LATVIJAS MĀKSLAS AKADĒMIJA / LATVIAN ACADEMY OF ART
STELLA PELŠE
LATVIEŠU MĀKSLAS TEORIJAS VĒSTURE
Mākslas definīcijas valdošo laikmeta ideju kontekstā
(1900-1940)
Promocijas darba kopsavilkums
HISTORY OF LATVIAN ART THEORY
Definitions of Art in the Periods Art -Theoretical Context
(1900-1940)
Summary of Doctoral Dissertation
Zinātniskais vadītājs:
Dr. habil. art. Eduards Kļaviņš
RĪGA
2004
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TOPIC. Latvian art theory so far has not been
explored as the primary subject of a historical survey, although the first attempts to
consider the main features of this field took place in the context of Soviet-period
art history and history of aesthetics. While art theory was treated as an "absolute
truth" from the viewpoint of a particular ideology, most of pre-Soviet theoretical
heritage was analysed incompletely, as contradictory and nearly worthless
compilations of Western influences. In addition, the influx of neo-avant-garde
trends in the Latvian artistic practice since the late 1980s has increased the role of
art theory. When a necessity to comprehend the consequences of a new, radical
turn in definitions of art appears, it may be useful to consider the contribution of
historical precedents. The present situation that can be interpreted as both a global
theoretical vacuum and a promising pluralism, urges to explore its prehistory.
THE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY. The goal of this
work is to provide a historical survey of Latvian art theory from 1900 up to 1940,
considering the material mainly from the viewpoint of definitions of art in the
wider context of prevailing Western art-theoretical ideas. The local thinking on art
is explored in respect to general issues concerning visual art (no specific theories
of painting, sculpture, graphics or ideas on photography or architecture are
considered). Objectives: 1) the study aims to identify the local material as precisely
as possible, including the comparative aspect of both influences of foreign writers
on art upon Latvian authors and analogies of art-theoretical thought; 2) to deal with
the history of art theory as related to the dilemmas and perspectives of the present
situation in the philosophy of art. Methodological paradigms in dealing with art
have grown out from a complex set of historical precedents whose exploration
could ground more self-conscious choices for the present-day scholars. The
analysed material consists of synthesised fragments from the history of art theory,
bits of ideas cut out form the initial context and cemented by various ideologies.
Recognising their historical sources, one has to admit that there is a perpetual
choice to be made, not just in respect to the history of art theory but to the
theoretical understanding of today's art as well.
T HE NOT I O N OF AR T T HEOR Y AN D LI M IT S O F T HE
SUBJECT. The very notion of art theory is quite problematic and worth of
interest on the threshold of the 21st century. On the one hand, art theory as a system
of instructions addressed to artists largely lost its authority with the decline of the
academic tradition and the rise of modernist ideas on artistic creation as a
spontaneous, intuitive process; on the other hand, art has been identified as art
precisely by the means of theory - both declaring autonomy of artistic form and
interpreting artistic phenomena as signs determined by more powerful factors of
societal development. According to the historian of art theory Moshe Barasch,
this field can be defined as the "articulation of rules to direct the artist in his
creative work. The comments containing such questions, explanations and rules.
usually emerging from a close contact with the emerging or completed work of art
make up the core of art theory". On the one hand, theory of plastic (visual) art is
narrower in scope in comparison with aesthetics that takes up exploration not just
of human-created objects but also natural phenomena and problems of other kinds
of art (literature, music). On the other hand, art theory may be conceived as a more
archaic and broader notion that relates to a host of artistic issues, such as
classification of kinds of art, aims and functions of art, creative process and
perception, and purely technical instructions for the use of certain expressive
means. The main criterion of selection in this survey is not the "form" of writing
on art but the scope of problems that interest the author - does he/she express
general ideas on art, or gives instructions related to the creative process? The
above-mentioned "contact with the work of art" draws much of art theory close to
art criticism; the main distinction is the general, universalising intent - even if
particular artworks are mentioned, they serve only to enlighten more general
conclusions. One should mention that different theories of art (theory of art as
representation, as form, as expression) are mostly inseparable from some set of
practical guidelines. This study does not deal with art theory as derived from the
artworks themselves - the object of analysis is a body of written texts. Some ideas
derived from the field of art history serve as a kind of background information.
MATERIALS AND METHOD OF SELECTION. Texts that contain
art-theoretical ideas are scattered in many different types of publications - the few
books, essays in editions of collected articles, magazines and newspapers, i.e., any
text published in Latvian that contributes to the local circulation of theoretical
ideas is considered important. In this study the history of art theory is, of course,
the history of generalising conclusions, not of elaborate systems of thinking on art.
Large part of ideas on art in the studied period has got closely involved with the
requirements of local national ideology and can be located on the verge of "mere"
propaganda. The fact that conclusions are fragmentary, often unclear or
contradictory, brings in the active role of interpretation. Some unpublished
manuscripts, collected editions of letters and diaries are also dealt with to
complement the local scene of art theory. It was impossible to focus only on
articles dealing with visual art because different spheres of culture were largely not
distinguished in publications of the period. Universal principles were often related
to fine art, literature, sometimes music etc. Among writers on art one can mention
artists (Jānis Rozentāls, Gustavs Šķilters, Romans Suta, Uga Skulme, Ernests
Brastiņš, etc.), writers and literary critics (Viktors Eglītis, Andrejs Kurcijs, Edgars
Sūna. etc.), historians (Arveds Švābe, Aleksandrs Dauge). Few persons can be
identified as art historians in the professional sense; Boriss Vipers and Kristaps
Eliass are to be mentioned. In a sense this study aims to widen the circle of Latvian
art-theoretical thinkers, taking up the contribution of other branches of culture. One
should note that the biographical, social and cultural-historical context is not the
main concern here; it is subordinated to the identification of particular conceptions
and their mutual relationships.
Material has been largely gathered from the bibliographical index Latvian
Science and Literature compiled by Augusts Ginters. Texts have been selected
according to the following conditions:
1. articles included in the chapter on general issues of art (except purely
practical, organisational, financial, etc. questions);
2. articles included in other chapters whose titles expose certain preference for
theoretical issues. This relates mostly to articles on fine art, especially
exhibition reviews, that are dealt with only if the author has clearly expressed
theoretical interests.
3. articles regardless of their titles whose authors' theoretical competence and
ambitions have been realised in monographs, general essays on art, letters etc.
DIVISION INTO PERIODS AND STRUCTURE OF THE
DISSERTATION. Division into periods is based on the changes in the studied
material - ideas on the essence of art and its welcome development. In the 1 st
chapter entitled "NATURE, ARTIST'S SUBJECTIVITY AND
MORALIST TRADITION (1900-1917)" the evidence of thinking on art of
this period is analysed. Texts translated into Latvian are also considered as
significant "building-blocks" of the local art-theoretical space.
RETROSPECT INTO THE 19TH CENTURY: FIRST DEFINITIONS OF
ART AND SPREAD OF POSITIVISM. Latvian national school of art, as well as
the closely related art history and theory, are of very recent origin in the European
context. Latvian artists with systematic, academic, professional education appeared
only in the late 19 th century when the first ideas of national art became manifest.
Literature that could express not just artistic but also urgent historical, political,
scientific ideas developed first. But gradually one can notice signs of theoretical
thinking on art, firstly close to the adaptation of Latvian language for definitions
and classifications of art. For example, writer and public figure Atis Kronvalds
described art as expression of emotions, not implementation of preconceived
rational norms, that loosely coincides with the Romanticist outlook. Theoretical
ideas on art in the late 19 th century Latvia were much influenced by Positivism,
especially by the cultural history of the French author Hippolite Taine who defined
art as scientific feet and product of certain environmental conditions; at the same
time he retained much of the traditional European art theory that compounded
imitation of nature with idealisation to reveal "essential characters" and essential
features, not external aspects of the subject. Much of later theoretical premises,
regardless of their Marxist or nationalist ideological commitments, hark back to
these transformed classicist doctrines handed down by positivists, including Taine.
ORIGINS OF THE 20TH CENTURY ART THEORY. There is certain
evidence that problems of creation and interpretation reached a new level of
complexity about the turn of the century. Besides short informational pieces more
theoretically oriented articles appeared. Besides, art theory became more
associated with the activities of Latvian artists in particular, not just with art in
general.
The trend of Neo-Romanticism is related to quite large scope of
publications that more or less clearly promote: 1) the significance of artist's
subjectivity, his emotionally expressive, imaginative outlook, 2) formal qualities of
art in opposition to educational or moralising subject matter, 3) distinction between
art and science, or, rational cognition in general, 4) orientation towards nature and
naturalness, disputing both the schemas of academic tradition and attempts of
copying reality ascribed to naturalism. The situation in Latvia was distinguished by
large number of translated texts in local periodicals, such as fragments of Max
Liebermann's, Auguste Rodin's, Emil Verhaern's, etc. texts on art that provide a
certain frame for Latvian authors' ideas. Although appropriations of foreign ideas
are found in most of local writing on art, sometimes there was clear emphasis on
popularising intent of a particular source. For example, the public figure Jānis
Kreicbergs restated the once popular theory of the German author Konrad von
Lange who endowed the artist with a potential to rise the level of human sensitivity
and compensate the lack of certain ideas and feelings in certain historical periods.
Already in this time the influential ideas of Henri Bergson were introduced in
Latvia by the publicist Georgs Palcmanis. Evidence of Neo-Romanticist thinking
on art is found also in many anonymous or partly anonymous articles, editorial
statements etc.
Although the very first writers on art came from the field of literary
criticism, precisely artists were compelled to set down their creative principles for
both themselves and the mostly incompetent public to defend their enthusiasm for
this "unpractical" and unprofitable vocation.
Unity of nature and style: Janis Rozentāls. The most outstanding figure
in the early 20th century Latvian art theory was the painter Janis Rozentals who
published a series of large-scale articles in the leading cultural magazines of that
period - Vērotājs and Zalktis. Theoretical problems connected with the actual
process of artistic creation, complex relationships between reality as the artist's
"raw material" and his subjective, transforming activity were in the centre of his
interests. As materials from the Rozentals' personal library demonstrate, he used
ideas of several German authors popular at the time (Richard Muther, Kurt
Miinzer, Rudolph Czapek, etc.) as either direct quotes or modified restatements.
Their common central idea was to object to naturalist accuracy, to support the role
of the general impression, autonomy of the visual sphere and artist's imagination
and subjectivity, at the same time traditional idea of the artist's skill was also
promoted.
Teodors Ūders' "Real Symbolism." Theoretical ideas of the artist Teodors
Uders that are expressed in his large epistolary heritage are also focused on the role
of nature in art. Although his early statements are close to the ideas of Realism,
later he stressed the importance of subjective, individual element and the role of
artist's genius, advancing the later much debated idea of a synthesis between the
best artistic achievements of different epochs of art history.
From Neo-Romanticism to Marxism: Jānis Asars. Many publications
of the early 20th century written by men of letters and other similar professions also
dealt with general theoretical questions of art and can be related to the trend of
Neo-Romanticism. Jānis Asars was one of the most prolific writers on art in this
period, although his articles are mostly short art-historical surveys, not focused on
theoretical issues. His conception was largely derived from the ideas of the
German art historian Richard Muther about stylistic change as a logical expression
of the process of society's historical development. Equally important was the
conception of the German painter Max Liebermann focused on the role of colour
and fantasy in dealing with everyday motifs. Asars later got involved with Marxist
ideas and shifted the emphasis on the social significance of art.
Neo-Romanticism - outcome of Positivism's evolution: Arveds Švābe.
One of the most erudite writers, well versed in the fields of aesthetics and art
history, was the historian Arveds Svabe. He published several articles on the
subjects of psychology of perception and the nature of aesthetic emotions, initially
based on ideas of Charles Darwin, Nikolai Tchernishevski and other 19 th century
authorities. Then, taking up relationships between nature and art, he gradually gave
up priority of biological and sociological factors, claiming that art is not a duplicate
of life but the "original itself".
Neo-Romanticism - antithesis of Marxism: Miķelis Valters. The
politician and writer Mikelis Valters also took up in-depth analysis of theoretical
questions in his publications where he criticised Marxist methodology as too
incomplete and one-sided. He was much influenced by the German aesthetician
Max Dessoir and Theodor Lipps, the founder of the theory of empathy. Like in
Heinrich Wolfflin's influential conception, Valters emphasised immanent
evolution of artistic form.
Neo-Romanticism's accents on subjectivity and expression. The artist
and prolific art critic Jūlijs Madernieks also dealt with theoretical issues quite
often, stressing that nature is not art but only its "raw material" to be transformed
according to the artist's personality. His approval of innovative expressive means
manifested by the Russian avant-garde group Union of Youth points towards an
important element of continuity with the modernist ideas - free interpretation of
nature leads to radical diminishing of its role and much greater degree of
deformation. The artist Voldemārs Zeltiņš has also published some essays on
artistic issues, declaring a similar opinion on the decisive role of artist's
individuality. Subjectively inclined, moderate criticism of the latest artistic trends
one can find in the artist Jānis Jaunsudrabiņš' essays on art. Ernests Puriņš'
name could be mentioned among non-artists that nevertheless concerned
themselves with latest artistic trends and their theoretical consequences.
Aspects of art's autonomy and morphology. A group of articles mostly
related to literature was not especially focused on art history and theory,
nevertheless issues of visual art were dealt with as part of the general artistic
problems of creation and reception. Art was treated as expression of higher ideas
with particular Symbolist overtones, as an end-in-itself, not as a means for social
goals (Haralds Eldgasts, Ādolfs Erss, Viktors Eglītis etc.). Eglītis is noted by
quite large-scale articles on the topic of artistic form where he relied on Isidora
Duncan's and Emil Jack-Dalcroze's ideas about dance as the primary source of all
kinds of art and a "corporeal" conception of art as the potential of its rebirth.
Theatre critic Arturs Bērziņš also was attracted by the qualities of rhythm as an
antidote to rationalism and intellectualism of the past. The writer Jānis Akurāters
also published quite lengthy theoretical essays. His emphasis was on art as a
biological organism with its own, immanent laws of development and on the
individual's freedom as the highest value. On the one hand, artist should give up
any "secondary goals", on the other hand, his task is to provide the beholder with
truths useful for real life. The poet Fricis Bārda was likely involved with problems
of aesthetics and art, proposing a kind of solution for contradictory principles of
self-sufficient and useful art - although the artist creates freely, social, ethical or
whatever else meaning is attached to his works afterwards.
Traces of National Romanticism. Oļģerts Grosvalds' informative arthistorical articles sometimes contained an idea of integration between national
content and formal means of French art that can be interpreted as a kind of
National Romanticism. Similar themes can be found, for example, in the essays of
Janis Lupins who criticised the passivity of Impressionist art that should be
replaced with a sort of heroic Symbolism derived from the thematic sources of the
Latvian mythology. The composer Emilis Melngalis longed for Latvianness as a
blend of arts and crafts according to ethnographic traditions.
Non-Romanticism in the shadow of Classical and Realist traditions.
Lengthy essays with much theoretical interest were published by the sculptor
Gustavs Šķilters who stressed that nature is artist's pattern and law; contrary to
Jūlijs Madernieks, he emphasised not the absurdity of copying nature but its
principal impossibility. The heritage of Realism had more influence on S ķiters'
thinking on art; he was very critical of various avant-garde trends (Cubism,
Expressionism). The graphic artist Rihards Zariņš articles were mostly directed
against Art Nouveau influences but his intention to develop aesthetic qualities of
the living environment and extol the role of crafts as opposed to the centuries -old
dominance of painting and sculpture can be treated as a local version of the all European tendency of the Art Nouveau period Zarins took active part in the
discussion on the Union of Youth exhibition, criticising modernists' refusal to
study nature. Tradition-based caution in respect to latest trends shows in the artist
Roberts Šterns' ideas on art. Writer and journalist Augusts Melnalksnis.
although sure about art's superiority over nature and significance of individual's
creative act, stressed traditional thesis on art as representation of nature and
relativist stance typical of Taine's doctrine.
During the first decade of the 20 th century one can distinguish also a
different trend of art-theoretical thinking - Moralism. Its theoretical basis was
directly derived from the once much read and debated opus of the Russian writer
Leo Tolstoy titled What is Art? (1898). He defined art as a process of arousing in
other humans the same feelings that the artist has experienced, by the means of
"movements, lines, colours, sounds or words". The goal of art was described as a
kind of utilitarian improvement of real life, descending to the world outlook of the
simple folk contrary to the Western artistic elitism and decadence. Although this
attitude invites comparisons with Taine's and Marx's ideas, Tolstoy's conception
stands apart by its universal ambitions that deny the links of "true art" with
interests of particular class or layer of society. The only criterion of quality is art's
universal comprehensibility and impact upon the public, almost by-passing the
specific aesthetic, formal features. The basic premises of Moralism: 1) stress on the
utilitarian, communicative function in respect to feeling (contrary to the autonomy
theory, "art for art's sake"); 2) criterion of universal legibility, closeness to the
people (contrary to the individualist attitude of aestheticism).
Many short restatements of Tolstoy's work were published already on the
turn of the 20th century to oppose the classicist ideas of beauty as the essence of art
or the Herbert Spenser's conception on art's origins from the play activity. Most of
the adepts of Moralist attitude came from writers', literary critics' and likely
cultural circles - Tolstoy's ideas were not particularly attractive to practising
artists. Articles that propagate ideas of Moralism add up to the local art-theoretical
scene but certainly they are not its main representatives. Exchange of feelings as
the main function of an artwork was mentioned by the actor and stage director
Vidridžu Pēteris (Pēteris Ozoliņš) who stressed that art should educate and
develop mankind, otherwise it has no reason to exist. Artwork has to be
comprehensible also to non-artists, or it is obscure and useless. The writer Fricis
Mierkalns attempted to distinguish "worldly" and "other-worldly" artists, praising
the first ones who "do not value art above all but the life itself'. Some art -,
theoretical elements appeared in an unknown author R. Balodis' reflections upon
the uselessness of art, for example, concluding that artists' work is not a "real" one,
like that of teachers', charity workers', etc. In addition, painting and sculpture are
little suited for depiction of poor people's sufferings. Articles by the chemist
Vilhelms Ostvalds state that art is first of all expression of feelings that has to
arouse the same feelings in the spectator. Besides Tolstoy's theory, emphasis of
social functions and moral dimension of art was derived from other sources as
well. Teacher Aleksandrs Dauge in his lectures related in newspapers during the
1910s stressed ideas of the English art critic John Ruskin based on the serious
social role of art. Ruskin's ideas were used also by the theologian Kārlis
Kundziņš who emphasised art's life-enhancing functions in opposition to the
aestheticist concept "art for art's sake".
Articles inspired by Marxist ideas appeared a little later than those derived
from Tolstoy's conception, i.e., during the late 1900s and 1910s. Marxist authors
were mostly concerned with the problems of literature but similar requirements
were applied to all branches of culture as superstructures of the economic basis.
Although Moralist and Marxist attitudes had much in common (conception of art
as a means to an end, criticism of the "individualist" stance of Western art),
Marxists stressed the "class character" of art and consequent requirements - not to
express and communicate feelings in a broad sense but those serving the interests
of a particular class. Articles that promoted the proletarian world outlook were
largely derived from foreign sources whose brief summaries and translated
fragments were often found in the local periodicals (Anatoly Lunatcharsky, Klāra
Zetkin, etc.). Historian of art and literature Roberts Pelše based his attempts to
define a proletarian art on Marx's and Engels' conception of human history as a
class struggle. However, he had to admit that no clear boundaries between
proletarian and non-proletarian art could be drawn. The writer Andrejs Upīts also
episodically touched upon issues of visual art, for example, he stated that the class
of bourgeois is able to comprehend only applied arts, contrary to the high principled proletarian art. Literary critics Vilis Knoriņš and Junta JansonsBrauns in their essays promoted proletarian art as a cultivation of world artistic
heritage in some new, "proletarian" mode, searching for examples in "the highest
achievements of the previous development" (Klara Zetkin). But the journalist and
publicist Kārlis Grasis promoted a different opinion and dismissed examples of
classical art that should be replaced with direct studies of nature, far more suited
for the proletarian world outlook.
Origins of Modernism: Voldemārs Matvejs. Theoretical works by
Voldemars Matvejs who was involved with the Russian avant-garde art and
became the "spiritual father" of Latvian modernists, should be mentioned as an
important episode during this period. Matvejs' conception brought important shifts
in the local art-theoretical scene in comparison with the previous Neo-Romanticist
attitudes, although they are not absent from Matvejs' thought. But his ideas were
not widely accepted in the circles of educated Latvian public. In 1910 there was
exhibition of the Russian avant-garde group Union of Youth and Matvejs'
declaration of its principles followed by a public discussion in press on the
relationships between art and reality. Traditional studies of nature and the role of
artist's professional skill were largely questioned in Matvejs' writings. He took up
the potential of various formal elements, such as liberation of colour and line from
the centuries-old mimetic functions. Texture as an element of form was analysed in
a kind of treatise that dealt with qualities of different materials as well as with the
notion "immaterial texture" (it can be interpreted as a synonym for "artistic
image"). Matvejs' interest in such notions as "tuning-fork" and "noise" points to
synaesthetic analogies popular in the early 20 th century. An indispensable part of
Matvejs' conception derived from the heritage of primitive cultures where he
found sources of artistic rebirth, opposed to the rational canons of European
traditions, for example, he emphasised the role of "plastic symbol" in his work
Negerplastik, negating the traditional knowledge of human anatomy.
2nd chapter "FORM, CONTENT AND NATIONAL ART FROM
MODERNIST TO TRADITIONALIST STANCE - SYNTHESIS,
MODIFICATION, CRITIQUE (1917-1925)" deals with the most pronounced
modernist period in the Latvian art theory that expose also the signs of a
conservative reaction. About the mid-1910s the issue of national art acquired a
new topicality - on the one hand, Latvian artists had to demonstrate equality with
their colleagues in the countries of established cultural traditions; on the other
hand, there was an urgent need to retain the national specificity of art. Search for a
balance between the acceptable or even necessary "dose" of foreign elements and
unacceptable subservience to their authority became one of the most important
issues of the local art theory in this period.
Modernist ideas. The most important shift from the definitional
viewpoint - idea of art as representation, including the artist's subjective input,
went through a serious crisis, although this could be hardly applied to the public
level of expectations in general. Categories of form and expression increased in
importance and often were caught in a complicate pattern of relationships,
emphasising the inner dynamic of art's development and liberation from the
centuries-old traditions that, at the same time, does not exclude the creative
reinterpretation of these traditions. The most significant part of art-theoretical
heritage was created by artists and art critics, particularly by several representatives
of the Riga Artists' Group, although not all of its members took up writing
theoretical texts.
Predominance of Futurist echoes: Niklāvs Stunke. The artist Niklavs
Strunke who contacted with Russian avant-garde circles during the 1910s, wrote
several quite radical manifestos of "new", modern art that feature influences of
Futurist ideas. His conclusions on the urban nature of new art are comparable to
the Futurists contempt against historical and cultural legacy as well as traditions of
academic training. Search for a modern formal expression was treated as a kind of
contemporary realism, taking up analytic reflection on particular formal elements
and approving of the Cubists' interest in form, contrary to Impressionism's
"formlessness".
Synthesis and construction: Jāzeps Grosvalds. The painter Jāzeps
Grosvalds who was the most experienced Latvian artist in respect to European art
scene of the 1910s (he knew both moderate and radical circles of Parisian Fauves
and Cubists from personal encounters) became the leader of Latvian modernist
aspirations. He proposed some guidelines, describing artistic creation first of all as
"synthetic" and "constructive" activity. Contrary to Niklavs Strunke, Grosvalds put
more emphasis on the local lack of artistic traditions, not on their oppressive
burden. Mentioning historical themes of the day as potential subjects for artists'
work, he also extolled "Latin" (i.e., Mediterranean, particularly French Cubist) art
as the best example for Latvian artists. This allows considering his opinions as an
introduction to the rational, "classical" stage of Cubism's evolution.
Expressionist elements: Jēkabs Kazaks. The role of Expressionism in
Latvian art and its theory has been long treated as inessential, related to the
German origin of this trend and Latvian artists' aspirations to discard the centuriesold German cultural dominance. The first name of the Riga Artists' Group,
namely, Expressionists, was established in the local art history as a kind of shortlived misconception. At the same time, some Expressionist elements can be found
in the early stage of the local modernist thinking on art, for example, Riga Artists'
Group catalogue entry stated that art is an expression of artist's "individual nature,
his essence". The artist Jēkabs Kazaks' emphasis on the role of the "artist's spirit"
are particularly remarkable.
Leftist Expressionism and proletarian culture. Expressionist overtones
feature also in some other theoretical essays of the early 1920s that so far are
largely unknown from the art-theoretical viewpoint, for example, the actor Kārlis
Hamsters' definitions of proletarian art. Expressionism as the dynamics of a
collectively conceived spirit was associated with socialism as a new international
religion; Hamsters' theoretical sources included Wilhelm Worringer's ideas on
abstraction and empathy as well as Alois Riegl's notion of "artistic will" and
Herman Bahr's work Expressionismus based on the opposition between the
"passive" outlook of Impressionism and the "active" stance of Expressionism.
Some other Marxist conceptions of the proletarian culture (proletcult) that could
seem incompatible with the Expressionism's belief in the individual spirit feature
"spiritual dynamics" as a counterpart of the proletariat's dynamic potential (writers
Kārlis Dziļleja, Kārlis Dzelzs, Linards Laicens).
Andrejs Kurcijs' Activism. A particular blend of socio-political goals and
search for new artistic form typify thinking on art of the early 1920s. The writer
Andrejs Kurcijs' conception of Activism (Aktīvā māksla (Active Art) published in
1923 and several articles in the magazine Laikmets) was clearly opposed to
conservative academic traditions of representational art and passivity of
Impressionism; at the same time he criticised both the extremes of formal
experimentation taken up by Suprematists and the aestheticist slogan "art for art's
sake". Kurcijs' conception, titled after the German literary trend, was basically
similar to ideas of the Russian Constructivists as well as French Cubists and Purists
(Fernand Leger, Amedee Ozenfant). Kurcijs in his exhibition reviews supported
the formal inventions of the Riga Artists' group. Although Kurcijs' later writings
are mostly Marxist-inspired, he retained the quest for active, innovative form to
express the active content.
Conceptions of Modernist formalism. Although the stress on form in
opposition to the artwork's content could be considered as the main feature of
modernism, at the same time it points towards historically particular versions of
both form and content
1. Self-sufficient plastic value. The specificity of visual art is most
comprehensively explored in artists' theoretical articles. Important reference points
in respect to art's nature and functions are found in publications dedicated to
Voldemars Matvejs that deal with his accents on the artist's skill as an intuitive
sense of material and "plastic values", for example, the artist Uga Skulme singled
out Matvejs' denial of the "subjective inspiration": "Painting is a material thing"
whose essence does not depend on our feelings. The artist Romans Suta, leading
theoretician of the Riga Artists' Group, was an especially active promoter of the
new art. He stated that "artistic means" of a painting (i.e., its formal elements) are
to be comprehended without verbal explanations and moral or ethical tasks. In
other words, colour, form, construction, rhythm, volume are decisive; the idea of
national specificity also had to be freed from the formal idiom of the Russian
Wanderers' tradition. Suta assured that Latvians should take over the best
expressive means of today from other nations, first of all from the French Purists
with whom he established personal contacts during his travels abroad The
significance of form typifies also the primary aim of the short-lived art magazine
Laikmets (Epoch); the spirit of various modernist trends was undoubtedly present,
but there is no real ground to define these materials as particular manifestos of
Cubism, Constructivism or Purism. The idea of historical change was also
important; so form could not be conceived as an embodiment of static, a-historical
values. The sculptor Teodors Zaļkalns stated that art consists of the "basic matter"
or "element" (colour in painting, plane in sculpture, line in drawing) and all the
history of art is a kind of burdening this matter with different "values", but, since
the 19th century, the liberation from these values was taking place. The artist and
later prominent art historian Jānis Siliņš reflected upon the increased importance
of line after Impressionism's play with optical illusions. He also emphasised that
"architectonic construction is the soul of modern art".
The painter Helmuts Markvarts, author of several elaborate essays on art,
agreed that form is the essence of art. At the same time he asserted that form
depends on experience and that "speculatively refined" form of modernist trends is
unsuited for the full expression of artist's experience.
2. Expansion of rhythm's significance. Theoretical views of Ernests
Brastiņš, painter and archaeologist, were also partly based on some formal aspects
of art. In 1922 he published the book Doomsday of Painting, strongly influenced
by the 19th century German author Karl Bucher's -work. Arbeit und Rhythmus that
dealt with rhythmical functions of folklore. On the one hand, Brastiņš extolled
prehistoric Latvian society, considering applied arts as the best kind of creative
activity; on the other hand, he celebrated "rhythms of steel" that should determine
the outlines of art's future. These ideas invite comparison with the Futurists'
excitement about technological advances or Oswald Spengler's call to dismiss
artistic creation altogether as a residue of a by-gone period of European history.
Similar aspects of artistic form were much explored in essays of the poet
and critic Viktors Eglītis. The main feature of the "outer" form, in Eglītis'
opinion, was also related to rhythm. Considering particular examples, Eglītis
stressed art's links with the context of local life; at the same time, technical means
should be appropriated rather from the old masters' arsenal than from the
contemporary experience.
Conceptions of a priori form. Besides form as the sensually perceptible
aspect of an artwork there was the idea of a priori form - different kinds of
contribution of the human mind to artistic creation and perception. According to
the Polish aesfhetician Wladyslaw Tatarkiewitz, a priori form derives from the
Imanuel Kant's conception of space and time as a priori forms of cognition that
were later transformed in the art-historical context as changing, pluralistic forms of
artistic vision. Here one has to mention first of all the art historian Boriss Vipers
whose theoretical views were based on the assumption that evolution of art is not
an evolution of skill but "a change in world outlook". He regarded Latvian art in
the context of European art's development. He, for example, took up analysis of
different forms of space conception as signs of cultural differences in world
outlook. The art historian Kristaps Eliass published many large-scale articles
where he considered naturalism, Impressionism, Expressionism and other styles
and trends as transient phenomena leading towards some new, objective and
universally significant style. His points of reference were such Western authorities
as Alois Riegl, Wilhelm Worringer, Karl Marx, Arthur Schopenhauer etc., but one
has to mention especially the Germans Julius Meier-Graefe and Richard Muther Eliass used the Meier-Graefe's canon of best achievements in Western art
alongside Muther's emotionally biased descriptions of art's social contexts.
Particular place in the art-theoretical scene of the early 1920th was occupied
by the historian Arveds Švābe. He took up several problems of art's interpretation
and its essence in the context of historical change. He used the philosopher Emil
Utitz's ideas to dismiss several traditional postulates of aesthetics, like defining art
as source of beauty and aesthetic pleasure that had became obsolete in the context
of latest developments in artistic practice. Švābe's contribution to art theory is not
particularly original or voluminous but his explanations that were often critical in
respect to well-established ideas is remarkable for the treatment of Latvian art as
an indispensable part of the Western culture.
Retrospective "Classical" trend. Opinions that emphasised the role of
form often exposed Neo-Classical overtones. Examples of past art were treated
first of all as a source for new developments, using such terms as "Classicism" and
"synthesis" as well as the transient nature of avant-garde trends.
The artist Roberts Sterns in a series of large-scale articles on the issues of
synthesis and analysis treated all the history of art as the increase of individual,
analytical element up to Neo-Impressionism and modernist collages leading
towards lack of ideas and formlessness that could be overcome by a new
Classicism in the future. The literary critic Edgars Sūna also treated the latest art
as step towards some new, classical tendency that would synthesise the opposite
strivings of impression and expression. According to him, art should be an
embodiment of a logical form that reminds of contemporary Purist ideas. The
writer and pedagogue Voldemārs Dambergs reflected upon the historical role of
Impressionism, treated as a forgetting of style, compositional clarity and "specific
elements" of particular kinds of art. Also Aleksandrs Dauge's articles praised
balance, clarity, harmony that were supposedly to be found in the classical works.
His reliance on John Ruskin's ideas allows to typify Dauge as his closest follower
in Latvian thinking on art. Synthesis as a means to achieving order was proposed
also by other less know authors, for example, by the later biochemist Bruno
Jirgensons.
The architect's Eižens Laube's publication Krāsu un formu loģika (Logic
of Colors and Forms) (1921) also deals with problems of artistic form, like effects
of optical illusion, optical mix of colours and other laws of perception and the role
of mathematical proportions. Laube considered the principle of unity as the highest
law in art, basis of beauty. The kind of Laube's general conclusions are closely
related to the early 20 th century Neo-Romanticist opinions that contained large
amount of traditional European ideas derived from many turn-of-the-century
German and Russian sources with a popularising task.
Intuitivism. A different accent in art theory relates to the general
conclusions, wide-spread during the inter-war period, that were derived from the
role of intuition in artistic creation and reception. Partly this points to the inertiadriven lingering in the early 20 th century thinking on art. The most important
author here was the aesthetician Milda Palēviča who in her articles analysed wide
spectrum of art literature - ideas of philosophers Immanuel Kant, Benedikt
Spinoza, Arthur Schopenhauer, aestheticians Theodor Lipps, Johannes Volkelt,
Konrad Fiedler, Max Dessoir, Broder Christiansen etc. But the principal source of
her conception was the French philosopher Henri Bergson's ideas. Palevica can be
considered as the most consequent follower of Bergson in Latvia - already in the
early 1920s she asserted that the realm of art is that of imagination, emotion and
experience and that art reveal essence of things differently from science and
philosophy. Thanks to intuition we can get "a unified, synthetic concept of
phenomena". Similar ideas were expressed by the writer Eduards Tuters, poet
Kārlis Jēkabsons, etc.
Traditionalist stance. From 1920 to 1925 one can also detect a particular
trend of retrospective traditionalism. Its representatives focused not on the art's
future in the context of Classicism and synthesis but extolled preservation of
national traditions and art's comprehensibility. Art-theoretical views were largely
derived from the prescriptive principles of academic training. National tradition
was treated as clearly incompatible with appropriated "isms" of avant-garde
influences (artists Jānis Jaunsudrabiņš, Kārlis Miesnieks, Kārlis
Hartmanis, other writers on art (Erna Avotiņa etc.)).
Pēteris Birkerts' work Daiļradīšanas psiholoģija /Psychology of Artistic
Creation (1922) occupies a marginal place from the art-theoretical viewpoint. At
the same time, it is an interesting example of lasting influence of the 19th
century
sources that still were based on the primacy of aesthetic emotions and aesthetic
instinct.
3 rd
chapter
"RETROSPECTION, COLLECTIVISM
AND
AUTHORITARIAN IDEOLOGICAL CONTEXT (1925-1940)" considers the
period's most notable contribution to local art theory. Stress on the search for
universal, collective values in art is an all-European feature of this period It is
common for both ideologically engaged versions of Neo-Realism and conceptions
of Purism, Neo-Plasticism, different variants of abstractionism. Contrary to other
countries, no Surrealist or consistently abstractionist ideas or radical points of
change are found in the local context, at the same time, new elements or different
emphases can be detected in particular trends of Latvian art theory.
Evolution of Modernist ideas. The adepts of modernism increasingly
stressed the eternal, trans-historical values of form and its connections with the
previously questioned traditions of past. Formalist attitudes still were predominant
in opinions of the Riga Artists' Group members.
Reduction of formalism. Romans Suta and Uga Skulme who continued
to support purely "artistic" qualities in opposition to the still popular imitative
tradition. However, one should notice that typical modernist ideal of innovative
experimentation was not interpreted as questioning of all boundaries and traditions
- already in 1928 Suta remarked that the task of new, contemporary art has been
just to dismiss the 19th century Realist Impressionism and this aim to a great extent
had been achieved. Andrejs Kurcijs, regardless of his sympathies to Marxism,
was one of the most consistent adherents to formal innovation also during the late
1920s and 1930s. He defended the Riga Artists' Group creative principles, stating
that conservative Realism is an expression of the bourgeois' primitive taste. The
writer and critic Voldemārs Dambergs also wished to modernise the future of
Latvian art by accent on its formal components. The theatre critic Roberts
Kroders in his articles likewise emphasised the significance of form. He was
strongly influenced by the German writer Karl Federn who stated that form is what
makes something a work of art, not representation as has been held for centuries.
Miķelis Valters exposed a similar opinion when he did not criticise modernist
trends but tried to find links with the heritage of classical art that also was not
concerned with accurate copying of reality.
Echoes of Constructivism. The few examples of Constructivist ideas found
in local periodicals were also much involved with the issues of form. However,
local authors never proposed to dismiss easel painting altogether (like their
contemporaries in Soviet Russia) or to develop a purely abstract idiom (like those
Constructivists who settled in the Western countries). The art historian Visvaldis
Peņģerots stated that the new artist would not be an individual who depends on
whims of inspiration but a rational engineer-constructor. The writer Pēteris Ķikuts
in his turn treated Constructivism as the desired synthesis between Impressionism
and Expressionism that would provide simplification of form to attain a significant
content with specific Marxist overtones.
A priori form was the theoretical backbone of most art-historical,
aesthetic etc. publications where art's essence was interpreted as an expression of
the individual, generation, nation, age, etc. Many important issues are discussed in
Boriss Vipers' collected essays Mākslas likteņi un vērtības / Art's Fortunes and
Values (1940) where he analysed particular elements of form, specificity of kinds
of art, conceptions of space and time in visual art. Vipers used conclusions by such
prominent foreign writers on art as Heinrich Wōlfflinn, Dagobert Frey, Wilhelm
Pinder ete. Pinder's "theory of generations" was especially important for the art
historian Jānis Siliņš. To outline the national specificity of Latvian art, he used the
term "symbolic realism", a kind of synthesis between rational and emotional
components that nevertheless can be found elsewhere as a sign of the epoch rather
than of any local specificity. The historian Arveds Švābe episodically took up
issues of art, shifting accents from the criticism of imitative copying to call for
"good, serious, timeless" art.
Some publications that appeared during the 1930s are so far quite unknown,
even if the author's Marxist position was explicit enough but influenced by the socalled vulgar sociology. Valters Purviņš in his book Kultūras sistēmas un to
pamati / Cultural Systems and their Bases (1932) repeated typical conclusions of
the 19th century thought on the economics as the principal lever that determine all
the political and cultural phenomena. Style in Purviņš' account was used as an
indicator of developmental stages of economic formations; this theory was strongly
influenced by the Russian art historian Vladimir Friche.
Persistence of intuitivism and accents on expression. In many
articles the turn-of-the-century interest in the role of intuition still held the pride of
place. Milda Palēviča published a notable collection of articles Aistetikas
problemas. Apceres un esejas / Problems of Aesthetics. Reflections and Essays
(1936). According to her, the artist intuitively reveals the higher reality but the
beholder intuitively receives the message, combining different types of perception.
The philosopher Pauls Jurevičs analyzed the aesthetic conception of the French
author Jean Maria Guyo from the viewpoint of intuition. The literary critic Edgars
Sūna stressed that expression of experience is the essence of art. Some authors'
particular interest in the psychology of artistic creation also treated art as
expression, for example, in the articles of writer Ernests Anševics. His publication
Iejūtas aistetika /Aesthetics of Empathy (1931) is the most noted example of
promotion of the theory of empathy in the local context.
Expansion of traditionalism. The trend of traditionalism compounded
the functional definitions of art as expression and communication with the
traditional elements of art as representation, still endowed with great historical
authority. This tendency acquired much more weight and authority during the
1930s. Many local authors took up the promotion of national style as a deliberate
aim. This traditionalist trend can be typified as anti-modernist and it inherited
much of the Neo-Romanticist and Moralist arguments of the early 20 th century. It
was very diverse in respect to ideological engagement and typology of
publications. Many traditionalist writers on art were artists themselves who aspired
to formulate prescriptions for the flourishing of national art.
Rebirth of Moralism: Jēkabs Strazdiņš. The painter and art critic Jekabs
StrazdinS endowed the future ideal of art, closely related to the European artistic
heritage and to the Dutch genre painting in particular, with the task of moral
improvement. Art, in his opinion, should be a good educational example based on
some substantial idea, personal and unique style, integrated with the national
specificity. Although artwork was not identified with a kind of instruction for
agricultural work, study of nature was conceived as very important.
Retrospective Neo-Classicism as a model of Latvian art Roberts Šterns
realised his theoretical ambitions during the 1930s, promoting a conception of art
as a skill to be taught and based on the "truthful" depiction of reality as well as on
the interpretation of certain ideal models that predominated in European art
academies for several centuries. Modernist experiments, according to his opinion,
were just banal, stereotyped, fashionable deviations that had nothing to do with the
national spirit and the "true" Europeans traditions that had been neglected by
modernists’ because of their obsession with primitive cultures. The sculptor
Gustavs Skitters also became one of the leading proponents of traditionalist
outlook. He assured that conservative forces are no less able than destructive
innovators and Latvian art still has to create traditions, not to destroy them. Close
ideas were proposed by the writer Jonass Miesnieks.
Archaic and ethnographic traditionalism. The painter and propagandist
of the Latvian national religion Jēkabs Bīne in his many articles stressed that
artefacts of the heathen prehistory are much superior to those of classical art
inspired by Christianity. He mentioned as negative examples both the cult of form
(art for art's sake) and naturalism, Constructivism and "New Objectivity" as
equally unacceptable. Ernests Brastiņš' publications in this period extolled the
necessity of the normative aesthetics of the "Latvian beauty". Ceramist Rūdolfs
Pelše also hold to the ethnographic legacy as the best example.
Traditionalism as nationalist ideology. Large number of essays in this
period was published also by writers, literary critics etc. Many publications
balanced on the edge of subservience to the nationalist ideological doctrine. For
example, the cartoonist Alfrēds Purīts insisted that art should be created
collectively, each member of the nation holding to its spirit. The actor and director
Frīdrihs Dombrovskis-Dumbrājs after the authoritarian coup d'etat by Kārlis
Ulmanis in 1934 published many ideologically biased articles, reflecting upon the
"new epoch and art" and extolling "national maturity" as the main criterion of
artistic merit. Similar calls to draw art close to the people, to reveal its national
spirit, etc., were exposed by the, writer Alfons Francis, literary historian Alfrēds
Goba and other defenders of Latvianness who criticised leftist tendencies but were
quite vague in respect to the desirable model to be followed.
Neo-Realist dominance. Writers Ausma Roga, Jānis Lapiņš etc., are
noted by their emphasis on the study of nature that would lead to an art close to the
people, emotionally moving and comprehensible. Lapiņš was very active to
criticise superficial and "incorrect" paintings, at the same time denouncing also
"drab naturalism". The poet Viktors Eglītis' conception also moved increasingly
towards traditional attitudes with Neo-Realist overtone. He criticised the Riga
Artists' Group for their lack of seriousness, monumentality, psychological truth,
and devotion to the effects of surface and texture. Sometimes even the European
classical art was dismissed as a pattern to be followed, for example, Jānis Kalniņš,
contrary to Oļģerts Saldavs, negated that Latvian art should be based on Belgian or
French traditions - his ideals were derived from folksongs and Renaissance art
patterns. But the main goal was to develop national, ideal-based Neo-Realism,
monumental in public spaces and depicting the everyday beauty in subjects of
people's life and work.
Theosophical and religious accents. Ideas on art as the link between the
divine Absolute and the incomplete actual existence were most consistently
promoted in theosophical essays by Rihards Rudzītis. The publicist Voldemārs
Reiznieks echoed the early 20th century Neo-Romanticist ideas on the artist as
the concentrator of life and artwork as the source of life. Negating realism as
blind copying of everyday realities, the author dismissed also the modern art
that imitates African and Chinese examples to show that "sources of European
culture are running dry". The music critic Jūlijs Sproģis is stated that the future of
Latvian art should be derived from the "healthy and creative spirit" of ancient
cultures preoccupied with the Divine, not from the contemporary world ruled by
the "mechanical man" caring just about vulgar entertainment. Idea about art as
salvation from some global catastrophe was expressed in stage designer Jānis
Muncis' opinions.
Leftist traditionalism. Quite similar, retrospectively oriented, arguments
were used by the few representatives of Marxist thought; they had a chance to
publish their works till 1934 when the authoritarian regime banished their
activities. Contrary to the proponents of Latvianness who treated modernist
influences as expressions of left political strategies, Marxists interpreted
modernists' formal experiments as expressions of the decadent bourgeois world
outlook (R. Lindiņš, V. Pūķis, etc).
Individual variants of traditionalism. The painter and writer Anšlavs
Eglītis warned against dogmatic definitions of national specificity but at the same
time called for monumental art with a significant content derived from the classical
tradition, e.g., from Michelangelo's legacy. Jūlijs Madernieks likely approved
reducing of extreme tendencies, in general holding to his aesthetic views of the
1910s. Similar opinions were expressed by the painter Ludolfs Liberts. Quite
remarkable number of theoretical articles were published by the painter and critic
Oļģerts Saldavs who highly praised the role of classical European traditions to
create a Latvian art both rich in ideas and content, and exposing high artistic
quality.
The general idea of art as a source of truth, a means of cognition of the
world that was widely promoted during the 1930s, in fact was a very old one;
imitation of nature's general principles was compounded with the artist's selfexpression. During the last decade of the Latvian Republic traditionalist trend
became strong enough to provide a smooth transition to the retrospective
orientation of the Soviet official version of art theory.
CONCLUSIONS.
Latvian art theory, still on the initial stage of development at the early 20 th
century, adopted many conclusions on the art's essence, functions and values
that were derived from German or Russian sources, in their turn heavily
dependant upon traditional European heritage in art theory. The first decades
are typified by the birth of a critical distance towards the predominant role of
"old art" (academic and Realist idioms). Direct impression from nature and the
artist's creative input were mostly treated as mutually compatible, blending
Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, Symbolist elements in the Neo-Romanticist
trend, loosely definable yet typical phenomenon of the early 20th century. The
common features of the period may be detected in the general opinion about
art as a window either to the Symbolists' higher realm or to Moralists' and
Marxists' higher truth of promotion of the better society.
 During the 2 nd decade of the 20 th century ideas of the Russian and Western
avant-garde contributed to the local art-theoretical developments relationships between "old" and "new" modes of thinking on art became more
tensed as the modernist idea of artists' expression grew incompatible with the
centuries -old academic tradition of imitating nature. Conservative authors in

their turn asserted that both art's absolute value and national specificity
had nothing to do with extremes of contemporary trends. Aesthetic
conception of the Riga Artists' Group that was derived from moderate
versions of French and Russian avant-garde had much in common with
the stance of Classical Modernism, concerning form as the most
significant part of artwork. At the same time, these opinions did not
prevail even during the early 1920s, and modernist principles were
significantly modified later. Elements of picture form acquired more
pronounced degree of autonomy but traditional kinds of fine arts or
painting in particular were never questioned in favour of utilitarian or
found objects. If the notion of Classicism, for example, in Russia
functioned as the call back to easel painting, it was never really doubted
in Latvia.
 The favoured model of new, national art, especially since the 2 nd half
of the 1920s, was constructed as an opposition to inadequate extremes
of thinking on art. Firstly, it was conception of art as selfsufficient form; secondly, naturalism that could be coupled with the
utilitarian Constructivism as equally unacceptable tendency. As
avant-garde influences received increasingly critical interpretation,
local authors adopted more conservative attitudes based on traditional
art-theoretical postulates. They were handed down from earlier
epochs and supported on the official level after establishment of
the authoritarian regime in 1934. Close similarities between the
concept of national style and that of Socialist Realism can not be
doubted, despite the utmost hostility of the latter in respect to the
former. Both systems were eclectic compilations of European arttheoretical heritage, containing essentially familiar ideas and
concepts that should not baffle researchers with their ideological
goals or contradictory nature.
 The determining role of the general European context is important,
as certain periods can not be identified without particular irresistible
tendencies, like avant-garde experiments of the 1910s, "call to
order" in the course of the 1920s or conservative attempts to return
to traditions (whatever that meant in any particular context) (hiring
the 1930s. One also should be cautious with making
positive/negative judgements - what from the viewpoint of today
seems as an obvious regression, could be conceived as the only
possible and desired development, opposed to other, more
unacceptable options.

One can also conclude that the only option to embody the quest for
particular national, social, political principles in real artistic practice
was to maintain and promote those ideas on artistic creation that
elsewhere (i.e., in the West) had been already dismissed as
hangover from the by-gone periods. The art's valuable specificity
and ideological engagement can be interpreted as two sides of the
same coin, or, rather, as two stages of the same process. All the
mass of general conclusions found in the local material had functioned as
affirmative or negative answers to the theoretical developments of more
leading cultural countries. Particular "colours" of the local spectrum of ideas
are defined by chronological, not essential difference - by particular
circumstances of interaction and coexistence of the circulating ideas. The
notion of synthesis plays a crucial role in the local context - it is a means of
attaining originality that allows to modify appropriated elements up to the
desired degree of authenticity. The idea of synthesis has been equally topical
for modernist influences, interpreted as simplification, generalisation,
reduction of details in favour of the whole, etc., and for retrospective
conceptions that searched for the ideal of art as a synthesis of the best
achievements of different historical models of creation and interpretation.
PUBLIKĀCIJAS / PUBLICATIONS
1.
Mākslas teorijas izpēte Latvijā: Mantojums, problēmas, perspektīvas //
Latvijas Zinātņu Akadēmijas Vēstis. - 1998. - Nr. 1/2. - 30.-31. lpp.
2.
Nacionālais stils un mākslas attīstības ciklu teorija Latvijā 20. gs. 20.-30.
gados // Studija. - 1998. - Nr. 3/4. - 42.-43. lpp.
3.
Mildas Palēvičas estētika un feministika // Feministica Lettica '99. - 1999. 54.-65. lpp.
4.
Some Normative Aspects of Latvian Art Theorv between the Wars - National
Identity and European Stylistic Trends // Modernity and Identity: Art in 1918—
1939 / Ed. by Jolita Mulevičiūte. - Vilnius: Institute of Culture and Art, 2000.
- P. 94-106.
5.
Arveda Švābes raksti par mākslu // Letonica. - 2000. - 1(5). - 124.-137. lpp.
6.
Pasaules uztveres formu mainība Latvijas mākslas teorijā 20. gs. 20.-30.
gados // Latvijas māksla starptautisko sakaru kontekstā: Materiāli mākslas
vēsturei / Sast. Silvija Grosa. - Rīga: Neputns, 2000. - 114.-119. lpp.
7.
Modernist and Anti-Modernist Theories of National Art in Latvia during the
1920s and 1930s // Centropa: A Journal of Central European Architecture and
Related Arts. - Vol. 1. - No. 3. - September 2001. - Pp. 196-208.
8.
Kristapa Eliasa teorētisko principu avoti // Latvijas mākslas un mākslas
vēstures likteņgaitas: Materiāli mākslas vēsturei / Sast. Rūta Kaminska. Rīga: Neputns, 2001. - 95.-100. lpp.
9.
Essence vs. Appearance - Picture Space in the Modernist Theoretical Writings
// Place and Location II. Tallinn: Eesti Kunstiakademia, 2002. -Pp. 168-182.
10. Andreja Kurcija "Aktīvā māksla" // Latvijas māksla tuvplānos: Materiāli
Latvijas mākslas vēsturei / Sast. Kristiāna Ābele. - Rīga: Neputns, 2003. 96.-104. lpp.
11. Latviešu futūrists un tradīciju noliedzējs Niklāvs Strunke - jaunatklātās
teorētisko uzskatu liecības // Materiāli par latviešu un cittautu kultūru Latvijā /
Sast. Inguna Daukste-Silasproģe. - Rīga: Zinātne, 2003. - 101.-109. lpp.
12. Suta, Romāns (?). Māksla Latvijā kā politisks ierocis // Letonica. - 2003. - Nr.
9. - 167.-170. lpp.; priekšvārds un komentāri: 163.-166. lpp.
REFERĀTI STARPTAUTISKĀS
KONFERENCES /
REPORTS AT INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES
1.
1995 Some Points in Latvian Art Theory in the 1920s and 1930s // The First
Conference on Baltic Studies in Europe. Riga, 16-18 June 1995. History of Arts
2.
1997 The Concept of National Style in Latvian Art Theory of the l930s //
The Second Conference on Baltic Studies in Europe. Vilnius University, 20-23
August 1997
3.
1998 Some Normative Aspects of Latvian Art Theory between the Wars National Identity and European Stylistic Trends // Modernity and Identity: Art in
1918 - 1939. International Conference in Kaunas, 22-23 October 1998.
4.
2000 Modernist and Anti-Modernist Theories of National Art in Latvia during
the 1920s and 1930s // College Art Association 88th Annual Conference. New York,
February 23 - 26, 2000. (Session: Modernism and Nationalism, Postmodernism
and Postnationalism?).
5.
2000 Essence vs. Appearance - Picture Space in Modernist Theoretical
Writings // Place and Location II - Culture and Landscape: International Seminar
in Estonian Academy of Arts, Tallinn, October 13-14, 2000.
6.
2001 Latvian Art Theory 1900-1940 - Sources, Ideas, Interpretations //
Homburger Gesprach der Martm-Carl-Adolf-Bockler-Stiftung in Riga. 16.-18.
September 2001.