I am an art historian, associate professor at the Art Academy of Latvia, lecturing on Latvian ethnography, design history, textile art history and academic writing. I've worked as an author of books and research papers, as an editor-in-chief, and as the head of research project teams. My research interests encompass ethnography/ethnology and folk (vernacular) art of Latvia and other European nations, crafts, applied (decorative) art, and design during the 20th century (Soviet period; 1950s - 1980s), as well as the history of related knowledge construction and terminological/theoretical issues.
I'm currently working on research for the project of the Art Academy of Latvia Institute of Art History to make a multi-volume publication called “Art History of Latvia” edited by Dr.habil.art. Eduards Kļaviņš. Work in progress is for Volume VI Period of the First Two Occupations. 1940–1945 / Period of Socialist Realism and the Art of Diaspora. 1945–1985. For this volume, I will contribute four texts on applied/decorative arts and design in Latvia in particular decades: 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. For developed issues, please visit the web-page: https://www.lma-mvi.lv/en/publications/art-history-of-latvia
In the 1920s and 1930s, Latvian magazines featured original textile compositions by renowned male... more In the 1920s and 1930s, Latvian magazines featured original textile compositions by renowned male artists. Through my research of textile compositions of the famous Latvian artist and designer Jūlijs Madernieks, it became apparent that during this period, Latvian magazines also showcased textiles by lesser-known artists, particularly graduates of the Graphic Arts Workshop of the Art Academy of Latvia. Despite the significant role played by graphic artists in the formation and promotion of Latvian national textile art, their contributions remain largely unexplored. This research focuses on the popular women's magazine Zeltene, which presented numerous original textile designs by Elza Druja, Marija Muceniece, Otomija Freiberga, and Kristine Pāvulina. Another focal point of this study is the state of textile crafts education in the third decade of the 20th century and its role in encouraging women to engage in textile art or crafts. The contributions of women to Latvian textile art during the 1920s and 1930s have not received adequate scholarly attention due to the occupation of Latvia by the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany in the 1940s, as well as subsequent constraints imposed on Latvian art historians by the Soviet regime. This paper marks an initial stage in the development of Latvian textile art history, with a particular emphasis on female textile artists. 1
Acta Academiae Artium Vilnesis. No. 112 (2024): Art in a Modern City for a Modern State: Celebrating 100 Years of the Kaunas School of Art , 2024
In the 1920s and 1930s, Latvian magazines featured original textile compositions by renowned male... more In the 1920s and 1930s, Latvian magazines featured original textile compositions by renowned male artists. Through my research of textile compositions of the famous Latvian artist and designer Jūlijs Madernieks, it became apparent that during this period, Latvian magazines also showcased textiles by lesser-known artists, particularly graduates of the Graphic Arts Workshop of the Art Academy of Latvia. Despite the significant role played by graphic artists in the formation and promotion of Latvian national textile art, their contributions remain largely unexplored. This research focuses on the popular women's magazine Zeltene, which presented numerous original textile designs by Elza Druja, Marija Muceniece, Otomija Freiberga, and Kristine Pāvulina. Another focal point of this study is the state of textile crafts education in the third decade of the 20th century and its role in encouraging women to engage in textile art or crafts. The contributions of women to Latvian textile art during the 1920s and 1930s have not received adequate scholarly attention due to the occupation of Latvia by the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany in the 1940s, as well as subsequent constraints imposed on Latvian art historians by the Soviet regime. This paper marks an initial stage in the development of Latvian textile art history, with a particular emphasis on female textile artists. 1
Koks un cilvēks Ziemeļeiropā no senvēstures līdz mūsdienām. Rīga: Latvijas Nacionālais vēstures muzejs. , 2023
The article examines the first iconographic and written materials about one of the most splendid ... more The article examines the first iconographic and written materials about one of the most splendid items in the interiors of Latvian farmsteads of the 19th and 20th centuries, namely, artistically designed wooden chair backs. At the end of the 19th century and especially in the first half of the 20th century, the Latvian intelligentsia became interested in Latvian folk, or peasant, art forms. New information about peasant art forms was created and shared, and analysis of this process helps to better explain the modern perspective about this topic. Among other items, the artistic forms of wooden chair backs were represented in drawings, photographs and texts produced by artists and architects. Using their knowledge on art history, they sought to see motifs of historical art styles in Latvian folk art. However, in the 21st century, only the simplest form of wooden chair, the so-called stulpiņš, has been included in the Latvian Cultural Canon. This study examines the knowledge creation process in original texts, drawings and photographs; further, it focuses on the context of historical styles of applied art. The research methodology consists of the analysis of written texts, the formal analysis of iconographic materials, the study of the materials of expeditions conducted by the Board of Monuments, the identification of analogies in the digitised collections of European and American museums, including a comparison of forms and details. Attention was paid to the terms used by traditional narrators interviewed by the Board of Monuments, which expanded the lexicon related to various types of peasant chairs and helped to identify analogies in peasant folk art in the German-language cultural space.
Raksta mērķis ir pievērst uzmanību profesionālās tekstilmākslas un amatniecības jeb tautas lietiš... more Raksta mērķis ir pievērst uzmanību profesionālās tekstilmākslas un amatniecības jeb tautas lietišķās mākslas mijiedarbībai Padomju Latvijā. 1961. gadā Latvijas PSR Valsts Mākslas akadēmijā (mūsdienās – Latvijas Mākslas akadēmija, turpmāk – LMA) tika izveidota Tekstilmākslas nodaļa. 20. gadsimta 60. gados sāka piešķirt Tautas daiļamata meistara goda nosaukumu, veidojās Tautas lietišķās mākslas studijas (turpmāk studija vai TLMS). Aprakstos par studiju darbiem pārsvarā uzsvērts, ka tās turpina tautas mākslas tradīcijas, bet eksperimenti amatniecības tehnikās un laikmetīgā tekstilmāksla kā iedvesmas avots pieminēta vispārināti un neskaidri. Pētījumā uzrādīta laikmetīgās tekstilmākslas klātbūtne TLMS darbos un studiju vadītāji kā saikne ar to. Deviņas tekstilmākslinieces ar akadēmijas izglītību 20. gadsimta 70. un 80. gados vadīja studijas. Pētniecības metodes: literatūras studijas, tekstilmākslas un tekstilamatniecības salīdzinājums, intervijas ar tekstilmāksliniecēm. Tekstilmākslinieču muzealizētās mākslas piemēri Latvijas Mākslinieku savienības, Dekoratīvās mākslas un dizaina, kā arī Latvijas Nacionālajā vēstures muzejā.
Raksts sākotnēji publicēts angļu valodā LU Literatūras folkloras un mākslas institūta žurnālā Letonica Nr. 46, 2022 (Pieejams: http://lulfmi.lv/Letonica-Nr-46). Grāmatā “Amats. Māksla. Mēs” piedāvājam lasīt pētījumu latviski.
The contemporary musealization of Latvian design objects or the inclusion of high-quality example... more The contemporary musealization of Latvian design objects or the inclusion of high-quality examples in the Latvian National Museum Holdings began in 2005. Established three years later in 2008, the Latvian Design of the Year Award has since then attracted attention to this field, prompting further theoretical discourse. The publicly available narrative on 21st century Latvian design often points out the strong influence of local crafts and ethnic cultural heritage. An important impetus in contemporary, ethnically conscious design is the culture of the Song and Dance Celebration, within which the outfits of festival participants are created. This article identifies the application of traditional Latvian crafts in the works of Latvian artists and designers, visualizing the ideas and forms of ethnic identity. The analysis focuses on the general context of Latvian design: institutions supported by the Ministry of Culture, the Latvian Design of the Year Award and FOLD, the digital magazine of creative industries. Sources used include opinion articles and the public messages of companies. To facilitate theoretical understanding of the topic, it was important to take into account the theory of national identity and the museum narrative as well as the history of European design, especially at the turn of the 20th/21st centuries. It should be noted that the history of applied art and design in Latvia during the 20th century is still in the research stage. A historical insight into the construction of the Latvian traditional craft narrative, which began at the end of the 19th century, is also provided so as to promote greater comprehension of Latvian design. Essentially, it is a narrative of national identity, deliberately constructed through the craft practices, raw materials and compositional techniques characteristic of peasant culture.
Crafts, Arts and We – the name of the catalogue of the research project of
the Art Academy of Lat... more Crafts, Arts and We – the name of the catalogue of the research project of the Art Academy of Latvia and the Folk Applied Arts Exhibition of the XXVIIth Nationwide Latvian Song and XVIIth Dance Festival Mēs ( We) – harks back to the goals set by Rihards Zariņš (1869–1939) for the new thematic set of publications Mahksla un Amats (Art and Craft) in the monthly journal Austrums (1885–1906). The name clearly indicates an ideological connection with the ideas of Arts & Crafts. That is to say, to value craft skills and handiwork, natural raw materials, craft masters as art. The first sentence of the new journal section published in 1904–1905 reads: ‘The very name of our new section indicates what we intend to discuss in it: arts and crafts, and as much as possible, both together because together they were born in ancient times and together, they have flourished in the good times of each nation’. At the beginning of the 20th century, folk art became a source of inspiration for craftsmen, architects and artists, creating modern architecture and applied art infused with ethnic motifs. Since the end of the 19th century, the Knowledge Commission of the Riga Latvian Society has been looking for specimens of traditional crafts, and their collection in the museums continues to be replenished to this day. In the 21st century, museums store materials that can put one in touch with ancient traditions and that can be used for both research and inspiration, provided one knows how to interpret them. Thanks to digital technologies, the items in the museum collections can be studied in the Joint Catalogue of the National Hold- ings of Museums at www.nmkk.lv. Even though often we do not know much about the craftspeople who had created their works prior to the 20th century, we can still research and write about the crafts they had practised thanks to their works in the museum collections. We do know, however, the names and the number of masters of folk art in the second half of the 20 th century: 4020 people. Their works are also stored in Latvian and world museums. In this collection of articles, a special place is dedicated to these masters. We, the people of the 21st century, want to study and understand the importance of the masters of folk arts in safeguarding the Latvian ethnic identity in the second half of the 20th century. The collection of articles and the catalogue let us come closer to Latvian crafts and arts, revealing the distinguishing characteristics of the approaches to the study of folk art in the 19th and in the 20th century. The articles and the catalogue focus on, and celebrate, the accomplishments of the contemporary craftspeople represented in the XXVIIth Nationwide Latvian Song and XVIIth Dance Festival Folk-Art Exhibition Mēs (We).
The authors of the articles in the collection are undergraduate, MA, and PhD students and lecturers of the Faculty of Art History and Theory of the Art Academy of Latvia (AAL), as well as artists, art experts and masters of applied arts. The research was carried out under the aegis of the State re - search programme ‘Latvian Culture – a Resource for National Development in 2020-2022’ developed by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia and implemented within the framework of the project ‘Cultural Capital as a Resource for the Sustainable Development of Latvia’ / CARD AAL sub-project ‘The Ethnic in Art. Crafts in Applied and Fine Arts, Design and Architecture’ from October 2020 to October 2022. 6 In the course of their study at the Art Academy, students are given an opportunity to participate in the research of professional crafts and to publish their research results, which is nowadays only made possible thanks to the support provided by the related larger-scale projects. The Song and Dance Festival Folk Applied Arts Exhibition, as one of the highest affirmations of the cultural achievements of Latvia, fits very well in the sub-project of the Art Academy of Latvia which is to trace and explain the interaction of crafts and arts from the 19 th century to the present day. It is only to be expected that the current collection of articles should be published together with the catalogue of the 2023 Song and Dance Festival Folk Applied Arts Exhibition Mēs ( We), which lists the names and works of the contemporary artists whose works are represented at the exhibition, where we get to know more than 1,200 authors whose works attest to the vitality and vibrancy of the intangible Latvian cultural heritage at the beginning of the 21st century. In the course of the project, its participants have researched handicrafts, family heirlooms, exhibits in museum collections, and published and unpublished articles. They have drawn on the knowledge acquired in schools and universities as well as in galleries and exhibitions. The project has enabled its participants to share the results of their research with one another, and thus to increase their knowledge and to evaluate their own and others’ findings critically. At the exhibition, more than 3,500 works of contemporary applied arts reveal the many ways in which artists infuse the materiality of their handicrafts with motifs and patterns of Latvian ethnic cultural heritage. Represented at the exhibition are woven, knitted and embroidered fabrics; fired and glazed pottery; carved and chiselled woodworks; enchased and cast metal works; polished amber. Above all, this collection is about an artist’s devotion to his or her craft.
The aim of the article is to draw attention to the interaction between professional textile art a... more The aim of the article is to draw attention to the interaction between professional textile art and handicrafts or folk applied art in Soviet Latvia. In 1961, within the State Academy of Arts of the Latvian SSR (now the Art Academy of Latvia, hereinafter — the Academy) was established the Department of Textile Art. In the 1960s, it began to award the honorary title of the Master of Folk Crafts and Folk Applied Art Studios (hereinafter — the Studio or FAAS). The descriptions of the activities of the Studios mostly emphasize that they continue folk art traditions, but the experiments with craft
techniques and inspiration from contemporary textile art are mentioned in a generalized and vague way. The study shows the presence of contemporary textile art in the works of FAAS and the leaders of the Studios as a link between the two. Nine textile artists with the Academy education managed Studios from the 1970s and 1980s. Research methods: literature studies, comparison of textile art and textile crafts, interviews with textile artists. Examples of musealized art by these textile artists in the museums of Latvian Artists’ Union, the Museum of Decorative Arts and Design, as well as in the National History Museum of Latvia.
Keywords: textile art, crafts, folk art, technique, musealization
The contemporary musealization of Latvian design objects or the inclusion of high-quality example... more The contemporary musealization of Latvian design objects or the inclusion of high-quality examples in the Latvian National Museum Holdings began in 2005. Established three years later in 2008, the Latvian Design of the Year Award has since then attracted attention to this field, prompting further theoretical discourse. The publicly available narrative on 21st century Latvian design often points out the strong influence of local crafts and ethnic cultural heritage. An important impetus in contemporary, ethnically conscious design is the culture of the Song and Dance Celebration, within which the outfits of festival participants are created. This article identifies the application of traditional Latvian crafts in the works of Latvian artists and designers, visualizing the ideas and forms of ethnic identity. The analysis focuses on the general context of Latvian design: institutions supported by the Ministry of Culture, the Latvian Design of the Year Award and FOLD, the digital magazin...
The first decade of design education, namely the years between 1961 and 1971, are easier to analy... more The first decade of design education, namely the years between 1961 and 1971, are easier to analyze because the Methodological database of the Art Academy of Latvia lists the names of Design Department graduates, anniversary publications published by the academy, and students` sample designs highlighted in the exhibition descriptions. All of these have helped help to deconstruct the identity of Latvian design and create the current concise account of the beginning of design education. The history of the interaction between manufacturing, designers, design education and industry in Soviet period in Latvia is still being studied.
The exploration and investigation of anthropomorphic ornaments
in Latvian folk art have started c... more The exploration and investigation of anthropomorphic ornaments in Latvian folk art have started comparatively recently. During organizing the collection of hope chests and closets at the Latvian Open-Air Museum and working on Bachelor and Master1s theses (both dealing with painted ornaments of hope chests), the author came to a conclusion that the painted ornament has been undeservedly neglected. Having searched through more than a thousand of hope chests and closets dated back to the 18th and 19th centuries it is possible to state that the most common painted motifs were vases, flowers, garlands, wreathes, dates, person names, birds (especially roosters, hens, and storks), zoomorphic and anthropomorphic figures. Currently the exploration of hope chests and closets in the local museums of Latvia takes place. The obtained information will most definitely discover more diverse variety of painted ornaments that appear in Latvian folk art.
The contemporary musealization of Latvian design objects or the inclusion of high-quality example... more The contemporary musealization of Latvian design objects or the inclusion of high-quality examples in the Latvian National Museum Holdings began in 2005. Established three years later in 2008, the Latvian Design of the Year Award has since then attracted attention to this field, prompting further theoretical discourse. The publicly available narrative on 21st century Latvian design often points out the strong influence of local crafts and ethnic cultural heritage. An important impetus in contemporary, ethnically conscious design is the culture of the Song and Dance Celebration, within which the outfits of festival participants are created. This article identifies the application of traditional Latvian crafts in the works of Latvian artists and designers, visualizing the ideas and forms of ethnic identity. The analysis focuses on the general context of Latvian design: institutions supported by the Ministry of Culture, the Latvian Design of the Year Award and FOLD, the digital magazine of creative industries. Sources used include opinion articles and the public messages of companies. To facilitate theoretical understanding of the topic, it was important to take into account the theory of national identity and the museum narrative as well as the history of European design, especially at the turn of the 20th/21st centuries. It should be noted that the history of applied art and design in Latvia during the 20th century is still in the research stage. A historical insight into the construction of the Latvian traditional craft narrative, which began at the end of the 19th century, is also provided so as to promote greater comprehension of Latvian design. Essentially, it is a narrative of national identity, deliberately constructed through the craft practices, raw materials and compositional techniques characteristic of peasant culture.
An article in the book "The Style of Madernieks". / Edited by
Inese Baranovska, Rūta Rinka. Rig... more An article in the book "The Style of Madernieks". / Edited by Inese Baranovska, Rūta Rinka. Riga, Latvian National Museum of Art, 2021. ISBN 978-9934-538-35-3
(The exhibition “The Style of Madernieks’” at the Decorative Arts and Design Museum in Riga 05.11.2020—30.05.2021.)
Painted Decorations on Latvian Dowry Chests and Wardrobes: Late 18th – Early 20th Century, 2020
Painted decorations on dowry furniture are little-known but essential part of Latvian folk art th... more Painted decorations on dowry furniture are little-known but essential part of Latvian folk art that encourages modern people to look at the imaginative thinking and aesthetics of 18th and 19th century Latvian peasants. Painted motifs include flowers, vases with flower bouquets, year numbers, personal names, birds, animals, a man and a woman as a couple, mermaids and religious symbols; the so-called geometric ornaments were used less frequently. Nowadays, not all of the motifs depicted can be discerned and explained, but their presence on the furniture associated with the most important celebration ofa person’s life – marriage – points to the special significance of these motifs. The author of the book has classified and explained painted motifs, identified their makers, and described Latvian dowry chests and wardrobes, making use of the expedition materials obtained by researchers of previous generations, as well as dowry furniture held in museums.
The book is based on Inese Sirica’s dissertation defended at the Latvian Academy of Art in 2015 (academic advisor Prof. Dr. Silvija Grosa, reviewers Dr. Elita Grosmane, Prof. Dr. Jānis Kalnačs and Prof. Dr. habil. Janīna Kursīte-Pakule).
Folk (vernacular) art in the territory of Latvia, 1840-1890. Vernacular architecture, ornament, c... more Folk (vernacular) art in the territory of Latvia, 1840-1890. Vernacular architecture, ornament, crafts, ceramics, jewelry, textile, ceramics. ISBN 9789934882418
Folk (vernacular) art in the territory of Latvia. 1780-1840. Definition of `folk art`, ornament, ... more Folk (vernacular) art in the territory of Latvia. 1780-1840. Definition of `folk art`, ornament, peasants architecture, crafts made at home: wood items, furniture, textiles, metal, leather; jewelry. ISBN 9789934882418
Contemporary Latvian Design in Symbiosis with Local Handicraft Tradition, 2020
The aim of this research is to identify Latvian handicraft traditions that are used by contempora... more The aim of this research is to identify Latvian handicraft traditions that are used by contemporary designers whose works are a part of the contemporary design collection at the Museum of Decorative Arts and Design (Riga, Latvia).
In the 1920s and 1930s, Latvian magazines featured original textile compositions by renowned male... more In the 1920s and 1930s, Latvian magazines featured original textile compositions by renowned male artists. Through my research of textile compositions of the famous Latvian artist and designer Jūlijs Madernieks, it became apparent that during this period, Latvian magazines also showcased textiles by lesser-known artists, particularly graduates of the Graphic Arts Workshop of the Art Academy of Latvia. Despite the significant role played by graphic artists in the formation and promotion of Latvian national textile art, their contributions remain largely unexplored. This research focuses on the popular women's magazine Zeltene, which presented numerous original textile designs by Elza Druja, Marija Muceniece, Otomija Freiberga, and Kristine Pāvulina. Another focal point of this study is the state of textile crafts education in the third decade of the 20th century and its role in encouraging women to engage in textile art or crafts. The contributions of women to Latvian textile art during the 1920s and 1930s have not received adequate scholarly attention due to the occupation of Latvia by the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany in the 1940s, as well as subsequent constraints imposed on Latvian art historians by the Soviet regime. This paper marks an initial stage in the development of Latvian textile art history, with a particular emphasis on female textile artists. 1
Acta Academiae Artium Vilnesis. No. 112 (2024): Art in a Modern City for a Modern State: Celebrating 100 Years of the Kaunas School of Art , 2024
In the 1920s and 1930s, Latvian magazines featured original textile compositions by renowned male... more In the 1920s and 1930s, Latvian magazines featured original textile compositions by renowned male artists. Through my research of textile compositions of the famous Latvian artist and designer Jūlijs Madernieks, it became apparent that during this period, Latvian magazines also showcased textiles by lesser-known artists, particularly graduates of the Graphic Arts Workshop of the Art Academy of Latvia. Despite the significant role played by graphic artists in the formation and promotion of Latvian national textile art, their contributions remain largely unexplored. This research focuses on the popular women's magazine Zeltene, which presented numerous original textile designs by Elza Druja, Marija Muceniece, Otomija Freiberga, and Kristine Pāvulina. Another focal point of this study is the state of textile crafts education in the third decade of the 20th century and its role in encouraging women to engage in textile art or crafts. The contributions of women to Latvian textile art during the 1920s and 1930s have not received adequate scholarly attention due to the occupation of Latvia by the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany in the 1940s, as well as subsequent constraints imposed on Latvian art historians by the Soviet regime. This paper marks an initial stage in the development of Latvian textile art history, with a particular emphasis on female textile artists. 1
Koks un cilvēks Ziemeļeiropā no senvēstures līdz mūsdienām. Rīga: Latvijas Nacionālais vēstures muzejs. , 2023
The article examines the first iconographic and written materials about one of the most splendid ... more The article examines the first iconographic and written materials about one of the most splendid items in the interiors of Latvian farmsteads of the 19th and 20th centuries, namely, artistically designed wooden chair backs. At the end of the 19th century and especially in the first half of the 20th century, the Latvian intelligentsia became interested in Latvian folk, or peasant, art forms. New information about peasant art forms was created and shared, and analysis of this process helps to better explain the modern perspective about this topic. Among other items, the artistic forms of wooden chair backs were represented in drawings, photographs and texts produced by artists and architects. Using their knowledge on art history, they sought to see motifs of historical art styles in Latvian folk art. However, in the 21st century, only the simplest form of wooden chair, the so-called stulpiņš, has been included in the Latvian Cultural Canon. This study examines the knowledge creation process in original texts, drawings and photographs; further, it focuses on the context of historical styles of applied art. The research methodology consists of the analysis of written texts, the formal analysis of iconographic materials, the study of the materials of expeditions conducted by the Board of Monuments, the identification of analogies in the digitised collections of European and American museums, including a comparison of forms and details. Attention was paid to the terms used by traditional narrators interviewed by the Board of Monuments, which expanded the lexicon related to various types of peasant chairs and helped to identify analogies in peasant folk art in the German-language cultural space.
Raksta mērķis ir pievērst uzmanību profesionālās tekstilmākslas un amatniecības jeb tautas lietiš... more Raksta mērķis ir pievērst uzmanību profesionālās tekstilmākslas un amatniecības jeb tautas lietišķās mākslas mijiedarbībai Padomju Latvijā. 1961. gadā Latvijas PSR Valsts Mākslas akadēmijā (mūsdienās – Latvijas Mākslas akadēmija, turpmāk – LMA) tika izveidota Tekstilmākslas nodaļa. 20. gadsimta 60. gados sāka piešķirt Tautas daiļamata meistara goda nosaukumu, veidojās Tautas lietišķās mākslas studijas (turpmāk studija vai TLMS). Aprakstos par studiju darbiem pārsvarā uzsvērts, ka tās turpina tautas mākslas tradīcijas, bet eksperimenti amatniecības tehnikās un laikmetīgā tekstilmāksla kā iedvesmas avots pieminēta vispārināti un neskaidri. Pētījumā uzrādīta laikmetīgās tekstilmākslas klātbūtne TLMS darbos un studiju vadītāji kā saikne ar to. Deviņas tekstilmākslinieces ar akadēmijas izglītību 20. gadsimta 70. un 80. gados vadīja studijas. Pētniecības metodes: literatūras studijas, tekstilmākslas un tekstilamatniecības salīdzinājums, intervijas ar tekstilmāksliniecēm. Tekstilmākslinieču muzealizētās mākslas piemēri Latvijas Mākslinieku savienības, Dekoratīvās mākslas un dizaina, kā arī Latvijas Nacionālajā vēstures muzejā.
Raksts sākotnēji publicēts angļu valodā LU Literatūras folkloras un mākslas institūta žurnālā Letonica Nr. 46, 2022 (Pieejams: http://lulfmi.lv/Letonica-Nr-46). Grāmatā “Amats. Māksla. Mēs” piedāvājam lasīt pētījumu latviski.
The contemporary musealization of Latvian design objects or the inclusion of high-quality example... more The contemporary musealization of Latvian design objects or the inclusion of high-quality examples in the Latvian National Museum Holdings began in 2005. Established three years later in 2008, the Latvian Design of the Year Award has since then attracted attention to this field, prompting further theoretical discourse. The publicly available narrative on 21st century Latvian design often points out the strong influence of local crafts and ethnic cultural heritage. An important impetus in contemporary, ethnically conscious design is the culture of the Song and Dance Celebration, within which the outfits of festival participants are created. This article identifies the application of traditional Latvian crafts in the works of Latvian artists and designers, visualizing the ideas and forms of ethnic identity. The analysis focuses on the general context of Latvian design: institutions supported by the Ministry of Culture, the Latvian Design of the Year Award and FOLD, the digital magazine of creative industries. Sources used include opinion articles and the public messages of companies. To facilitate theoretical understanding of the topic, it was important to take into account the theory of national identity and the museum narrative as well as the history of European design, especially at the turn of the 20th/21st centuries. It should be noted that the history of applied art and design in Latvia during the 20th century is still in the research stage. A historical insight into the construction of the Latvian traditional craft narrative, which began at the end of the 19th century, is also provided so as to promote greater comprehension of Latvian design. Essentially, it is a narrative of national identity, deliberately constructed through the craft practices, raw materials and compositional techniques characteristic of peasant culture.
Crafts, Arts and We – the name of the catalogue of the research project of
the Art Academy of Lat... more Crafts, Arts and We – the name of the catalogue of the research project of the Art Academy of Latvia and the Folk Applied Arts Exhibition of the XXVIIth Nationwide Latvian Song and XVIIth Dance Festival Mēs ( We) – harks back to the goals set by Rihards Zariņš (1869–1939) for the new thematic set of publications Mahksla un Amats (Art and Craft) in the monthly journal Austrums (1885–1906). The name clearly indicates an ideological connection with the ideas of Arts & Crafts. That is to say, to value craft skills and handiwork, natural raw materials, craft masters as art. The first sentence of the new journal section published in 1904–1905 reads: ‘The very name of our new section indicates what we intend to discuss in it: arts and crafts, and as much as possible, both together because together they were born in ancient times and together, they have flourished in the good times of each nation’. At the beginning of the 20th century, folk art became a source of inspiration for craftsmen, architects and artists, creating modern architecture and applied art infused with ethnic motifs. Since the end of the 19th century, the Knowledge Commission of the Riga Latvian Society has been looking for specimens of traditional crafts, and their collection in the museums continues to be replenished to this day. In the 21st century, museums store materials that can put one in touch with ancient traditions and that can be used for both research and inspiration, provided one knows how to interpret them. Thanks to digital technologies, the items in the museum collections can be studied in the Joint Catalogue of the National Hold- ings of Museums at www.nmkk.lv. Even though often we do not know much about the craftspeople who had created their works prior to the 20th century, we can still research and write about the crafts they had practised thanks to their works in the museum collections. We do know, however, the names and the number of masters of folk art in the second half of the 20 th century: 4020 people. Their works are also stored in Latvian and world museums. In this collection of articles, a special place is dedicated to these masters. We, the people of the 21st century, want to study and understand the importance of the masters of folk arts in safeguarding the Latvian ethnic identity in the second half of the 20th century. The collection of articles and the catalogue let us come closer to Latvian crafts and arts, revealing the distinguishing characteristics of the approaches to the study of folk art in the 19th and in the 20th century. The articles and the catalogue focus on, and celebrate, the accomplishments of the contemporary craftspeople represented in the XXVIIth Nationwide Latvian Song and XVIIth Dance Festival Folk-Art Exhibition Mēs (We).
The authors of the articles in the collection are undergraduate, MA, and PhD students and lecturers of the Faculty of Art History and Theory of the Art Academy of Latvia (AAL), as well as artists, art experts and masters of applied arts. The research was carried out under the aegis of the State re - search programme ‘Latvian Culture – a Resource for National Development in 2020-2022’ developed by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia and implemented within the framework of the project ‘Cultural Capital as a Resource for the Sustainable Development of Latvia’ / CARD AAL sub-project ‘The Ethnic in Art. Crafts in Applied and Fine Arts, Design and Architecture’ from October 2020 to October 2022. 6 In the course of their study at the Art Academy, students are given an opportunity to participate in the research of professional crafts and to publish their research results, which is nowadays only made possible thanks to the support provided by the related larger-scale projects. The Song and Dance Festival Folk Applied Arts Exhibition, as one of the highest affirmations of the cultural achievements of Latvia, fits very well in the sub-project of the Art Academy of Latvia which is to trace and explain the interaction of crafts and arts from the 19 th century to the present day. It is only to be expected that the current collection of articles should be published together with the catalogue of the 2023 Song and Dance Festival Folk Applied Arts Exhibition Mēs ( We), which lists the names and works of the contemporary artists whose works are represented at the exhibition, where we get to know more than 1,200 authors whose works attest to the vitality and vibrancy of the intangible Latvian cultural heritage at the beginning of the 21st century. In the course of the project, its participants have researched handicrafts, family heirlooms, exhibits in museum collections, and published and unpublished articles. They have drawn on the knowledge acquired in schools and universities as well as in galleries and exhibitions. The project has enabled its participants to share the results of their research with one another, and thus to increase their knowledge and to evaluate their own and others’ findings critically. At the exhibition, more than 3,500 works of contemporary applied arts reveal the many ways in which artists infuse the materiality of their handicrafts with motifs and patterns of Latvian ethnic cultural heritage. Represented at the exhibition are woven, knitted and embroidered fabrics; fired and glazed pottery; carved and chiselled woodworks; enchased and cast metal works; polished amber. Above all, this collection is about an artist’s devotion to his or her craft.
The aim of the article is to draw attention to the interaction between professional textile art a... more The aim of the article is to draw attention to the interaction between professional textile art and handicrafts or folk applied art in Soviet Latvia. In 1961, within the State Academy of Arts of the Latvian SSR (now the Art Academy of Latvia, hereinafter — the Academy) was established the Department of Textile Art. In the 1960s, it began to award the honorary title of the Master of Folk Crafts and Folk Applied Art Studios (hereinafter — the Studio or FAAS). The descriptions of the activities of the Studios mostly emphasize that they continue folk art traditions, but the experiments with craft
techniques and inspiration from contemporary textile art are mentioned in a generalized and vague way. The study shows the presence of contemporary textile art in the works of FAAS and the leaders of the Studios as a link between the two. Nine textile artists with the Academy education managed Studios from the 1970s and 1980s. Research methods: literature studies, comparison of textile art and textile crafts, interviews with textile artists. Examples of musealized art by these textile artists in the museums of Latvian Artists’ Union, the Museum of Decorative Arts and Design, as well as in the National History Museum of Latvia.
Keywords: textile art, crafts, folk art, technique, musealization
The contemporary musealization of Latvian design objects or the inclusion of high-quality example... more The contemporary musealization of Latvian design objects or the inclusion of high-quality examples in the Latvian National Museum Holdings began in 2005. Established three years later in 2008, the Latvian Design of the Year Award has since then attracted attention to this field, prompting further theoretical discourse. The publicly available narrative on 21st century Latvian design often points out the strong influence of local crafts and ethnic cultural heritage. An important impetus in contemporary, ethnically conscious design is the culture of the Song and Dance Celebration, within which the outfits of festival participants are created. This article identifies the application of traditional Latvian crafts in the works of Latvian artists and designers, visualizing the ideas and forms of ethnic identity. The analysis focuses on the general context of Latvian design: institutions supported by the Ministry of Culture, the Latvian Design of the Year Award and FOLD, the digital magazin...
The first decade of design education, namely the years between 1961 and 1971, are easier to analy... more The first decade of design education, namely the years between 1961 and 1971, are easier to analyze because the Methodological database of the Art Academy of Latvia lists the names of Design Department graduates, anniversary publications published by the academy, and students` sample designs highlighted in the exhibition descriptions. All of these have helped help to deconstruct the identity of Latvian design and create the current concise account of the beginning of design education. The history of the interaction between manufacturing, designers, design education and industry in Soviet period in Latvia is still being studied.
The exploration and investigation of anthropomorphic ornaments
in Latvian folk art have started c... more The exploration and investigation of anthropomorphic ornaments in Latvian folk art have started comparatively recently. During organizing the collection of hope chests and closets at the Latvian Open-Air Museum and working on Bachelor and Master1s theses (both dealing with painted ornaments of hope chests), the author came to a conclusion that the painted ornament has been undeservedly neglected. Having searched through more than a thousand of hope chests and closets dated back to the 18th and 19th centuries it is possible to state that the most common painted motifs were vases, flowers, garlands, wreathes, dates, person names, birds (especially roosters, hens, and storks), zoomorphic and anthropomorphic figures. Currently the exploration of hope chests and closets in the local museums of Latvia takes place. The obtained information will most definitely discover more diverse variety of painted ornaments that appear in Latvian folk art.
The contemporary musealization of Latvian design objects or the inclusion of high-quality example... more The contemporary musealization of Latvian design objects or the inclusion of high-quality examples in the Latvian National Museum Holdings began in 2005. Established three years later in 2008, the Latvian Design of the Year Award has since then attracted attention to this field, prompting further theoretical discourse. The publicly available narrative on 21st century Latvian design often points out the strong influence of local crafts and ethnic cultural heritage. An important impetus in contemporary, ethnically conscious design is the culture of the Song and Dance Celebration, within which the outfits of festival participants are created. This article identifies the application of traditional Latvian crafts in the works of Latvian artists and designers, visualizing the ideas and forms of ethnic identity. The analysis focuses on the general context of Latvian design: institutions supported by the Ministry of Culture, the Latvian Design of the Year Award and FOLD, the digital magazine of creative industries. Sources used include opinion articles and the public messages of companies. To facilitate theoretical understanding of the topic, it was important to take into account the theory of national identity and the museum narrative as well as the history of European design, especially at the turn of the 20th/21st centuries. It should be noted that the history of applied art and design in Latvia during the 20th century is still in the research stage. A historical insight into the construction of the Latvian traditional craft narrative, which began at the end of the 19th century, is also provided so as to promote greater comprehension of Latvian design. Essentially, it is a narrative of national identity, deliberately constructed through the craft practices, raw materials and compositional techniques characteristic of peasant culture.
An article in the book "The Style of Madernieks". / Edited by
Inese Baranovska, Rūta Rinka. Rig... more An article in the book "The Style of Madernieks". / Edited by Inese Baranovska, Rūta Rinka. Riga, Latvian National Museum of Art, 2021. ISBN 978-9934-538-35-3
(The exhibition “The Style of Madernieks’” at the Decorative Arts and Design Museum in Riga 05.11.2020—30.05.2021.)
Painted Decorations on Latvian Dowry Chests and Wardrobes: Late 18th – Early 20th Century, 2020
Painted decorations on dowry furniture are little-known but essential part of Latvian folk art th... more Painted decorations on dowry furniture are little-known but essential part of Latvian folk art that encourages modern people to look at the imaginative thinking and aesthetics of 18th and 19th century Latvian peasants. Painted motifs include flowers, vases with flower bouquets, year numbers, personal names, birds, animals, a man and a woman as a couple, mermaids and religious symbols; the so-called geometric ornaments were used less frequently. Nowadays, not all of the motifs depicted can be discerned and explained, but their presence on the furniture associated with the most important celebration ofa person’s life – marriage – points to the special significance of these motifs. The author of the book has classified and explained painted motifs, identified their makers, and described Latvian dowry chests and wardrobes, making use of the expedition materials obtained by researchers of previous generations, as well as dowry furniture held in museums.
The book is based on Inese Sirica’s dissertation defended at the Latvian Academy of Art in 2015 (academic advisor Prof. Dr. Silvija Grosa, reviewers Dr. Elita Grosmane, Prof. Dr. Jānis Kalnačs and Prof. Dr. habil. Janīna Kursīte-Pakule).
Folk (vernacular) art in the territory of Latvia, 1840-1890. Vernacular architecture, ornament, c... more Folk (vernacular) art in the territory of Latvia, 1840-1890. Vernacular architecture, ornament, crafts, ceramics, jewelry, textile, ceramics. ISBN 9789934882418
Folk (vernacular) art in the territory of Latvia. 1780-1840. Definition of `folk art`, ornament, ... more Folk (vernacular) art in the territory of Latvia. 1780-1840. Definition of `folk art`, ornament, peasants architecture, crafts made at home: wood items, furniture, textiles, metal, leather; jewelry. ISBN 9789934882418
Contemporary Latvian Design in Symbiosis with Local Handicraft Tradition, 2020
The aim of this research is to identify Latvian handicraft traditions that are used by contempora... more The aim of this research is to identify Latvian handicraft traditions that are used by contemporary designers whose works are a part of the contemporary design collection at the Museum of Decorative Arts and Design (Riga, Latvia).
Valsts pētījumu programmas "Kultūras kapitāls kā resurss Latvijas ilgtspējīgai attīstībai/ CARD" apakšprojekta "Etniskais mākslā. Tradicionālā amatniecība lietišķajā mākslā, tēlotājā mākslā un dizainā" datu masīvs, 2023
The data set contains a (.excel) list of "Tautas daiļamata meistari (TDM)" (the professional exce... more The data set contains a (.excel) list of "Tautas daiļamata meistari (TDM)" (the professional excellence title of Folk Artisans in Latvia from 1960. - 2000.)(4020 file units). The file is stored in the Latvian National Cultural Center.
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Papers by Inese Sirica
Raksts sākotnēji publicēts angļu valodā LU Literatūras folkloras un mākslas institūta žurnālā Letonica Nr. 46, 2022 (Pieejams: http://lulfmi.lv/Letonica-Nr-46). Grāmatā “Amats. Māksla. Mēs” piedāvājam lasīt pētījumu latviski.
the Art Academy of Latvia and the Folk Applied Arts Exhibition of the XXVIIth Nationwide Latvian Song and XVIIth Dance Festival Mēs ( We) – harks back to the goals set by Rihards Zariņš (1869–1939) for the new thematic set of publications Mahksla un Amats (Art and Craft) in the monthly journal Austrums (1885–1906). The name clearly indicates an ideological connection with the ideas of Arts & Crafts. That is to say, to value craft skills and handiwork, natural raw materials, craft masters as art. The first sentence of the new journal section published in
1904–1905 reads: ‘The very name of our new section indicates what we intend to discuss in it: arts and crafts, and as much as possible, both together because together they were born in ancient times and together, they have flourished in the good times of each nation’. At the beginning of
the 20th century, folk art became a source of inspiration for craftsmen, architects and artists, creating modern architecture and applied art infused with ethnic motifs. Since the end of the 19th century, the Knowledge Commission of the Riga Latvian Society has been looking for specimens of traditional crafts, and their collection in the museums continues to be replenished to this day. In the 21st century, museums store materials that can put one in touch with ancient traditions and that can be used for both research and inspiration, provided one knows how to interpret them. Thanks to digital technologies, the items in the museum collections can be studied in the Joint Catalogue of the National Hold-
ings of Museums at www.nmkk.lv. Even though often we do not know much about the craftspeople who had created their works prior to the 20th century, we can still research and write about the crafts they had practised thanks to their works in the museum collections. We do know, however, the names and the number of masters of folk art in the second half of the 20 th century: 4020 people. Their works are also stored in Latvian and world museums. In this collection of articles, a special place is dedicated to these masters. We, the people of the 21st century, want to study and understand the importance of the masters of folk arts in safeguarding the Latvian ethnic identity in the second half of the 20th century. The collection of articles and the catalogue let us come closer to Latvian crafts and arts, revealing the distinguishing characteristics of the approaches to the study of folk art in the 19th and in the 20th century. The articles and the catalogue focus on, and celebrate, the accomplishments of the contemporary craftspeople represented in the XXVIIth Nationwide Latvian Song and XVIIth Dance Festival Folk-Art Exhibition Mēs (We).
The authors of the articles in the collection are undergraduate, MA, and
PhD students and lecturers of the Faculty of Art History and Theory of the Art Academy of Latvia (AAL), as well as artists, art experts and masters of applied arts. The research was carried out under the aegis of the State re -
search programme ‘Latvian Culture – a Resource for National Development in 2020-2022’ developed by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia and implemented within the framework of the project ‘Cultural Capital as a Resource for the Sustainable Development of Latvia’ / CARD AAL sub-project ‘The Ethnic in Art. Crafts in Applied and Fine Arts, Design and Architecture’ from October 2020 to October 2022. 6 In the course of their study at the Art Academy, students are given an opportunity to participate in the research of professional crafts and to publish their research results, which is nowadays only made possible thanks to the support provided by the related larger-scale projects. The Song and Dance Festival Folk Applied Arts Exhibition, as one of the highest affirmations of the cultural achievements of Latvia, fits very well in the sub-project of the Art Academy of Latvia which is to trace and explain the interaction of crafts and arts from the 19 th century to the present day. It is only to be expected that the current collection of articles should be published together with the catalogue of the 2023 Song and Dance Festival Folk Applied Arts Exhibition Mēs ( We), which lists the names and works of the contemporary artists whose works are represented at the exhibition, where we get to know more than 1,200 authors whose works attest to the vitality and vibrancy of the intangible Latvian cultural heritage at the beginning of the 21st century. In the course of the project, its participants have researched handicrafts, family heirlooms, exhibits in museum collections, and published and unpublished articles. They have drawn on the knowledge acquired in schools and universities as well as in galleries and exhibitions. The project has enabled its participants to share the results of their research with one another, and thus to increase their knowledge and to evaluate their own and others’ findings critically. At the exhibition, more than 3,500 works of contemporary applied arts reveal the many ways in which artists infuse the materiality of their handicrafts with motifs and patterns of Latvian ethnic cultural heritage. Represented at the exhibition are woven, knitted and embroidered fabrics; fired and glazed pottery; carved and chiselled woodworks; enchased and cast metal works; polished amber. Above all, this collection is about an artist’s devotion to his or her craft.
techniques and inspiration from contemporary textile art are mentioned in a generalized and vague way. The study shows the presence of contemporary textile art in the works of FAAS and the leaders of the Studios as a link between the two. Nine textile artists with the Academy education managed Studios from the 1970s and 1980s. Research methods: literature studies, comparison of textile art and textile crafts, interviews with textile artists. Examples of musealized art by these textile artists in the museums of Latvian Artists’ Union, the Museum of Decorative Arts and Design, as well as in the National History Museum of Latvia.
Keywords: textile art, crafts, folk art, technique, musealization
ISBN 978-9934-541-83-4
in Latvian folk art have started comparatively recently. During organizing
the collection of hope chests and closets at the Latvian Open-Air Museum
and working on Bachelor and Master1s theses (both dealing with painted
ornaments of hope chests), the author came to a conclusion that the
painted ornament has been undeservedly neglected. Having searched
through more than a thousand of hope chests and closets dated back to
the 18th and 19th centuries it is possible to state that the most common
painted motifs were vases, flowers, garlands, wreathes, dates, person
names, birds (especially roosters, hens, and storks), zoomorphic and
anthropomorphic figures. Currently the exploration of hope chests and
closets in the local museums of Latvia takes place. The obtained
information will most definitely discover more diverse variety of painted
ornaments that appear in Latvian folk art.
Inese Baranovska, Rūta Rinka. Riga, Latvian National Museum of Art, 2021. ISBN 978-9934-538-35-3
(The exhibition “The Style of Madernieks’” at
the Decorative Arts and Design Museum in Riga
05.11.2020—30.05.2021.)
Books by Inese Sirica
The book is based on Inese Sirica’s dissertation defended at the Latvian Academy of Art in 2015 (academic advisor Prof. Dr. Silvija Grosa, reviewers Dr. Elita Grosmane, Prof. Dr. Jānis Kalnačs and Prof. Dr. habil. Janīna Kursīte-Pakule).
Conference Presentations by Inese Sirica
Raksts sākotnēji publicēts angļu valodā LU Literatūras folkloras un mākslas institūta žurnālā Letonica Nr. 46, 2022 (Pieejams: http://lulfmi.lv/Letonica-Nr-46). Grāmatā “Amats. Māksla. Mēs” piedāvājam lasīt pētījumu latviski.
the Art Academy of Latvia and the Folk Applied Arts Exhibition of the XXVIIth Nationwide Latvian Song and XVIIth Dance Festival Mēs ( We) – harks back to the goals set by Rihards Zariņš (1869–1939) for the new thematic set of publications Mahksla un Amats (Art and Craft) in the monthly journal Austrums (1885–1906). The name clearly indicates an ideological connection with the ideas of Arts & Crafts. That is to say, to value craft skills and handiwork, natural raw materials, craft masters as art. The first sentence of the new journal section published in
1904–1905 reads: ‘The very name of our new section indicates what we intend to discuss in it: arts and crafts, and as much as possible, both together because together they were born in ancient times and together, they have flourished in the good times of each nation’. At the beginning of
the 20th century, folk art became a source of inspiration for craftsmen, architects and artists, creating modern architecture and applied art infused with ethnic motifs. Since the end of the 19th century, the Knowledge Commission of the Riga Latvian Society has been looking for specimens of traditional crafts, and their collection in the museums continues to be replenished to this day. In the 21st century, museums store materials that can put one in touch with ancient traditions and that can be used for both research and inspiration, provided one knows how to interpret them. Thanks to digital technologies, the items in the museum collections can be studied in the Joint Catalogue of the National Hold-
ings of Museums at www.nmkk.lv. Even though often we do not know much about the craftspeople who had created their works prior to the 20th century, we can still research and write about the crafts they had practised thanks to their works in the museum collections. We do know, however, the names and the number of masters of folk art in the second half of the 20 th century: 4020 people. Their works are also stored in Latvian and world museums. In this collection of articles, a special place is dedicated to these masters. We, the people of the 21st century, want to study and understand the importance of the masters of folk arts in safeguarding the Latvian ethnic identity in the second half of the 20th century. The collection of articles and the catalogue let us come closer to Latvian crafts and arts, revealing the distinguishing characteristics of the approaches to the study of folk art in the 19th and in the 20th century. The articles and the catalogue focus on, and celebrate, the accomplishments of the contemporary craftspeople represented in the XXVIIth Nationwide Latvian Song and XVIIth Dance Festival Folk-Art Exhibition Mēs (We).
The authors of the articles in the collection are undergraduate, MA, and
PhD students and lecturers of the Faculty of Art History and Theory of the Art Academy of Latvia (AAL), as well as artists, art experts and masters of applied arts. The research was carried out under the aegis of the State re -
search programme ‘Latvian Culture – a Resource for National Development in 2020-2022’ developed by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia and implemented within the framework of the project ‘Cultural Capital as a Resource for the Sustainable Development of Latvia’ / CARD AAL sub-project ‘The Ethnic in Art. Crafts in Applied and Fine Arts, Design and Architecture’ from October 2020 to October 2022. 6 In the course of their study at the Art Academy, students are given an opportunity to participate in the research of professional crafts and to publish their research results, which is nowadays only made possible thanks to the support provided by the related larger-scale projects. The Song and Dance Festival Folk Applied Arts Exhibition, as one of the highest affirmations of the cultural achievements of Latvia, fits very well in the sub-project of the Art Academy of Latvia which is to trace and explain the interaction of crafts and arts from the 19 th century to the present day. It is only to be expected that the current collection of articles should be published together with the catalogue of the 2023 Song and Dance Festival Folk Applied Arts Exhibition Mēs ( We), which lists the names and works of the contemporary artists whose works are represented at the exhibition, where we get to know more than 1,200 authors whose works attest to the vitality and vibrancy of the intangible Latvian cultural heritage at the beginning of the 21st century. In the course of the project, its participants have researched handicrafts, family heirlooms, exhibits in museum collections, and published and unpublished articles. They have drawn on the knowledge acquired in schools and universities as well as in galleries and exhibitions. The project has enabled its participants to share the results of their research with one another, and thus to increase their knowledge and to evaluate their own and others’ findings critically. At the exhibition, more than 3,500 works of contemporary applied arts reveal the many ways in which artists infuse the materiality of their handicrafts with motifs and patterns of Latvian ethnic cultural heritage. Represented at the exhibition are woven, knitted and embroidered fabrics; fired and glazed pottery; carved and chiselled woodworks; enchased and cast metal works; polished amber. Above all, this collection is about an artist’s devotion to his or her craft.
techniques and inspiration from contemporary textile art are mentioned in a generalized and vague way. The study shows the presence of contemporary textile art in the works of FAAS and the leaders of the Studios as a link between the two. Nine textile artists with the Academy education managed Studios from the 1970s and 1980s. Research methods: literature studies, comparison of textile art and textile crafts, interviews with textile artists. Examples of musealized art by these textile artists in the museums of Latvian Artists’ Union, the Museum of Decorative Arts and Design, as well as in the National History Museum of Latvia.
Keywords: textile art, crafts, folk art, technique, musealization
ISBN 978-9934-541-83-4
in Latvian folk art have started comparatively recently. During organizing
the collection of hope chests and closets at the Latvian Open-Air Museum
and working on Bachelor and Master1s theses (both dealing with painted
ornaments of hope chests), the author came to a conclusion that the
painted ornament has been undeservedly neglected. Having searched
through more than a thousand of hope chests and closets dated back to
the 18th and 19th centuries it is possible to state that the most common
painted motifs were vases, flowers, garlands, wreathes, dates, person
names, birds (especially roosters, hens, and storks), zoomorphic and
anthropomorphic figures. Currently the exploration of hope chests and
closets in the local museums of Latvia takes place. The obtained
information will most definitely discover more diverse variety of painted
ornaments that appear in Latvian folk art.
Inese Baranovska, Rūta Rinka. Riga, Latvian National Museum of Art, 2021. ISBN 978-9934-538-35-3
(The exhibition “The Style of Madernieks’” at
the Decorative Arts and Design Museum in Riga
05.11.2020—30.05.2021.)
The book is based on Inese Sirica’s dissertation defended at the Latvian Academy of Art in 2015 (academic advisor Prof. Dr. Silvija Grosa, reviewers Dr. Elita Grosmane, Prof. Dr. Jānis Kalnačs and Prof. Dr. habil. Janīna Kursīte-Pakule).