PERTURBATION OF NATIONAL MOTIVES IN THE ARCHITECTURE OF CENTRAL UKRAINE OF THE FIRST HALF OF THE 20TH CENTURY

Abstract

Author analyzed consistent changes in using of folk architecture thesaurus as formative principles and traditional motifs as decorative elements in the architecture of central Ukraine in the first half of the last century, depending on changes in styles and socio-political context. In the late eclectic and modern (Art Nouveau), most architects use not only materials and techniques from decorative arts and crafts, but also creatively rethink the structural elements of traditional housing and sacral architecture for creating new compositions and structures. After the First World War and the Revolution, modern, along with national variations, almost disappeared, giving way to avant-garde. Constructivism and rationalism was devoid of decoration, but local architects sometimes used silhouette elements and constructive techniques from the Ukrainian historical heritage. After the mid-1930s, with the introduction of a formal nativization policy, traditional techniques return in the form of screen-decorations hung on neoclassical structures. Ukrainian Baroque continues to be used, but more as an element of decoration or monumental symbols, which become especially characteristic of the post-war Empire. After 1954, "excesses" in architecture were criticized and decorative "folk" elements disappeared from the face of Soviet modernism. However, since the 1960s, modernist architects have begun to appeal to the heritage of folk wood architecture, borrowing precisely the shaping and design elements that bring them closer to the creative pursuits of UAM creators.