The elusive meaning of non-conformism. Comments on the context of functioning of the concept in Ukraine

Abstract

The reflections on the nature of the concept of “non-conformism”, which, oddly enough, are not yet sustainable in Ukrainian art, have a labyrinthine nature. This is caused, on the one hand, by the presence of the works of art, which, at this time, should not have emerged, according to the ideological guidelines. On the other hand, there is the artist’s inner need for artistic expression, which cannot but be “conflicting” towards the time within he exists, if he is a true innovator, and natural towards himself, as an artist who perceives himself as an innovator. The Ukrainian practice of representing the nonconformity art of the 1970s and 1980s abroad, putting emphasis on the elements of ethno-identification, makes it possible to assume that it is during that time the concept of “non-conformism” originated. Yet, its substantive and essential core of the notion of Ukrainian nonconformity is still in motion to a permanent conceptual form.