THE GORBACHEV ERA. IN ITS WAY THE LONG FAREWELL TO THE USSR: THE PLENARY SESSION OF THE CREATIVE UNIONS, PEOPLE’S FRONT, THIRD AWAKENING, BARRICADES IN OLD RIGA, THE RESTORATION OF THE INDEPENDENT LATVIAN REPUBLIC AND INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION. YEARS OF MASS ENTHUSIASM, HOPES AND UNFORTUNATELY ALSO ILLUSIONS. ART FREES ITSELF FROM MATTER-OF-COURSE REALISTIC REPRESENTATION; IT GOES THROUGH “SOTSART” AND OTHER SHORT-LIVED FADS; IT STRIVES TO BECOME INTERNATIONALLY CONVERTIBLE; IT TRANSFORMS FROM REPRESENTATIVE TO THE VISUAL ARTS. THE UNWRITTEN SOCIAL LAW THAT HAD LATVIANS EXPRESSING SOLIDARITY WITH ART BY READING POETRY, GOING TO THE THEATRE AND EXHIBITIONS GRADUALLY LOSES ITS FORCE. ELEMENTS OF MARKET RELATIONS COME INTO THE WORLD OF ART.