BUKOVINSKY KOVAL ILYA POPYUK – MASTER AND TEACHER

Abstract

Artistic blacksmithing as a socio-cultural phenomenon encompasses various creative practices and interacts with various forms of art – sculpture, conceptual, “kinetic” art, spatial compositions. Artistic blacksmithing is one of the few types of fine art that was transformed from artisanal blacksmithing, largely inheriting the traditions of making products for people’s everyday needs. Artisan blacksmithing overcame a difficult path of changes: from the category of home craft – through custom-made craft in the period of destruction of natural economy – to market craft. Currently, industrial and individual artistic blacksmithing, as well as the works of folk craftsmen, have occupied their niche in the social and artistic spheres, are in demand, and are positively perceived and appreciated by society. Artistic blacksmithing and jewelry art of modern Ukraine are full-fledged creative directions in the field of fine arts. Today, enough articles, surveys, reports on creative exhibitions and festivals have been written about art metal in Ukraine. Encyclopaedias on art metal, defended candidate theses were published. At the same time, there are far fewer stories about iconic figures in the blacksmithing and jewelry art of Ukraine, studies of their work, analysis of the creative path, and descriptions of works in the art history and cultural literature than there are about graphic artists, painters, sculptors, and artists of contemporary (modern) art.This is explained by several reasons, one of which is that there are far fewer blacksmith artists than artists of other artistic professions. If the number of art exhibitions with the participation of painting, graphics, and sculpture during the years of Independence is counted in the thousands, then we can only talk about dozens of blacksmith festivals and especially personal exhibitions of blacksmiths. It should be noted that in the vast majority of creative reports, the works of the Bukovyna master Ilya Popyuk were presented to the audience. However, to this day, no separate study has been written about his creative path. Like most blacksmiths of Ukraine, Ilya Popyuk created blacksmith products for the needs of the front in the modern war between Russia and Ukraine. The forge, where he works, is always visited by the military, because the need for forged staples and stoves still remains. In their free time, the soldiers help the blacksmith. This is how art therapy sessions take place. The proposed article aims to overcome this gap and tell about the work of the outstanding artist.