Question K: IE Business School Application

IE Business School Application

by Bogdan Povoroznyk

Kiev, February 2015

If all the world’s cultural heritage (sports, music, fashion, architecture, literature, painting, etc..) was contained in a time capsule, what would you include to demonstrate the legacy of your country?

Topic of the presentation: Question K

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Traditionally, my country (Ukraine) is perceived in the world through the prism of established clichés

1. Chernobyl catastrophe

2. Andriy Shevchenko

3. Klitchko brothers

2. Eastern Block 2. Bread basket of Europe

3. High level of corruption

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Notwithstanding the mentioned clichés, Ukraine has plenty of treasures to include in the “time capsule” as a demonstration of its legacy

•Sacred Architecture

•Music

•Applied arts

•Fine arts

•Customs and folk traditions

Selected contribution to the time capsule

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1 Sacred Architecture (1)

Built in 1037, Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev is an outstanding architectural monument of Kievan Rus'

• Kiev's Saint-Sophia Cathedral symbolizes the 'new Constantinople', capital of the Christian principality of Kiev, which was created in the 11th century in a region evangelized after the baptism of St Volodymyr in 988.

• Among all conserved architectural monuments the world famous St. Sophia of Kiev is one the most ancient in the Eastern Europe

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Wooden churches (tserkvas) of the Carpathian Region in Poland and Ukraine are inscripted in the Unesco World Heritage List

1 Sacred Architecture (2)

• Outstanding examples of the once widespread Orthodox ecclesiastical timber-building tradition

• According to Unesco, the tserkvas bear exceptional testimony to a distinct ecclesiastical building tradition, which is grounded in the mainstream traditions of the Orthodox Church interwoven with local architectural language.

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Solomiya Krushelnytska is one of the brightest soprano opera stars of the first half of the 20th century

2 Music (1)

• The opera had been booed by the audience at its premiere in Milan's La Scala, but three months later in Brescia, a revised version of the work, with Krushelnytska singing the leading role, was a major success

• Her artistic genius was magnified by her grace and won the admiration of the most prominent singers of the time - Enrico Caruso, Mathia Battistini,Titto Ruffo, F.Shaliapin, M.Mentsynsky and others.

Savior of Puccini's Madama Butterfly

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"Carol of the Bells" is a popular Christmas carol composed by Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych in 1904

2 Music (2)

• The song is based on a traditional folk chant. It was associated with the coming New Year, which, in pre-Christian Ukraine, was originally celebrated with the coming of spring in April.

• It was introduced to Western audiences by the Ukrainian National Chorus during its concert tour of Europe and the Americas, where it premiered in the United States on October 5, 1921 at Carnegie Hall

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3 Applied Arts (1)

“Pysanka” is a Ukrainian Easter egg, decorated with traditional Ukrainian folk designs using a wax-resist (batik) method

• The art of the decorated egg in Ukraine, or the pysanka, probably dates back to ancient times, but no actual ancient examples exist, as eggshells are fragile.

• The Hutsuls––Ukrainians who live in the Carpathian Mountains of western Ukraine––believe that the fate of the world depends upon the pysanka. As long as the egg decorating custom continues, the world will exist. If, for any reason, this custom is abandoned, evil––in the shape of a horrible serpent who is forever chained to a cliff–– will overrun the world.

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3 Applied Arts (2)

“Petrykivka” is traditional Ukrainian decorative painting, included to the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

• The Petrykivka Painting began in the form of mural painting and decor of the household things.

• The characteristic feature of Petrykivka Painting is the predomination of the plant (mostly flower ornament) and the creation of fantastic, not seen in the nature forms of the flowers which are based on the attentive observation of the local flora.

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• Nomatter how hard the soviet authorities tried, they failed to uproot “this relic of the past” which persisted despite all the pressure the Ukrainians were subjected to.

• It’s very difficult to give Malanka a proper definition — it’s a sort of performance, Ukrainian style, which is so much older than what modern artists call “performance.” It’s a festival of folk humour and spontaneous jesting.

“Malanka” is a folk holiday celebrated on 13 January, which is New Year's Eve in accordance with the Julian calendar

4 Customs and folk traditions (1)

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4 Customs and folk traditions (2)

• There are 10 to 40 Vertep characters, typically among them a sacristan, angels, shepherds, Herod, three kings, Satan, Death, a peasant couple, and various animals.

• In recent times at Christmas young children dress as the various characters and act out the plays of the Vertep. This form, following the old tradition of Malanka, is quite popular in Western Ukraine.

Ukrainian “Vertep” is a drama which presents the nativity scene, with merry interludes depicting secular life

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Maria Pryimachenko, a renowned Ukrainian village folk art painter, representative of naïve art

5 Fine arts (1)

• The unique art of Maria Primachenko (1908 -1997), a peasant woman from the Kievan village of Bolotnia, shows a successful blend of natural talent, an overwhelming desire to create beauty and a sensitive perception of reality.

• The name of Maria Pryimachenko became known to the world in the mid-1930s. At the World Exhibition in Paris Ukrainian artist was awarded the gold medal for surprising the whole artistic world with her paintings. Among those who got to know her art work were Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, and Louis Aragon. When Picasso saw her paintings, he immediately admitted that, if Pryimachenko lived in France, she would be more famous than he.

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4 Fine arts (2)

Works of Mykola Pymonenko and Arkhip Kuindzhi, famous Ukrainian painters

Arkhip Kuindzhi Mykola Pymonenko

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Thank you!