Since 2015, after the adoption of laws on decommunization, the topic of Soviet heritage and the need to determine its place in Ukrainian history has become more acute than ever. The artistic heritage of the XXth century is a significant part of the collections of many national museums, which today needs to be reinterpreted. Where the line between art and propaganda, under what conditions is it appropriate to exhibit paintings or sculptures that glorify “socialist reality”, what context of the works should be emphasized during excursions?
Representatives of institutions that in one way or another developed methods of presenting art from the USSR period in their projects spoke about the modern principles of working with the artistic heritage of the XXth century: the Taras Shevchenko National Museum, the Kyiv National Art Gallery and the War Museum.
Tetiana Chuiko, Candidate of Art History, Deputy General Director for Scientific Work of the Taras Shevchenko National Museum, spoke about the influence of Soviet propaganda on the iconography of Kobzar and the reinterpretation of his image after the independence of Ukraine.
Olena Borymska, art critic, head of the department of exposition and exhibition work of the Kyiv National Art Gallery revealed the secrets of successful presentation of art samples of the communist period in modern exhibitions.
Roman Kabachii, senior researcher of the Scientific and Exposition Department of Combat Actions of World Wars of the ХХth century of the War Museum, focused on the process of selecting works of art from the museum collection for the exhibition “War: Reverse Perspective” and searching for opportunities to reinterpret of the paintings in future historical exhibitions.
Representatives of the National Academy of Sciences, national and municipal museums joined the discussion.
The discussion was moderated by Maryna Bohush, co-curator of the exhibition “War: Reverse Perspective”.
The recording of the event can already be viewed on the Facebook Page of the Museum.
