Folk arts and crafts of Ugra: problems of terminological interpretation

Moldanova Nadezhda Anatolyevna ORCID: 0000-0002-1469-706X Researcher, Ob-Ugric Institute of Applied Researches and Development 628007, Russia, Khanty-Mansiysk, Yugorskaya str., 17 nmoldanova-nauka@yandex.ru

Introduction

One of the first researchers who put the problem of terminology at the forefront was the art historian M.A. Nekrasova, who put forward the question "about a new paradigm for the formation of key concepts in the definition of folk art, including folk crafts as one of its forms, in the cultural system, their place in modern culture as a spiritual phenomenon" ^[30]. V.B. Koshaev notes that "folk art as a type of culture and a type of artistic creativity is still not realized in the depth and scale of its genetic nature, as a carrier and exponent of the deep beginnings of human culture, archetypes of being and is not the basis for the formation of regulations of the state all-Russian policy in education and culture. The problem here is that the form of the artistic object of folk art is not yet fully realized in the essence of its mythological and symbolic functions due to a lack of understanding of its content" ^[14].

There are differences in the interpretation of the concepts used – "folk crafts", "folk art", "decorative and applied art". The relevance of this problem is confirmed by the research of the authors, who pay attention to the methodological aspects of the terminology of contemporary art.  The content of the concepts of "decorative and applied art" and "folk art" was revealed in the works of the Ural researcher A.S. Maksyashin. In the period from 2009 to 2022, in a series of articles, he identified their problems – the essence of folk art turns out to be replaced by decorative and applied art, which causes confusion among art theorists and practitioners ^[18-22]. Terminological problems have also attracted the attention of other researchers ^{[5; 36; 42]}. The artistic and stylistic features of Ob Ugrian folk art products are discussed in articles by art historian N.N. Fedorova and ethnographer T.A. Moldanova, who have knowledge of the local traditions of the Ob Ugrians [24-27; 38-40].

Folk art crafts

As part of our research, we will first turn to the meaning of the term – folk art crafts.  Article 3 of Federal Law No. 7-FZ "On Folk Art Crafts" defines them as one of the forms of folk art, which is based on the collective development and continuous development of folk art traditions. They include the creation of artistic products for utilitarian and/or decorative purposes. Their manufacture can be carried out both manually and using the mechanized labor of craftsmen of folk arts and crafts.

Federal legislation establishes the legal basis for the maintenance and development of folk arts and crafts, as well as other concepts such as handicrafts, a standard sample of folk arts and crafts, a master of folk arts and crafts, etc. The Duma of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug - Yugra in 2004 adopted a similar regulatory legal act operating within our region - The Law of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug-Yugra No. 98-oz "On folk arts and crafts in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug-Yugra". In its main provisions, it repeats the federal law.

 The definition of "folk" suggests that creativity is formed by the people – through the efforts of many generations. The people are the "author", and the skills of manufacturing are passed on "on the basis of collective development", from generation to generation in the conditions of continuity of tradition. "The totality of artistic means of expression, techniques of craftsmanship and traditional technology of making handicrafts that reflect historical, cultural, social and natural factors in the place of its traditional existence" – is the essence of the legislative definition of the word "artistic".

The term "fishery" has several meanings: 1) the extraction of animals, birds, fish and 2) small craft production ^[37]. The purpose of these activities is to earn a living. Handicraft production involves the manufacture of small items by hand. The inherent need for creativity of the people and the established cultural artistic tradition are combined with the material interest of the artisan in satisfying the inner need for everyday objects and their sale ^[35]. Thus, the word crafts in the meaning of handicraft suggests that the product is intended for sale. And this feature is of crucial importance – in a market economy, products become a commodity, where their value is determined not only by artistic qualities, but also by the possibility of their sale.

The time of the origin of folk arts and crafts in the sense of the beginning of various industries is considered to be the end of the XVIII century. XIX century: it was during this period that most types of folk arts and crafts working for the market were formed" ^[17]. Folk crafts are part of the art industry. Currently, this industry, which is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, is experiencing certain crises ^[11]. In the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug, this area is coordinated by the district Department of Culture. Since 2020, in connection with the adoption of the law of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Ugra "On creative industries in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Ugra", folk arts and crafts of Ugra began to be considered as a direction in the creative economy and placed on a par with the "fashion and decorative arts industry".

Folk art

In the culture of the indigenous peoples of the North, artistic products existed in the form of household (family) crafts with a variety of types of products and materials from which they are made, functional and decorative elements, semantic integrity and local features ^[40]. The term "folk art" as an activity for the creation of artistic products in accordance with folk traditions has become entrenched among specialists engaged in the study of the traditional culture of the Ob Ugrians ^{[6; 24; 39]}. According to art historian N.N. Fedorova, "traditional folk art is, in general, a different layer of culture, unlike folk crafts, associated with a certain social organization."  At the same time, the term "traditional art" includes other directions: choreographic, instrumental, vocal, folklore ^[8]. This emphasizes the syncretic nature of the traditional culture of the peoples of the North. An example of this is the ritual complex "Bear Games", which is a rather complex system covering all aspects of the life of the Ob-Ugric community – language, folklore, dance, folk theater, folk art, economic and labor activities, social relations.

It may seem that these concepts are similar, but the term "traditional folk art" refers to creativity that has an ethnic character and traditional transmission mechanisms: "Traditional and folk cultures are defined by different aspects:  traditional culture is defined through the type of social translation – reproduction of tested samples. Folk culture is formed by an ethnogenetic community united by ethnic identity" ^[15].

A specific feature of folk art is its commitment to tradition as a way of being and reproducing elements of social and cultural heritage, fixing the stability and continuity of the experience of generations, times and epochs ^[37].  "One must live by tradition, think, feel, perceive the world, only then it is alive. And that is why folk art lives as a living art, carrying its own way of artistic vision and artistic expression. By virtue of preserving its primordial nature and special specificity, it is the art of tradition" ^[28].

In science, the division of the Ob-Ugric peoples into ethnographic and territorial groups is accepted. It is generally accepted to divide Mansi into four groups: northern, western, eastern and southern. Khanty is divided into northern, eastern and southern.  Each territorial group has its own norms, its own aesthetics, its own set of glorified reference products, so the traditions of different groups rarely mixed with each other ^[24]. The ethnonyms of the Khanty and Mansi already contain a locus, this is reflected in their self-designation, for example, the Kasum ex 'Kazim Khanty' live in the basin of the Kazym river. Thus, one of the essential features of folk art is its territorial marking. In the Russian legislative framework on folk crafts, this is designated by the term "place of traditional existence of folk art crafts" and is defined as "the territory within which folk art craft has historically developed and is developing in accordance with original traditions." In museum practice, an obligatory section of the attribution of an object is to indicate the place of birth (residence) of the author and the place of manufacture of the object itself. 

The folk art of the Ob Ugrians is closely connected with traditional economic activities: reindeer husbandry, fishing, hunting, gathering wild plants, which, in turn, serve as an ethnos-preserving factor for culture and are determined by the climatic features and natural landscape of the region.

Based on the local traditional culture, historically developed in different parts of the country, folk art functions in various forms as a living tradition, representing the centers of traditional folk culture ^[30]. These are islands of traditional life, where folk art is organically woven into life itself, which once again shows that it is archaic, and inextricably linked with folklore traditions and language, "because each hearth has its own talents, its own traditions, its own artistic systems and methods, verified in the experience of many generations of folk craftsmen" ^[28]. Works of folk art, by their expressive form, material processing techniques, and functional purpose, carry information about the time and place of their origin, about the environment in which they were intended to live ^[3]. Thus, geographical location plays a key role in traditional cultures and is one of the components of regional identity ^[44].

The development of tradition

Cultural tradition is changeable and flexible, and folk crafts, as a living manifestation of traditional culture, are also constantly developing. This is manifested in the use of new materials or the replacement of existing ones with materials that are identical in properties. For example, the rovduga can be replaced with purchased leather, and the tendon thread can be replaced with nylon. Manual labor is partially replaced by mechanized labor, and the functional purpose of objects is changing. With regard to the color of clothing, with the advent of a wide variety of factory materials, craftsmen are beginning to move away from the classic color scheme. In ornamental art, this is manifested in a change in the configuration of the ornament, its semantics, and new stylistic solutions ^{[46; 49]}. In the legal field, this phenomenon is fixed by the concept of "creative variation", which allows you to make changes to the standard sample in terms of "compositional, color, ornamental or other artistic solutions." At the same time, in comparison with the standard sample, the quality and artistic level of the product do not decrease, since "the ratio of old and new in folk art is carried out within the boundaries of the artistic system and from the position of a common, collectively developed perception of the world by the people" ^[29]. Due to its variability, the tradition is enriched with new content and can even change its structure, while maintaining a semantic and meaningful core.

The relationship between traditions and innovations is the subject of active discussions ^{[1; 10; 23; 32]}. In this study, we will not delve into this topic, since the duration of existence and the degree of traditionality of products of the indigenous peoples of the North have already been considered in the works of T.A. Moldanova, E.V. Perevalova, G.P. Haryuchi and others ^{[27; 31; 41]}. It should be noted that traditional culture is subject to the greatest variability in areas of intensive industrial development ^[48]. Further study of changes in traditional culture in various ethnographic groups will help to understand what transformations are taking place in the material and spiritual cultures of the Ob Ugrians and identify their positive aspects for strengthening the cultural identity of the indigenous peoples of the North ^[45].

Decorative and applied arts

Another problem of the theoretical provisions on contemporary art is the ambiguity of the interpretation of the term "decorative and applied art". Some researchers identify decorative art with folk art, due to the fact that decorative and applied art combines the properties of folk, confessional, secular, avant-garde creativity ^{[2; 13]}. At the same time, decorative and applied art, like folk art, has a complex internal morphological structure and represents one of the types of artistic creativity based on the artistic and imaginative thinking of the author ^[7].

Other researchers emphasize that folk and decorative arts are two significantly different, but mutually enriching phenomena ^{[22; 42]}. Artists of decorative and applied arts use folk art as a visual resource, a source of inspiration, because they interpret the folk system of images and worldviews authorially when creating their works ^[9]. The branching of these two areas of contemporary art is also evidenced by the fact that the Union of Artists of Russia has ten creative commissions, including decorative arts and folk art separately ^[34].

Scientists also use the concept of "folk decorative and applied art". According to N.N. Fedorova, the term "decorative and applied art" is used as a clarification to folk art in order to distinguish it from painting, graphics, sculpture. This definition is necessary to characterize folk art in the context of other types of art." To find out how these terms are used in practice by workers in the field of culture, education and science, let's turn to the results of a survey on the VKontakte social network. Subscribers of the Union of Masters of Traditional Crafts of Ugra community were asked to answer the question "What do you call the activity of creating artistic products in accordance with folk traditions in a certain area, which are passed down from generation to generation?". A total of 50 people voted. The answers were distributed as follows: "folk arts and crafts" – 48%, "folk art" – 30%. The answer "decorative and applied arts" was chosen by 22% of the respondents ^[40]. The popularity of the first answer can be explained by the adopted legislative acts and the use of this term in the industry.

The typology of the subject art

Specialists typologically divide the subject art into professional, folk and amateur. Professional art is practiced by specially trained artists who have deeply studied the ways of creating expressive images. We have considered the basic principles of folk art above. It is important to emphasize that folk art focuses on collective folk traditions ("dissolves its subjective perception in general" ^[29]), while professional and amateur art represents the individualized creativity of individuals synthesizing various cultural layers.

It should be noted that the reconstruction of folk art products is one of the areas of professional activity. This is a kind of representation of archaeological finds and museum objects, when there are no living carriers anymore, and therefore the continuity of the folk tradition has ceased ^{[12; 43; 47]}. The main task of the reenactor artist is to create a reliable copy (replica) of the subject of the corresponding historical period. His work presupposes certain professional competencies and the study of archaeological, pictorial, and written sources.

Amateur art exists as a parallel world in relation to traditional folk art and professional art. M.A. Nekrasova defines amateur art as the free artistic creativity of people who do not have special professional training in art ^[28]. Amateur artists can practice various types of art, depending on their preferences and interests. If the products of folk art are distinguished by pronounced local features of the ethnographic group, then "amateur creativity is characterized by the use of traditional materials, object forms with an eclectic mix of them, an increase in external decorativeness", which can be perceived as "modernity" ^[40]. Folk art is the most eternal art: "it is understandable to all epochs and generations, and unlike individualized art, it does not outlast itself and does not age" ^[22].

Conclusion

Having studied various forms of artistic creativity – folk crafts, crafts, folk art, decorative and applied arts, we have identified their specific features, which were formed under the influence of historical, socio-economic, cultural changes. Adherence to tradition is an important feature of the folk culture of the indigenous peoples of the North, while the folk art of the Ob Ugrians continues to develop and adapt to modern realities, preserving its identity. It is worth noting that these changes are taking place slowly, and are gradually being fixed by the ethnic collective consciousness.

A clear distinction should be made between professional, folk and amateur art. The identification of the latter two leads to a distortion of the forms and content of folk art, weakens its connection with folk traditions. Professional art is the result of special training and individual creativity of artists, folk art expresses collective traditions and cultural heritage, and amateur art represents individual and informal artistic creativity. Folk art is always "national", professional and amateur art is "cosmopolitan".

There is an opinion that industrial production is the next stage in the development of folk art. As we discussed above, folk crafts have a special system of meanings that are determined by their history, functioning, and specific expression, including in modern reality. The folk art of the Ob Ugrians has its own trajectory of development in the territory of settlement of these peoples. At the same time, all traditional culture has deep roots in the ethnic environment and is transmitted through mechanisms related to ethnic identity and social translation.