ART. MYTH AND DOCUMENT. 1940–1941. 1944– 1991.
THE CONCEPT OF THE VIRTUAL EXPOSITION OF THE LAU MUSEUM “ART. MYTH AND DOCUMENT 1940 – 1941. 1945 – 1991” WAS DEVISED TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE CIRCUMSTANCES IN WHICH THE MUSEUM COLLECTION WAS FORMED. THIS WAS A TIME WHEN THE DICTATE OF SOVIET IDEOLOGY WAS IN CONFRONTATION WITH THE ARTISTS’ CREATIVE OBJECTIVES AND POSSIBILITIES. AT THE HEART OF THE VIRTUAL EXPOSITION IS A PRISM OF THREE FACETS – TRADITION, INNOVATION, COMMISSION. LOOKING THROUGH THESE FACETS AT ONE AND THE SAME PERIOD WE CAN READ THREE SEPARATE STORIES ABOUT THE ART SCENE IN SOVIET LATVIA. THIS MODEL ENCOURAGES THE VIEWER TO THINK ABOUT THE SOCIO-POLITICAL RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN ART AND THE AGE NOT ONLY IN THE PAST.
THE SOVIET ERA WAS NOT HOMOGENEOUS AND THAT IS WHY THE EXPOSITION HAS BEEN DIVIDED INTO THE TIME PERIODS DETERMINED BY POLITICAL CHANGES IN THE USSR. THESE PLAYED A DECISIVE ROLE IN LATVIA FROM ITS OCCUPATION IN 1940 UNTIL THE RESTORATION OF INDEPENDENCE IN 1991. LOOKING AT THE ART PROCESSES IN THE TIME CONTEXT, THE VIRTUAL EXPOSITION WILL NOT CONSIST SOLELY OF WORKS FROM THE LAU MUSEUM. THE PHENOMENA HIGHLIGHTED WILL BE BASED ON DOCUMENTS, PHOTOGRAPHS AND ARTWORKS FROM OTHER COLLECTIONS TOO.
WE OFFER AN INSIGHT INTO THE INVESTIGATION THAT HAS BEGUN.
