The Retrospective of Scientific Comprehension of Decorative and Applied Arts

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to consider the theory of the genesis of decorative and applied arts.Research methodology. The historical method is used to create a holistic picture of the scientific comprehension of decorative and applied arts. The culturological approach is used to understand the current state of art culture.Results. The issue of the genesis of arts has worried researchers since antiquity. Entire scientific schools and theories were created. The first was the theory of inheritance, according to which a person in his work repeated what he saw in nature. There was also a theory of the divine origin of arts. In the 19th century, after the work of Ch. Darwin and the development of archeology, new theories arose on the social structure of society and the origin of creativity. So the game theory, the theory of the mystical origin of creativity, arose.In the late nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries, the scientific study of arts developed within the boundaries of art history. There arose iconographic and iconological methods of studying artistic creation. For a long time, these two methods solved the tasks well and completely satisfied the researchers.In the late twentieth century the new society is being formed. Thanks to the Internet, the borders disappear and a person becomes freer and more independent. It changes the attitude to creativity and decorative and applied arts. They can no longer be studied by old methods. One of the most potential approaches to the scientific study of creativity is the culturological approach. It allows applying the achievements of various humanities: sociology, psychology, philosophy, etc. to the study of the object.Novelty. For a long time, decorative and applied arts were studied empirically. However, the new conditions of the 21st century have created something new from familiar things. There are new connotations and decorative art takes on new forms and meanings. To study a new phenomenon, new techniques are needed and a culturological approach can become one.The practical significance. The material of the article may be developed in subsequent studies. A fundamentally new methodology for the scientific study of decorative and applied arts can be developed.