EXHIBITION OF LITHUANIAN FOLK ART "TRADITION AND THE PRESENT"

2 July – 10 November, 2009

Virtual exhibition
Fragments of the exhibition

Folk art is vitally essential to Lithuania and Lithuanian culture. Although the course of history has been destructive, our forefathers' old language, some of their traditions, customs, melodious songs and original folk art have remained with us. This exhibition is dedicated to marking the Lithuanian Millennium. It features the works of present-day folk artists along with the most splendid and characteristic examples of traditional folk art kept in the Lithuanian Art Museum. They include woodwork, furniture, fabrics, clothing, ceramics, sculpture, and painting.

The woodwork and tools employed in the late 18th- the early 19th century in everyday life of a villager are examples of brilliant folk art. They were treasured, preserved, admired and would be passed down from generation to generation. Folk masters distinguished themselves by their particular resourcefulness and artistic taste, crafting tools for women's work related to spinning, weaving, washing and so forth. They made spindles, distaffs, shuttles, beetles and mangles. The objects were embellished with a variety of cut and carved geometrical ornaments, more seldom – sketchy plant motifs. Salutations seem to have been coded in their plastic ornamentation. Sometimes the initials of the tool's owner were embossed or engraved on them. Long-handled spindles stand out among other tools for women's work for their archaic forms. Although the majority of household implements and ware were crafted of wood, earthenware also existed. Jugs are a particularly handsome example of earthenware - both in their form and their decoration. The most elaborate jugs were for a festive table, for weddings, Christian parties and name days.

In the 19th - the early 20th century the village people's furniture - wardrobes, wall cupboards, dressers, beds, chairs, towel racks and dowry chests - was solid, comfortable and beautifully crafted. The most sumptuous objects - the dowry chests.

One of the major spheres for the manifestation of the Lithuanian women's handicraft dexterity in the late 18th - the first half of the 19th century was weaving and needlework. In the 19th century, the majority of clothing and various fabrics for domestic use were woven by women on simple rustic looms. They used to choose the raw materials, a weaving technique, patterns and decoration taking into account a practical use of fabrics and the ethnographic traditions of their region.

The exhibition presents the most beautiful interior fabrics, namely bedspreads, tablecloths, blankets and towels. Towels, besides being utilitarian, performed some other functions: the most beautiful usually hung on towel racks as a decoration of the house, or, following an old Lithuanian custom, would be given as presents on festive occasions.

Traditional Sunday clothing of Lithuanian village women have gone through centuries-long process of formation until the mid- 19th century; influenced by historical and economical circumstances, traditions and customs. Each different region had an ethnographically specific costume. In Aukštaitija (east), the dominant colour of women's clothing was white. A traditional archaic and symbolic women's headdress was a white nuometas (tied white linen sashes or wimples). In Žemaitija (west), a distinctive feature of women's attire was its rich colour combinations and the abundance and variety of shawls. One of the oldest - with horizontal woven stripes worn in the 18th - the first half of the 19th century. In Suvalkija (southwest), women's dress stands out for its colourful jacquard patterned sashes.

The birth of Lithuanian folk art was determined by the instilled piety of the rural environment during the period of the 17th-century Catholic reform. The works made by folk masters of various aptitudes, self-taught or with some schooling were spreading in the village communities. Their works of simple and primitive artistic idiom satisfied the spiritual needs of ordinary people. Folk art became increasingly popular and important in the 19th - the first half of the 20th century. Crosses, roofed pillar-type crosses and small chapels emerged by the waysides, in the fields, and at farmsteads. These structures of small-scale folk architecture were graced with the sculptures carved by icon-carvers. The most popular subjects were from the life of Christ, the Virgin Mary and saints. They featured images of Jesus of Nazareth, the Pensive Christ, Mater Dolorosa, Pieta, St John of Nepomuk, St Isidore, St Agatha and others. One of the most popular saints St George, is the second guardian of Lithuania, protector from evil and guardian of the cattle. Small, expressive figurines reflect the nations creativity and a strong sense for plastic form.

The folk art heritage is not abundant. The most valuable objects are the four small pictures from the chapel alter in Ivoskiai village (Joniškis distr.) painted on a wooden panel in the 17th century. The 19th-century pictures by self-taught folk painters are marked by decorativism, the simplicity of view and contrasting colours.

The tradition of the crafting of woodcuts took its shape in the 19th century. It was determined by the need for religious pictures. Carvings were particularly popular in the western part of Lithuania (Samogitia). The best-known folk carver was Aleksandras Vinkus (1832-1912). One of his most renowned works - the carving St Adam and Eve.

The vitality of the folk art traditions, their continuity and changes are reflected by the folk artists' works made in the second half of the 20th - the early 21st century.
Folk art rooted in Lithuanian perception, everyday life and customs, possesses its characteristic laws of development and traditions, the dynamic evolution of which is reflected in the work of folk masters, the so-called folk artists, working in the late 20th century and today.

This exhibition offers us a possibility to compare the masters' works done in the last twenty years with the masterpieces from our art heritage. The exposition presenting the present-day masters' works has been formed in a traditional, multi-stage way practiced for the staging of republican folk art exhibitions during Song Festivals. Regional branches of the Lithuanian Folk Artists' Union (seven of them in Lithuania) arrange expositions of the works from local exhibitions or the works selected by the masters proper. Such expositions enjoy great popularity. The Folk Culture Centre of Lithuania forms a national exposition of the best of those works. The present exhibition has been arranged in the same way. Chronologically, it embraces the 20-year period of the regained Independence, when masters came to enjoy their creative freedom.

The exhibition presents all the live branches of folk art, namely fine arts (painting, sculpture, graphics, which also includes paper cuttings), applied arts (fabrics, sashes, wristbands, gloves, wood and woven articles, ceramics, jewelry, smith-forged crosses, national costumes, toys and musical instruments), and customary genres (verbos (Palm Sunday flowers), margučiai (Easter eggs), sodai (straw compositions) and masks). The exposition does not contain handiworks for the interior (embroidered, knitted napkins, tablecloths and the like) and clothing (sweaters, linen dresses, etc.).

The largest number of painting and sculpture is presented in a fine arts section. In painting, twotrends from the second half of the 20th century have survived: a primitive, a characteristic feature of which is a specific world perception as well as an original painting medium, and the so-called stylized, influenced by the trends of academic art, unfolding more distinct aspects of individual self-expression. Some of the painters are the members of art groups-studios (Paletė, Piliuona and others). Quite a number of painters are well known beyond Lithuania.

The last 20 years witness the greatest changes in sculpture, particularly in its subjects. Religious subjects together with the rebirth of the traditional cross-carving have returned to folk sculpture. A considerable number of participating sculptors are also cross-carvers, therefore, it is natural that their works are dominated by traditional subjects, featuring the Pensive Christ, the Nazarite, the Virgin Mary of Grace, angels, the saints George, Anthony, Nepomuk, at al. The masters mostly choose historical figures, ethnographic and folklore motifs for the secular-subject sculptures. Polychromy has again become a typical feature of folk sculpture, although the exposition also boasts some woodcuts from nature.

Recently, great changes have taken place in folk textile and in the revival of traditions. This exposition also illustrates this trend. Direct, natural links with traditions can be seen in fabrics (bedspreads, towels) the largest number of which are from the Vilnius region and Aukštaitija (the districts of Švečionys, Trakai, and Zarasai). The exposition also boasts sashes made in various techniques (plaited, twined and wove) and wristbands. Also on display are some traditional needlework (crocheted decorations for slipcovers, towel ends and embroidered details of a national costume (kerchiefs, shirts). The lace made in old technique produce a greatly unique impression. Some of the national costumes are collective works of national costume-makers, among them some well-known folk masters.

The woodcuts include prieverpstės (distaffs), towel racks and chests. The dominating earthenware in ceramics - traditional glazed and black-firing ware (jugs, earthenware jars). Smiths art is represented by iron crosses.

There is less jewelry and weaving examples. They include amber, archaeological and modern design adornments, mainly broaches, a variety of beads and necklaces.

Customary articles - straw compositions, Easter eggs, masks and Palm Sunday flowers create a colourful sight. The majority of them are Easter eggs decorated in traditional wax and scraping techniques, some Palm Sunday flowers and straw compositions. A relatively small but rich collection of masks, a larger part of which has come from Žemaitija.