Between the East and the West: Reflections on the Contemporary Art of Kazakhstan

Abstract

Abstract:The paper analyses a self-cognitive experience performed by Kazakh contemporary art, led by globalisation tendencies, in search of its place in the world. Two decades of independence have become the basis for a new cultural space, where Kazakhstan sees itself both as the most western of Oriental countries and the most oriental of Western ones. Current lifestyles in Kazakh society, as well as the chosen political and economic vectors, considerably affect artistic consciousness, defining boundaries between ethno-cultural identity and the mainstream, which dictates its own terms and conditions. The present study focuses on art. In our opinion, it is the most illustrative area of visual creativity, which, faster than any other, reacts to each change in social mentality. The world reflected in a picture of one artist could reflect the world of the whole nation. Now the most interesting and important questions for Kazakhstan's citizens focus on this problem. These are the same questions that can be found in the title of an emblematic painting by Paul Gauguin: Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?

Folklore and Identity: History, Memory and Myth Making in the Modern Visual Culture of Kazakhstan

“…Their youth and creative development happened to be in the 80-90s of the twentieth century -the time of "stagnation" and its fundamental changes. These painters are distinguished by the "old" (professional) school, a stable picture of the world, a certain knowledge of traditional folklore and its perception as an important element of cultural memory [9,60].…”