Kharkiv School of Design: Igor Ostapenko’s Creative Workshop

Abstract

Creative and pedagogical activity of Igor Ostapenko is considered in the article. I. Ostapenko is a designer and one of the leading teachers of Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Arts of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The proposed research is based on the use of methods of formal, functional, figurative, stylistic and comparative analysis. The range of researched materials includes realized projects, models, sketches, exhibitions, workbooks, scientific publications, design periodicals, interviews and memoirs. New names and artworks were introduced into scientific circulation. Materials of professional periodicals in the context of the chosen topic were generalized. Peculiarities of Igor Ostapenko’s creative and pedagogical positions are determined on the basis of the analysis of these materials. Main factors influencing the formation of his propaedeutic courses Theory of Composition and Fundamentals of Shaping are highlighted. Parallels with the concepts of educational process of leading design institutions are established. The continuity of creative principles of Kharkiv Art School founders and Igor Ostapenko’s activity is revealed. Such main features of the workshop as laconism of expressive means, artistic figurativeness, attention to the texture and natural qualities of materials can be traced in creative works of the teacher and his students. Conformity of creative and pedagogical achievements of Igor Ostapenko and his students with the “Art School” concept is substantiated. It includes system unity of art and project principles, methods and techniques of their realization, presence of significant achievements and their recognition by domestic and world professional community. It is emphasized that the work of the workshop is one of the representative phenomena in design education of Ukraine during its independence.