2020-06-08
66CONCEPTUAL MODELLING OF NORTHERN NARRATIVES
Kudelina Ekaterina Andreevna, Demyanjuk Anastasia Vitalevna, Burkhanova Veronika Mikhailovna, Andreeva Elizaveta Andreevna, Udmurt State University
kudelina.e@inbox.ru
Supervisor - Ivshin Konstantin Sergeevich, Udmurt State University, Head of the Department of Design, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor
Language advisor – Mingazova Farida Kasimovna, SL, Udmurt State University
The article describes the student's projects which represent the Russian North from the ethnic, mythological and nature perspectives. Each project is accomplished in accordance with a certain type of design: graphic, object and environmental.
Introduction
The Arctic region has always been and still remains both a research object for scientists and the object of particular interest to creative professionals. Arctic snow, northern lights, cold waters and ice, myths, epics and fairy tales – all these, through modern means of visual communication, can be transformed so as to show us different sides of this distant cold land. Being both politically and economically important, the Russian North, at the same time, has always been perceived as a special world, full of secrets and mysteries. From ancient times to the present, this land has retained its uniqueness, combining natural value with deep ethno-cultural traditions.
All this allows a new interpretation of the northern land and helps strengthen and extend love of nature and ethnic traditions. The local identity of the Russian North can become a source of inspiration for a wide variety of creative interpretations. That is why the North attracts completely different people and becomes an issue at different conferences, forums and exhibitions. The Russian North serves as a source of inspiration for painters and designers.
1. The project "Pomors of the Russian North"
The Russian North begins at the coast of the White Sea. According to Scandinavian mythology, it was called "Gandvik", which is translated as "Monster's Bay". Although the lands near the White Sea were not suitable for agriculture, these places, flush of fur, fish and marine animals attracted the most energetic and adventurous people who settled along the banks of the rivers and the “breathing sea” - the White Sea. Thus, a peculiar
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sub-ethnos was formed - the Pomors, who, on their rooks-kochi, reclaimed the western part of the Arctic Ocean, including the Svalbard area which they called Grumant.
Picture 1 - Project "Pomors of the Russian North"
Authors: V. M. Burkhanova, V. A. Demyaniuk;
Scientific supervisor: K. S. Ivshin
These courageous people win admiration. They were skilled sailors: they went fishing to Norway and Eastern Siberia, and they were also really good at hunting, shipbuilding, and the extraction of salt and pearls. Their whole life was connected with the sea.
Based on the life of the Pomors, an illustrative series and patterns were created that tell us about their life.
The project «Nuhucos»
The following reading of the North is reflected in the mythological theme through object design. In Nenets mythology, the Sun is a woman, taking care of grass, trees and moss. When the frost comes, the Sun hides behind the sky and the night falls – the polar night. This is the first heroine of our story. The print image we developed for her representation is the sunrays. The heroine of another myth is the goddess Yaneba, the patroness of the female side of the family, who helps women to go through the childbirth. Her print image is the teardrops of joy on the face of a woman who has just become a mother. And the third heroine is the patroness of the family - Madpuhutsya. Her symbol is the flower of welfare.
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Picture 2 - Doll mother rain
Author: A. E. Kudelina;
Scientific supervisor: K. S. Ivshin
We have attempted to express these myths through print images symbolizing the Northern sun, drops and the flower. Inspired by the Nenets mythology, we have also created a collection of printed toys. The colors of dolls’ clothes - yellow, green and blue – match each of the heroines. The project is called «Nuhucos» which means “to play with a toy”. The concept behind it is the simplicity of the mythology and the ease of the visual perception of the culture in which the child grows up.
3. The project "Flowers of the Arctic"
One might think that northern nature lacksbrightness and diversity, but stunning views of the Russian North are dazzling.
The northern area of high latitudes is the Arctic deserts. These include a considerable part of the island Arctic territories. The basis of the landscape in this area is snow, ice and stone placer. Flora species here are few in number and grow in places sheltered from cold winds. It is easy to remember the names of the flowers growing in the Arctic region: Alpine foxtail, Saxifrage snowy, Arctic buttercup, Arctic pike, Arctic poppy, Sow thistle, Bluegrass, Nibs, Starlet, Polar willow. One of the features of this uncomfortable but beautiful and economically promising area is the abundance of rare and endemic plants, combined with the extremely weak resistance of its ecosystems to the external influence.
This inspired us to create the idea, or the legend called “Flowers of the Arctic”. We chose endemic plants of the Arctic and developed the characters personifying each of the flowers. Our objects are bearers of the concept which consists in attracting attention to the world of the Arctic so that you can feel involved in the conservation of nature...
The main goal of the project is to show the ways in which diverse and unique Arctic flora can be expressed through design, calling for the preservation of its natural heritage.
The most beautiful things are usually small in size. Take the flower - it seems so ordinary, simple, so familiar in color and shape of the petals, but inside is the whole life that it lived, meeting the dawn, sunset, wind and northern lights.
And it is we who are lost in the big world, deep in mundaneness and the vast sea of information. It is we who keep inside the beauty of a human nature. This project is our attempt to combine the richness of the human inner world and the priceless nature of the Arctic.
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Picture 3 - Project "Flowers of the Arctic"
Authors: A. E. Andreeva, E. A. Kudelina;
Scientific supervisor: K. S. Ivshin
Conclusion
These projects are an attempt to show how powerful are the artistic possibilities of modern design when we try to express our view of the world around us.
Each type of design, through its specific expressive means, is meant to show the North from different angles. A variety of design technologies allows discovering new ways of solving creative problems. Possibilities of developing projects and art objects dedicated to the Arctic region become limitless. This allows us to move over to a completely new stage in the creation of modern objects, thereby entering the international level.
Thus, these works were presented at the International Symposium and exhibition “Relate North - 2019: Traditions and Innovations in the Educational Space of Art and Design”.
References
1. Istorija Russkikh Pomorov [Electronic source] – Available at: http://oursociety.ru/publ/istorija_rossii/pomory_russkogo_severa/4-1-0-276
2. Kalanov N.A. Slovar poslovits i pogovorok. (2nd ed.) — М.: Morkniga, 1961. — 240 pp. — 2500 CY. — ISBN 978-5-903081-02-8
3. Miphy i legendy narodov Arktiki. [Electronic source] - Available at: https://www.edu.severodvinsk.ru/after_school/nit/2012/polyanin/mifs.html
4. Rastenija Arktiki [Electronic source] - Available at: https://xn----8sbbmfaxaqb7dzafb4g.xn--p1ai/rasteniya-arktiki/
