Suartėjame ir nutolstame : dailės gyvenimo paradoksai

Abstract

Being the capital of Lithuania, Vilnius is constantly growing and expanding, appropriating at the same time the material and the spiritual potential of the whole country. The city is distancing itself from the regions. Contacts with them or narrowed down or lost altogether. In the sphere of fine arts, several reasons for the above-mentioned tendencies can be noted. After the restoration of independence, cultural institutions became decentralized while the Artists' Union split into several groups and new groups of artists emerged. Meanwhile, exhibitions, representing the whole country, were no longer organized or regulated. Art galleries started representing closed groups. Artists from the regions cannot afford to rent galleries for their exhibitions while transport and insurance costs would also add to their expenditure Exchanging of ideas and information diminished and gradually completely stopped, therefore, in dividual cultural centres found themselves isolated from each other. The regions are left behind when international exhibitions as well as exhibi tions abroad are organized or financial support is given. The relationship between the painter and his audience becomes problematic since exhibitions are now smaller and scattered; at the same time, new and often obscure or hardly comprehensible art forms tend to be aggressive, ousting the traditional art forms. Regionalism becomes both the theoretical and the practical basis for the formation of art centres. As a phenomenon, it does not represent any style or means of artistic expression. It is a geographical and regional concept, which is closely connected with the terms peripheral and provincial as they were understood earlier and are understood now. Constant opposition of centralization and decentralization only enhances the development of this phenomenon. Artists from the regions often feel neglected, especially financially. Trying to keep up with those working in the capital, they have to work better and more intensely. As a form of so cial existence, modern regionalism is based not only on historical conditions but also on personal ities and their work. For an artist, it is a way to return to his roots, a position, which is supported by life-experience, and declaration of world out look. At present, fine arts in Lithuania are being divided and differentiated in many ways, e.g. according to artistic trends, conditions for existence, and ethnographic or regional boundaries. The gap between Vilnius and regional centres is still growing. However, this has not only negative but also positive consequences. Without support from the outside, artists have to rely on them selves, thus creating not only works of art but also their own artistic space and actively searching for contacts with other artists. This creates a possibil ity for new cultural and artistic centres, which emerge as new original regional formations, enriching the national art panorama.