Volodymyr Bakhtov’s Creativity in the Context of the «New Archeology» of the Late 1980s to 2000s

Abstract

The article is dedicated to the work of one of the interesting contemporary Ukrainian artists – Volodymyr Bakhtov. His creative path began in the mid – 1970s in the field of graphics, in which the artist bypassed the influence of socialist realism, immediately defining his main theme: the history and culture of Southern Ukraine. His series of etchings, which were awarded numerous international and domestic awards, metaphorically reproduced and figuratively interpreted the layering of cultural epochs that influenced the culture of the region. At the end of the 1980s, he turned to the contemporary artistic practices – land art, performance art, art objects, and later – to original light actions in the author’s technology «geliograffiti», which together are part of the «new archeology» that marked an important trend in contemporary art. Its emergence is connected with the idea of «revision» of culture, analysis of its experience. Similar searches are directed to the expansion of the cultural space, actualization of its historical layers in the public consciousness. The theme of V. Bakhtov’s «artistic research» was the antique heritage of the Northern Black Sea region, in particular the ancient Greek city of Olbia, which is now an archaeological reserve, and the disappeared monuments of architecture and history of the region. The artist’s long-term creative project in his own figurative way «reconstructs» the ancient heritage within the culture of Ukraine, connects it with the great European oecumen, emphasizes the role and importance of the ancient cities of the Northern Black Sea region in the formation of the Ukrainian cultural space. V. Bakhtov’s works represent artistic research and reconstruction of cultural and natural features of the historical landscape, thus combining archaeological and ecological intentions, and the language of modern art makes it possible to emphasize the special dialogic nature of the author’s expression, actively involving the viewer in participation. The artist’s work synthesizes historical-research and figurative-metaphorical components.