Monumental-Decorative Sculpture in Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyz Monumental-Decorative Genre.
In the process of fulfilling the socio-aesthetic functions of Soviet monumental art in the life of a developed socialist society, its genre-stylistic explorations are increasingly unfolding. Alongside the creation of monuments that carry relevant propaganda-artistic content and serve as the most effective force in monumental propaganda, diverse branches of monumental-decorative plastic are developing, enhancing their urban planning and spatial-forming roles.
The monumental-decorative genre, intended to actively shape and harmonize the object-spatial environment around us, possesses wide possibilities for expressing the artist's attitude towards the world, their creative imagination, and freedom in choosing subjects and materials. At the same time, modern society demands from the forms of this genre not only attention to location, material, and formative function but also to the humanistic and substantive side of the works, as this sphere of art must actively participate in forming an optimistic worldview, spiritual and aesthetic interests, and social activity.
There have been few successes in the field of monumental-decorative sculpture among the sculptors of Kyrgyzstan so far, but the main thing is that it is developing and establishing itself in the environment of emerging centers of cities, villages, and public interiors of the republic, responding to the demands of the time. Works of a monumental-decorative nature are an integral part of several large architectural-artistic ensembles, enriching the artistic design of administrative buildings, industrial, and resort areas.
The need for artistic transformation of the surrounding environment through the means of monumental and monumental-decorative art became acutely felt in Kyrgyzstan at the turn of the 1950s and 1960s.
The greatest achievement of monumental-decorative plastic in Kyrgyzstan in the 1960s was the artistic design of the Memorial House-Museum of M. V. Frunze built in the capital (architect Yu. Karih). Concrete reliefs dedicated to the ancient culture of Kyrgyzstan were included in the architectural object from the design stage on the ends of the facade. The authors drew inspiration from the generalized monumental plastic of medieval sculptures found in Kyrgyzstan (balbals or molotashi). Traditional folk art is celebrated in copper embossing. Elegant openwork grilles, which enliven the monotony of architecture, are distinguished by their decorative quality and rhythmic spatial development of plastic form.
The proposed end mosaics were replaced with concrete reliefs that are inorganic to the building's structure, which are only harmoniously perceived from a distance and from a frontal viewpoint— in this case, they enliven the architectural volume of the building. Up close and from other viewpoints, these compositions weigh down the structure and do not harmonize with other components of the decoration. By themselves, they do not carry any significant figurative content. Despite their large form, the reliefs lack sculptural weight and monumental expressiveness of form.
Decorative plastic was introduced into the artistic design of the Kyrgyz State Circus building (1978, architects L. Segal, I. Shadrin, A. Nezhurin) and the adjacent territory. The authors Bakashev, J. Moldakhmatov, E. Kylychbekov, I. Chokoev included metal plastic, a fountain, ceramic panels, and painting in the artistic solution of the building's interior and exterior.
The clear rhythmic structure of the architectural volume, dominating the space of the city's vast square, is enriched by ceramic reliefs on the side facades depicting circus clowning. Stylized decorative-fantastic birds made of forged, bent metal are installed in the green zone at the central entrance— amusing, plastic, and sharply modern in execution. This decorative plastic, ceramic reliefs, the fountain, ceramic vases, and interior painting create an atmosphere of vibrant spectacle and dynamics of the circus performance. Overall, this is one of the fruitful attempts at a comprehensive artistic solution for the architectural-spatial environment of the capital of Kyrgyzstan.
