Ethnic Design in Applied and Decorative Arts of the Late 20th — Early 21st Century

Abstract

The article reveals the peculiarities of ethnic design in the applied arts of the late 20th – early 21st century. Due to their versatility and multidimensionality, applied arts are enriched by ethnic design. The use of various elements of ethnic design in decorative arts depends on their appropriateness and the author’s preferences, the tastes of the consumer for whom the work is meant. Traditionalism is the key path of ethnic design development, which involves the emergence of the new at the expense of the old, or the creation of the new by entering the old. Thus, there is a constant renewal of the tradition. This traditionalist trend has a definite link to regional, socioeconomic, natural, climatic, and local conditions. On the other hand, the appeal to the past and popular sources of culture laid the foundation of ethnic design primarily as a phenomenon of stylization rather than style. The works of professional artists trace the use of established folk traditions and the tendency to create spatial compositions of figurative and associative content in order to convey deep philosophical thoughts, mood, emotions, and worldview in different materials by elastic means; to embody a certain idea, a specific image. The professional decorative Ukrainian art of this period constitutes a large layer of national culture, which is formed within the framework of the pan-European artistic process. Carpets and decorative glass are being increasingly used as a cultural space to embody symbolic images in vivid decorative forms.The purpose of specializing the ethnic design of the subject environment is to use regional ethnic cultural traditions, the environment conceptually offered as a basis for the development of design projects and creative experiments in the field of non-duplicated design. It is concluded that the folklore stylization (ethnic design) is not a rejection of the present, not a restoration. It is a human need for spiritual support of national traditions and interconnectedness of generations.