About the features of the avant-garde art of Orenburg of the second half of the 20th century: axiological context

Abstract

The regional avant-garde of the “second wave” belongs to the little-studied topics of contemporary Russian art history. The relevance of this study is because for the first time the Orenburg avant-garde is considered in the context of Russian culture. The author indicates the main features of the avant-garde art of Orenburg based on the analysis of the work of artists who rejected the dogmas of official art and defended the right to their vision of the artistic world, scientific articles, albums and catalogs of exhibitions, articles in the press. A significant event in the cultural life of the city was the creation in the early 1970s of the creative association of artists called Sadki Academy, which had a great influence on the formation of the Orenburg avant-garde. The first great recognition came to the avant-garde in 1991, when the Hotel Drouot Auction in Paris presented works of artists of the Urals with the subtitle “Underground Art”. When considering this problem, the author also points to uncooperative artists, each of whom, because of creative searches, came to avant-garde art. The article focuses on the fact that avant-garde artists had a hard time making their way to the viewer, for a long time they did not receive recognition for their work, they were more often exhibited abroad than in Russia. Today, everyone recognizes the work of the Orenburg avant-garde artists, and all exposition sites of the city show their personal exhibitions. Based on the work done, the author of the research makes a conclusion about the features of the second avant-garde in Orenburg. Local avant-garde artists were far from both socialist realist and postmodern art; they did not touch on contemporary acute social and political issues in their work. Universal and artistic values were important for them, and in solving painting tasks, artists relied on the traditions of avant-garde art of the early 20th century.