INDUSTRIAL SPACE AS A FACTOR IN THE FORMATION OF THE ARTISTIC IDENTITY OF THE KRYVYI RIH ART COMMUNITY

Abstract

The article investigates the impact of the industrial environment on the formation of the artistic language and regional identity of Kryvyi Rih artists from the second half of the 20th to the early 21st centuries. The relevance of the study is driven by the insufficient scholarly attention to industrial themes in Ukrainian art history, as well as the fragmented nature of research dedicated to artistic processes in Ukraine’s industrial regions. The paper emphasizes that prolonged ideological layering during the Soviet period, caused by the dominance of Socialist Realism, significantly complicated the objective scholarly understanding of this subject as an independent artistic phenomenon.
The study analyzes the current state of research on the issue, identifies the reasons for limited scholarly attention to the topic, and outlines a range of academic works in which industrial themes are addressed only briefly, without proper art historical analysis. Particular attention is paid to the specifics of the artistic development of Kryvyi Rih–a city whose formation was directly linked to industrialization processes. This led to a profound transformation of the natural and urban landscape and, consequently, defined the nature of the artistic practices of local artists.
Based on an analysis of the creative heritage of the older generation of artists–such as I. Avramenko, V. Bielov, and H. Shyshko–the key artistic features formed under the influence of technogenic space are explored. Through art historical and stylistic analysis, two groups of characteristic features are identified: general features associated with the ideological tenets of Socialist Realism, and specific features formed by the direct influence of the region's industrial environment. The latter include a unique color palette, determined by the specific characteristics of the iron ore quarries and mines of the Kryvyi Rih area, as well as a distinctive interpretation of space as a holistic synthesis of technogenic, natural, and urban elements. It is demonstrated that the industrial landscape in the work of Kryvyi Rih artists emerges not only as an object of representation but as a full-fledged carrier of emotional, symbolic, and psychological meanings that reveal dramaturgy of the region.
Special attention is paid to the problem of the continuity of artistic traditions. Using the works of contemporary artists–H. Ivashchenko, L. Davidenko, and N. Davidenko-Orlova–the transformation of industrial themes in the post-Soviet cultural space is traced. In particular, in the work of H. Ivashchenko, the industrial landscape acquires features of surrealist and post-apocalyptic imagery, allowing his work to be considered within the broader context of global artistic practices.
The study concludes that industrial space is one of the key factors in the formation of the regional artistic identity of Kryvyi Rih, ensuring the continuity of artistic practices while simultaneously creating conditions for their modern reinterpretation.