Art history and postcolonialism : a Lithuanian case

Abstract

This article concentrates on the problems of applying postcolonial theory in post-Soviet art history. The postcolonial perspective remains a subject of debate in the field of art history, partly because the theory itself is mostly based on literary research. Another part of the problem lies in the very way in which this theory is applied, as well as in the choice of postcolonial concepts. With a focus on existing (mis)uses of postcolonial theory in Lithuanian art historical analyses, I examine different concepts of postcolonial theory and various (dis)advantages of their application to writing the history of Soviet art.