Art Of Siberia

The art of Siberia is a fascinating subject, and the artifacts discovered in the hidden archives of the Russian Museum of Ethnography in St. Petersburg are nothing less than extraordinary. Artwork, day-to-day subjects and photos dating from the turn of the century all represent the testimonies of the Siberian people who refused to yield to the hegemony of a modern world.

The art of Siberia is a fascinating subject, and the artifacts discovered in the hidden archives of the Russian Museum of Ethnography in St. Petersburg are nothing less than extraordinary. Artwork, day-to-day subjects and photos dating from the turn of the century all represent the testimonies of the Siberian people who refused to yield to the hegemony of a modern world.

This title covers an extensive region of East Siberia, considering prehistoric ethno-cultural and social processes through the development of rock art styles and traditions. It addresses the questions of why rock art is created, why specific styles and traditions emerge and why changes in rock art occur. These questions are explored through anthropological perspectives on ethnicity, identity, and symbolism. A reader will find a comprehensive overview of the developments of rock art research in Siberia as well as detailed accounts of the regional archaeology in the Bronze/Iron ages, the Neolithic, and partially the Late Paleolithic. Importantly, this study is primarily fieldwork-based, presenting information on 108 rock art sites in Yakutia and Trans-Baikal. It is a major contribution to Siberian and global rock art research and suggests new directions for future rock art research.

Documents discovered recently in the hidden backrooms of St Petersburg’s Ethnological Museum have proved to be of sensational importance. The contents are published for the very first time in this work. Representing photos and descriptions of art and sculpture, of everyday utensils and everyday activities, all dating from the beginning of the twentieth century, these are the archives of ethnic groups in Siberia who for the most part have fougth tenaciously to maintain their historical traditions. The authors brilliantly convey their enthusiastic admiration for the peoples who have so successfully and for so long contended against both hostile environment and political dominance.

Primitive art is inseparable from primitive consciousness and can be correctly understood only with the correct socio-cultural context. This book examines the ancient art of Siberia as part of the integral whole of ancient society.

Every childhood has its own blueprint of memories. Some memories are stored. Some memories vanish. Some memories are kept alive through the word; some, through music or painting. Olgas childhood has inspired her to record her memories through paintings. Her canvases are filled with scenes of Siberias snowy landscapes, village life nestled by birch trees, forests, lakes, and above all, her admiration for divine beauty and the infinite wisdom of Mother Nature.

A poignant biography of Jacob Davidovitch Sudermann, a teacher and artist from a Russian Mennonite community who, like so many others, fell victim to the bloodthirsty paranoia of the Stalinist purges and died in a Siberian gulag in 1937. Sketches from Siberia is pieced together from letters, sketches, and paintings done by Sudermann himself during his imprisonment as well as the unpublished memoir of his sister Anna. It was Anna and other family members that brought these documents with them when they immigrated to Canada in the late forties. This important biography also serves as a valuable cultural history of the plight of the Russian Mennonite community. At once moving and chilling, it is a story that shows the strength that lies at the heart of kindness, the light that outlives the darkness. A timely story even eighty years after Sudermann’s death, it reminds us of the plight of displaced communities around the world today that are struggling to survive.