Українська English

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37222/2524-0331-2019-9(27)-26

Sereda Oksana

«True art» — «the need for the soul to express itself»:Hryhoriy Smolsky’s publicism

Abstract: 

The article deals with the journalistic achievements of the Ukrainian artist, local historian and publicist Hryhoriy Smolsky, analyzes the problems and genre of his articles in the Lviv press during the 1920s and 1970s. The long and thorny path of H. Smolsky to art was revealed. It is highlighted that this artist managed to restore his historical and artistic studios in Lviv only at the age of 28 years due to the then military situation in the Western Ukraine. It is emphasized that H. Smolsky was one of the five first students of the O. Novakivsky Art School and this was the defining moment in the formation of his artistic priorities. It became clear that the young artist’s collaboration with the Lviv press began in the late 1920s — he was part of the editorial board of «Literaturni Visti» and published two reviews on its pages. His publications about the history of the beginning and activities of the O. Novakivsky’s Art School in the «Novy Chas» newspaper and the «Svit» journal were rediscovered. It is accentuated on another facet of H. Smolsky’s talent — the writing of travel notes, which appeared in the 1930s in the «Dilo» and «Nazustrich» periodicals. It is highlighted that these features comprehensively revealed the artist’s journalistic talent. The H. Smolsky’s articles written during the German occupation, specifically in the «Lvivski Visti» diaries, were also introduced into the scholarly circulation and analyzed.

It is revealed that with the advent of Soviet rule, the artist kept «silent» for 15 years and was not present in artistic life. A number of publications by H. Smolsky of the late 1950s and 1970s were studied. They prove that the author was able to maintain his socio-cultural position even in the conditions of the rigid ideological framework. The artist’s significant contribution in illuminating the history of the O. Novakivsky Art School’s achievements is highlighted. It is summarized that H. Smolsky is a talented publicist, and although his journalistic legacy (rediscovered today) has only 22 articles, those are an important source of study of the Ukrainian artistic environment of Galicia in the 1920s–1940s.

Key words: H. Smolsky, journal, article, art, O. Novakivsky Art School.

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