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

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 coun- tries and the most oriental of Western ones. Current lifestyles in Kazakh society, as well as the chosen political and economic vectors, considerably affect artis- tic 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?