.[12]
Modern period
In Kazakhstan, fine art in the classical sense has its origins in the 19th century and the influence of Russian artists Vasily Vereshchagin and Nikolai Khludov, who travelled in Central Asia and portrayed what they saw. Khludov had a particular influence on the development of the local school of painting, becoming the teacher of many local artists. The most famous of these is Abilkhan Kasteyev, after whom the State Museum of Art of Kazakhstan was renamed.
In full, the Kazakh school of art was formed by the 40s of the twentieth century, and in the 50s it flourished. Local painters, graphic artists, sculptors, who received education as part of the unified Soviet system of preparing artists, began to actively create, often using national motifs in their work. The names of such painters as O. Tansykbaev, J. Shardenov, K. Telzhanov, S. Aitbaev, graphic artists E. Sidorkina, A. Duzelkhanov, sculptors H. Nauryzbaeva, E. Sergebaeva today make up the pride of Kazakhstani art.
At the end of the 1980s, an avant-garde movement formed in Kazakhstan, aiming to find fresh ideas and protest against established forms and images in art. In Kazakhstan painting various plastic principles began to appear, such as in the works of B. Tulkeev - super-complex psychological compositions, A. Sydykhanov - mystical graphic compositions, A. Akanaeva - improvised compositions, like Picasso, D. Aliyev - chaotic figurative solutions. The paintings by K. Duisenbaev are filled with expressive formalism, reflecting the inner forces of nature and the human soul through a pictorially plastic form. K. Akhmetzhanov's canvases display the surrounding reality through pieces of color, "optically" collecting them into a picture of the world. In the works of A. Menlibayev, E. Ghazaryan there is a revival of interest in the folklore, ornamental style, taken from different temporal, spatial and cultural layers of history and traditions.
Mythological symbolism is a significant phenomenon of modern art in Kazakhstan, which is expressed in the visual searches of artists Gulnara Kasmalieva's and Muratbek Djumaliev's "TransSiberian Amazons" (2005) and multi-channel video art "A New Silk Road: Algorithm of Survival and Hope” (2007), performance and photography of Victor and Elena Vorobievs “(Non)Silk Road” (2006).[13]
Since Kazakhstan gained independence, there have been cardinal changes in all spheres: political, economic, social and art. One of the famous sculptural and architectural complexes of Modern Art is the Independence Monument in Almaty (sculptors A.Zhumabaev, N.Dalbai, architect Sh.Valihanov) and the monument to Ablaykhan in Astana (sculptor N. Dalbai, architect Sh. Valikhanov) made a considerable contribution to the approval of the idea of independence of Kazakhstan. The architectural-sculptural complex of the equestrian monument Isatay Taimanov and Makhambet Utemisov in Atyrau (sculptor B.Abishev and E.Sergebaev) can be called a phenomenon of modern monumental sculpture of Kazakhstan. The square with the monument to Sultan Beibars in Atyrau (sculptor K. Kakimov) became a beautiful laconic and expressive.
The Independence Monument, erected on the main square of Almaty, has become a symbol of the country, independence, a metaphor of the unity of the past, present and future of Kazakh history, culture and statehood. The granite stela directed upwards was crowned with a statue of a young warrior, stylized in the image of a famous "Golden Man". At his feet is a formidable winged mythical leopard. Attention to the richest cultural heritage of the Kazakhs, its skillful transformation in new forms made the Monument of Independence a phenomenon of national scope and marked the beginning of a wide search in this direction. The Independence Monument, created by the team led by the architect Sh. Valihanov, is a large-scale and monumental, and at the same time syncretic, artistic genre. Accurate understanding of the laws of this genre, coupled with the inherent Sh. Valihanovu ability to synthesize ideas, the ability to organically link purely traditional, national elements with the achievements of world aesthetic and urban planning thought helped in the end to create a monument grandiose in design and embodiment.
Museums of Kazakhstan
There are more than 170 museums in Kazakhstan. The oldest museum in Kazakhstan - Semipalatinsk Museum of History and Local Lore - was built in 1883.
- Central State Museum of Kazakhstan
- National Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan
- A. Kasteyev State Museum of Arts
See also
References
- ↑ A.E. Rogozhinsky: PETROGLYPH SITES OF KAZAKHSTAN AND WESTERN CENTRAL ASIA AS PART OF THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL LANDSCAPE: NEW CHALLENGES. In: Archaeology, Ethnology and Anthropology of Eurasia. 36. Jahrgang, Nr. 4, 1. Dezember 2008, ISSN 1563-0110, S. 83–94, doi:10.1016/j.aeae.2009.03.009 (sciencedirect.com).
- ↑ A.Z. Beisenov, G.S. Dzhumabekova, G.A. Bazarbayeva, A.E. Kassenalin: The World of Images in the Art of the Ancient Population of the Central Kazakhstan (1 Millennium BC). In: Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences. 122. Jahrgang, März 2014, ISSN 1877-0428, S. 194–198, doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.01.1326.
- ↑ Abdesh Toleubayev, Rinat Zhumatayev, Dina Baimuhamedova: Image of an Eagle in the Art of the Early Nomads. In: Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences. 122. Jahrgang, März 2014, ISSN 1877-0428, S. 240–244, doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.01.1335.
- ↑ Gani Omarov, Dosbol Baigunakov, Gulmira Sabdenova: The Deer in Iron Age Art in Central Asia: The Common Trends in Perception of Images. In: Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences. 122. Jahrgang, März 2014, ISSN 1877-0428, S. 269–272, doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.01.1341.
- ↑ Kuz'mina, 89-94
- ↑ Kuz'mina, 101-105
- ↑ A. S. Amanzholov: History of Ancient Türkic script. "Mektep", Almaty 2003, ISBN 978-9965-16-204-6.
- ↑ Archaeology magazine - Chieftain or Warrior Priestess?
- ↑ Claudia Chang: Rethinking Prehistoric Central Asia. 2017, ISBN 978-1-315-17369-6, doi:10.4324/9781315173696.
- ↑ Kalshabayeva Bibiziya Kenzhebekovna, Sarmurzina Nagima: Some Features of Decorative and Applied Arts of Kazakhs in Central Asia. In: Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences. 122. Jahrgang, März 2014, ISSN 1877-0428, S. 110–113, doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.01.1311.
- ↑ Rinat Zhumatayev, Zhanar Kozhabekova: Image of a Horse in Rock Art of Medieval Kazakhstan. In: Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences. 122. Jahrgang, März 2014, ISSN 1877-0428, S. 157–161, doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.01.1319.
- ↑ Yeraly Akymbek, Beibit Baibugunov: Inscriptions on Ceramics of Medieval City Aktobe. In: Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences. 122. Jahrgang, März 2014, ISSN 1877-0428, S. 77–81, doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.01.1306.
- ↑ Diana T. Kudaibergenova: "My Silk Road to You": Re-imagining routes, roads, and geography in contemporary art of "Central Asia". In: Journal of Eurasian Studies. 8. Jahrgang, Nr. 1, Januar 2017, ISSN 1879-3665, S. 31–43, doi:10.1016/j.euras.2016.11.007.