Decorative and applied art: the play of a creative person

Zelenkina Alena Sergeevna Head of the Cabinet of the Department of Philosophy of Culture and Cultural Studies, Saratov State University 410012, Russia, Saratov region, Saratov, Volskaya str., 10A grinzals@yandex.ru

Creativity is one of the main types of human activity in the XXI century. Distracted from hard work, thanks to the development of science and technology, he received a variety of materials and free time, inaccessible to most people in past centuries. A number of professions have also appeared, one of the main requirements of which is a creative approach to solving the task. This requirement is most clearly manifested in the areas of advertising, business projects, PR management and design, but having the opportunity to choose an activity, some people leave official work to develop creative skills and promote their work.

Decorative and applied art has long been a way of self-sufficiency of a person, but the so-called "handicraft production" is not something new. This type of activity has contributed to the survival of a person for several centuries, for example, a peasant living in risky farming and in lean years ^{[1, p. 22]}. Until the XIX century, items were made for direct use in everyday life or for sale. The basis of the manufactured items (dishes, toys, etc.) were natural materials. In the XXI century, this type of activity is more entertaining than everyday. Materials for creativity, which are freely available, provide an opportunity to try yourself in art to anyone. This prevalence is due to artificial factory production. Artistic creativity from natural materials is preserved among a narrow circle of specially trained craftsmen. One of the problems that a person inevitably faces when just starting a creative "career" is the problem of sales. To solve it, until the XIX century there was only one way out – sale at the fair. In the XXI century, social networks have become the main way to promote works, but also for masters of decorative and applied arts, events are regularly held (festivals, contests, fairs, etc.). They contribute to the acquaintance of authors, the exchange of experience and the sale of finished products. The promotion of creative works on the Internet helps to increase the audience, and the master classes conducted by artists also perform a pedagogical function. The author's free form of communication attracts attention, and visually reinforced information about the manufacture of the object provides a step-by-step plan for working with tools and material. People's interest in this kind of leisure can be traced by the number of views of video lessons and clarifying questions asked in the comments. Thus, from a practical point of view, creativity is a type of activity in which a person receives spiritual realization as an artist, and indirectly as a teacher.

Vera Ilyinichna Samokhvalova emphasizes the special importance of creativity in human life. According to her, "disregard for the issues of creativity and, in general, the problem of culture can turn into an increase in unhealthy tendencies in the field of psychology in society, disappointment and a decrease in the cultural level of people" ^{[2, p. 203]}. The unhealthy tendencies mentioned by the author can be traced in acts of vandalism. A perverted understanding of beauty opposes creative activity, in its usual sense, and is destructive in nature. In fact, there is a tendency among young people to acts of destruction and an attempt is being made on cultural heritage objects that preserve the standards of beauty of the era in which they were created. Standards remain relevant for humanity, in this context, "vandals" are an exception. The concept of vandalism is also confused with the concept of "performance", where the question arises about the existence of standards of beauty, the boundaries between "beautiful" and "terrible", and, accordingly, the abstract nature of beauty as a form of world representation is emphasized. Vera Ilyinichna describes two concepts: "a creative person" and "a creative person". The first concept refers to the characteristic of a person's special ability – his desire for self–improvement and the ability to see the new in the long-known; the second is related to the practical aspect of realization and indicates the function of a person in society (including his lifestyle and "understanding of his vocation"). Also, these two concepts can be defined as the theoretical and practical perception of the process. A creative person is able to explain his idea, form a description of the conceived object and its figurative drawing. The "creative Person" complements and implements this idea in its entirety. Combining the definitions of concepts, it turns out that a "creative person" is a theorist whose main actions are the search for answers to the task and the formation of ways to solve it, a "creative person" studies the compiled theoretical solution and shows it in practice. In addition, when talking about the practical implementation of the "creative person", it should be noted his influence on the formation of his own moral and physical appearance, the reorganization of social ties and the possibility of influencing the general cultural background in his environment.

The area in which the characteristics of "creative" and "creative" converge is the human imagination. It becomes the ground for creating a world different from the real one. Many researchers mention him, and, for example, art critic Lilia Nikolaevna Ratner said in her lectures: "The artist destroys the generally accepted norms unwittingly, and depicts his feeling arising under the influence of the outside world" ^{[3, p. 292]}. This is similar to the study of the game by Johan Heising, who confirmed that a person has always tried to create an additional artificial reality next to him. Scientists and artists call it differently, but they agree on the concepts of "inner world" or "inner psychic reality".

This fictional world is a "territory" free from the laws and stereotypes of the real world. It consists of projections reproduced by artists not only in static works (paintings, sculptures), works of a musical or poetic nature, but also mobile objects (robots) or cinema and animation. Decorative and applied art, in the conditions of these projections, develops together with technologies and strives for modification. Thanks to the technical equipment, a modern artist can use graphics to show long-lasting plots based only on his imagination. The development of graphics, artistic skill of authors and technology contributes, among other things, to the mixing of the boundaries of internal (virtual) and external realities, and thus the worldview and the "inner world" of a particular author has become accessible to knowledge by outsiders. 3D and puppet animation, as the results of artistic progress, touch upon and put on public display topics that concern a particular artist, show his style of thinking and the level of artistic skill. Also, technical evolution, in particular VR technology, contributes to the mixing of the inner and outer world due to the desire of a person to depict the most realistic picture possible. These examples go beyond the limits of material decorative and applied creativity, but, due to the close connection of the real world and virtual space, they remain elements of applied art.

The problem of the "creative person" is the constant search for new motives, means and ways of activity. There is a game motive in his actions. Creativity, in general, is inseparable from the game as an activity. The very process of creating something may look like a hard monotonous work of both body and mind, but for an artist it is primarily an opportunity to embody his inner world in the material, which happens in the "game" with the material. In turn, a game without creativity becomes boring and monotonous work, there will be no freedom of thought in it and actions will have only a mechanical, meaningless character. It "strangely remains aloof from all other intellectual forms in which we could express the structure of spiritual and social life" ^{[4, p. 19]} wrote Johan Huizinga in his work. He also identified several definitions of the concept of game in the course of research and identified a number of signs of its presence in various areas of human life. In the book "Homo ludens: a Man playing," Huizinga speaks of the game as a concept exceeding a physiological or physiologically conditioned mental need, i.e. the game is not a purely biologically conditioned process, but still belongs to the sphere of the unconscious. The game, in its essence, has an instinctive desire to know the world and stands out against the background of the study of the behavior of young animals and humans. Later, considering the game art forms, he emphasizes the intuitive desire of a person to decorate the surrounding space. On the basis of the last statements, it is possible to reduce the actions of the game and creative processes to kinship, but direct evidence of their close relationship should proceed further when describing and analyzing the signs of the game.

The selected instinctive aspirations can be translated into the concepts of "a person playing" and "a person creating". Both terms denote action. However, the relationship to the fruits of the second concept, in the historical development of society, is ambiguous. Thus, according to a study by Johan Heising, not all the results of the activity of a "creative person" (works of art) were equally appreciated in an archaic society. From the point of view of the gameplay, music, poetry and dancing stood out. Their pronounced plasticity of sound and movements are palpable for any participant in the situation. There was a different attitude to the plastic image. Due to the lack of live movement, it, used in a ready-made static form, is only an attribute of the cult. In other words: "in archaic culture ... a work of art is almost always involved in the sacred world, it carries a charge of its power ... it would be strange if the gaming qualities of the cult did not cast their rays on the creation and evaluation of works of fine art" ^{[4, p. 237]}. Thus, the perception of decorative and applied art by a person in an archaic society is influenced by the household belonging of the created object. Such creativity becomes a craft and is not part of the gameplay because no matter how the artist is "seized with creative passion ... his inspiration ... in his work must obey the skillful skills of his creative hands" ^{[4, p. 236]}, and the created object is only a means for worship. The author himself, conducting an analysis, expresses his disagreement with the archaic view of such a division of the presence of gameplay in the arts. The change in attitudes towards art forms and the presence of a game motif in them is primarily due to the difference in attachment to religion and cults. In general, the exclusion of plastic art here can be explained by its closeness from prying eyes.

Further analysis of the activity of the "creative person" should be carried out through the formulation of the roles of "creator" and "observer". The first role is characterized by active action regarding the implementation of the creative idea, the second – passive participation in the creative act and criticism. The distribution of roles, on the one hand, is difficult due to strict arrangements in professional collectives (for example, in groups of professional musicians, actors, dancers relative to the spectator watching what is happening on stage), on the other hand, it takes place within a circle of like–minded amateurs. In the second case, the artist plays both roles at once, and the "observer" has the opportunity to be included in the process of creation, or only perceives sensually, but still takes part through emotions. For musical art, these roles are more free and their distribution may be random. Plastic arts in this gradation are more strict. The circle of like-minded people of the "creator" can narrow down to one person, and the "observer", who is not experienced in knowing the techniques of work and (especially) the author's train of thought, understanding and the possibility of participation in creative activity tends to zero. Consequently, the result for the latter will be only the external form of the object, or rather the functions and ways of using it.

The arts analyzed through the previously mentioned roles can also be viewed through gameplay. "Game" is an abstract concept that cannot be justified by any rational connections "because rootedness in the mind means that its chapel is the human world" ^{[4, p. 13]}, i.e., "the material world". Previously, it was determined that the game is something metaphysical. His integral connection with creativity can be traced through the analysis, through the signs of the game process isolated from Huising's works. It is necessary to take into account the fact of the internal interconnectedness of these signs.

The first thing that defines the "game", according to the author's research, is freedom of action. It is determined by the will of the Creator and the compulsion in it is only the need to begin "action". In the case of the artist, the level of coercion expands to the possibilities of the material used in creativity, which does not deny the general freedom to transform the original form of matter. Freedom, as a property of human psychology, depends on the meaningfulness of an action and disappears when thinking about the possibility of a specific activity develops into the need for its implementation ^{[5, p. 27]}. The artist does not think about the requirement of creative activity, his action begins its existence at the level of the unconscious and is produced, almost separately from consciousness. Thus, the idea from the "world of ideas" – the inner world – is embodied immediately in movements. In the concept of freedom of action lies the same important concept – simplicity. The game, due to its presence at the level of instinct, has no complexity, its "work" is the adaptation of a creature in conditions of survival.

The person who creates in matter, as well as the one who creates "in the spaces of the ether" lives in two realities. The external world is inherently connected, for him personally, with his inner world. This affects both the level of tension in the work and the visible relaxation. At the same time, both play and creativity separate a person from everyday life. They are limited by place and time. Moreover, if both place and time can have a free character for musical art, then the limitation of space for applied types is equal to the size of the workshop (studio). It is difficult to limit the time for the latter, and this restriction has different levels: (1) from the beginning of the artist's work to its completion; (2) from the beginning of work with the material to the decaying of the substance in the finished "product"; (3) the time intervals used by the master to design the idea. While the musical art of time is determined, to a greater extent, by the process of playing "here and now".

The game has a culture-forming function, but it is also subject to culture. This is reflected in the worldview of a person in different epochs. V.I. Samokhvalova noted in her work: "Culture is the general way of human existence in the world, it is a special, human level of adaptation to the world, the order of affirmation of a person in it as an independent and independent being" ^{[6, p. 143]}. The appeal to man's knowledge of his nature and the surrounding world is replaced by a desire to comprehend God and the supernatural world. The search for the desire for knowledge is a cyclical phenomenon. It is also reflected in the arts. Also, subjection to culture is reflected in the duration of the creative process and the techniques of creating an object. With the passage of time, the change of the project manager, his apprentices and customers, new trends of the era and its artistic understanding are manifested in production / construction. Based on the analysis of the practical activity of a creative personality, it becomes clear that his actions have a game function in their composition. It initially lies in the sphere of the inner world, as the very desire for knowledge. Applied art materializes elements of the author's inner world, and thus forms the cultural background of the outside world. At the same time, a person's adaptability to external factors shows that the inner world is also formed on the basis of the external. Their mutual influence, when combined with the imagination and personal characteristics of the "creative person", creates the movement that subsequently pushes for subsequent innovations.

The next feature of the game is the possibility of forming a static group of permanent participants. Such "interest circles" are not always formed for a long time, the restrictions imposed by the "creator", his desire and capabilities matter. For decorative and applied art, such groups are created in a more stable form. Within the framework of one workshop, a team of like-minded artists is formed. Their work is connected and based on mutual assistance, in some cases without the implementation of one common idea (for example, workers of glass-blowing workshops, working with the same material, create different shapes, bowls, etc.). In such workshops (or studios), it is not necessary that all participants work with the same material, but, among other things, their work is connected with setting the plot for the future result. Examples of such workshops in the XXI century, or rather such a circle of like-minded people are puppet animation studios and gaming corporations. The basis of the studio is the distribution of responsibilities between artists from working on the script to choosing the material and its subsequent design according to the drawing or the scheme of the future figure laid down in the program (in the case of working with CNC machines or 3D printers). French art historian Henri de Moran wrote about the work of such artists: "Unlike a designer who constantly cooperates with industry, such an artist (designer), invited to perform one specific task, remains himself. The coincidence of tastes, random circumstances, passion for any idea contributed to the fact that a number of artists created individual models or advertising posters… The works they have done reflect the original style of each and at the same time, with scrupulous accuracy, I meet the specific goal set for them" ^{[7, p. 551]}. This is the case when the roles of "creator" and "observer" can be present in one person without compromising the gameplay. At the same time, the "observer" does not lose the essence of the event and assumes this role, as it was indicated for musique art, "at the moment of performance whenever this performance occurs" ^{[4, p. 235]}, which was important in archaic society and is embodied in modern.

The game, like any structured activity, has its own order and rules. They are freely (automatically) accepted by the person entering the activity, and one of the problems that all participants may face is the appearance of a "violator" (in Huising – "spielbrecher" – pretender) obeying the rules only externally. Since serious faith in the imaginary and physical events taking place is necessary for full immersion in the world of the game, the activity of such an intruder dispels the "magic" of the moment. Without a serious attitude, participation in any activity, including creativity, is not possible. However, the "intruder" by introducing an element of chaos into the gameplay also promotes the plot of the game. In art, such a "violator" contributes to the creation of new artistic images, technical improvement and the search for new materials (including on the basis of mixing known ones). Creative search often requires "breaking the rules" of working with the material – experimental activity. But this activity has an even more pronounced playful character, it can also be traced among children's games, when, through imagination, a "dish of haute cuisine" is formed from a combination of not quite edible natural materials (foliage, sand, earth, various waste, water). The observer-participant sees the decorated work, for others it is garbage. In other circumstances, seemingly incompatible substances form the material for creativity (a similar example is the history of the creation of porcelain, ceramics, etc.).

Technological progress based on creative search has contributed to an increase in the number of material options for artists, but it has also increased the life span for antique works of art. The "creative person" is always in search, and, as V.I. Samokhvalova noted, his activity "creates a general portrait of humanity, which is always fundamentally incomplete, can always be supplemented, completed, conjectured by another creatively thinking artist" ^{[2, p. 194]}. Works of art are also reinterpreted and supplemented over time (for example, with the help of computer programs, an increase in the image format was carried out on paintings by famous artists, which provided an opportunity for a more detailed study of the plot).

Creative search, like gameplay, is subject to excitement. It provides an additional impetus to the creation, completion or alteration of the composition. In a rush of excitement, the player acts until the victorious final, overcoming difficulties. For the artist, such excitement is revealed in the refinement of the idea and its addition when embodied in the material. However, in this case it is worth listening to the words of L.N. Tolstov that an artist should not "look back at his work, admire it, should not set mastery as his goal" in thinking about the rules of mastery ^{[8, p. 285]}. The artist works to express "inner beauty" and therefore should not be "distracted by trifles" and should love with all his heart. It is precisely by falling into a creative passion that Lev Nikolaevich's words about the strange state of art "of our time, in which our whole world is cluttered with works that claim to be works of art, but differ from handicrafts only in that they are not only not needed for anything, but are often harmful" ^{[8, p. 288]}.

Another important sign of play and creativity is their sacredness. Unconsciously, a person forms rituals based on the rules, tied to a specific activity. They are formed due to the need to prepare the workspace. The attitude to one's business as something supernatural contributes to the formation of a mystery. It is connected with the fact that a person feels inside this sacred (for his personal world) activity – peace and help. Sacred actions in a particular work are understandable only to the artist and his circle of confidants, for outsiders they will be an obscure and, possibly, meaningless time. However, like other signs, they are important. In creative activity, they introduce the same element of chaos as in the case of the phenomenon of the "violator", because an external observer who is not familiar with production will seek to know it and the ways of this knowledge are not always consistent with the established rules. The mystery both in the game and in creativity, brings additional interest and in exceptional cases is included in the main order. Also, the sacredness of art and its "game" mystery is indicated by the creation and use of various kinds of symbols. They are tied to a specific culture and can only be read by an initiated participant. Nikolai Alexandrovich Berdyaev never once mentioned the mystery in a person's work. It is revealed through the relationship of God and man and is considered by Nikolai Alexandrovich as a divine mystery, and this is "one secret that God keeps the secret about man and man keeps the secret about God ... Through the creativity of man, God is finally revealed in the world" ^{[9, p. 421]}. The sacredness of the game (and art) has its roots in the sphere of the pagan-sacred and, as Johan Huizinga emphasizes, is an agonal element of various shades.

The last and most important sign is the presence of meaning in the game and creativity. This point is also confirmed by Vasily Vasilyevich Kandinsky, in one of his works he writes: "art as a whole is not a senseless creation of works blurring in emptiness, but a purposeful force; it is designed to serve the development and improvement of the human soul" ^{[10, p. 111]}. The game, in turn, is understood due to its meaning, "the spiritual and social connections that it generates" ^{[4, p. 22]}, i.e. as a cultural function.

The features of the game highlighted on the basis of Johan Huising's research are of great importance for the protection of applied creativity. Music, poetics and dance, as types of musical art, play an important role not only for artistic development within this type of art, but also create an atmosphere – inspiration – for interdisciplinary creative progress (under the influence of feelings from a musical work, a poem can be written or a sculpture can be carved). At the same time, the described signs of the game and, as presented above, the art akin to it show that the manifestation of the activity of the "creative person" – his game – is a simple, free, sacred, serious, meaningful action.

Based on the above, it can be determined that decorative and applied art, as one of the manifestations of creativity, has a game function. The agonal character present in the game contributes to its presence in various aspects of human life. Thus, it is possible to define the game as a constituent element of the creative process, and the artist as its actor.