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The Ethnology Notebooks. 2026. № 5 (191), 1591—1598

UDK 7.038.6 + 7.071

DOI https://doi.org/10.15407/

  • Received: 30.08.2026
  • Accepted: 20.09.2026
  • Published: ??.??.2026

VOLODYMYR MAKARENKO’S WORK WITHIN THE PARADIGM OF EUROPEAN ANTHROPOLOGY OF ART

MYROSHNYK Anastasia

  • ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4316-3144
  • PhD in Philosophy, Associate Professor,
  • Ivan Franko National University of Lviv,
  • Department of Theory and History of Culture,
  • 1, Universytetska Str., 79007, Lviv, Ukraine,
  • Contacts: e-mail: pereskokova.nastia@gmail.com

Abstract. Today, among Ukrainian art historians specializing in the anthropology of art, there is considerable interest in analyzing the work of Ukrainian artists in the context of their creative affiliation with postmodernist styles. Despite shared ideas and artistic approaches, Ukrainian postmodernism took shape within a totalitarian society, where artists were forced either to conform to the dictates of Socialist Realism or to seek refuge through emigration. These processes had a significant impact on the development of the creative narratives of many artists. In seeking to establish the foundations of a new artistic system of expressiveness and its theoretical interpretation within the context of European anthropology of art, the purpose of the articleis defined as a comprehensive analysis of abstraction as the primary artistic method of Volodymyr Makarenko. The research methodology is based on an interdisciplinary approach. The principle of historicism has been applied to analyse the theory of abstraction by V. Worringer and A. Riegl, the neo-avant-garde by K. Greenberg, and the concept of empathy as an aesthetic experience by T. Lipps, as well as its influence on the development of twentieth-century art. A historiographical analysis is used to deepen the academic discourse on the influence of the anthropology of art on the artistic practice of non-conformist artists, in particular Volodymyr Makarenko; the approach of the anthropology of art to analysing the socio-cultural environment in which the artist worked; semiotic methods; iconographic and iconological analysis.Scientific novelty: this article presents the first attempt to analyse the work of Volodymyr Makarenko through the prism of European anthropology of art. It demonstrates the possibility of understanding abstraction through a reinterpretation of symbols as spiritual representations of cultural codes in art (Worringer). Conclusions—Volodymyr Makarenko’s work is a powerful tool for understanding the spiritual and cultural archetypes of the Ukrainian people as immutable patterns of national reality. The uniqueness of his artistic method lies in the phenomenon of creative freedom within the context of strict Soviet dictatorship, which realises the dream of an independent national reality. Prospects for further research are based on a comprehensive analysis of the theory of the anthropology of art and the justification of its appropriate practical application.

Keywords: anthropology of art, abstraction, the work of Volodymyr Makarenko, non-conformism, cultural code, national identity, preservation of cultural heritage.

REFERENCES

  • Worringer, W. (1997). Abstraction and empathy: a contribution to the psychology of style. Chicago: Elephant Paperbacks. Retrieved from: https://monoskop.org/images/a/a2/Worringer_Wilhelm_Abstraction_and_Empathy_1997.pdf.
  • Riegl, A. (1992). Problems of style: foundations for a history of ornament. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Retrieved from: https://faragoarth6929.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/alois-riegl-problems-of-style-foundations-for-a-history-of-ornament-1.pdf DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9780691193960.
  • Greenberg, C., O’Brian, J. (Ed.). (1986). Avant-garde and kitsch. In: J. O’Brian. Clement Greenberg: The collected essays and criticism (Vol. 1, pp. 5—22). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/aisthesis-12054.
  • Lipps, T. (1965). Empathy and aesthetic pleasure. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.
  • Karpov, V., Bondyk, O., Lymar, H., & Naumov, O. (2020). Art and anthropology in the discourse of European studies. Kultura i suchasnist, 1, 110—117 [in Ukrainian].
  • Darewych, D., Susak, V., & Marcade J.-C., etc. (2014). Volodymyr Makarenko Paintings. New York: Artfira Gallery LLC.
  • Skrynnyk-Myska, D. (2013). Feminine world of Volodymyr Makarenko. Artes: Shchokvartalnyi almanakh. Retrieved from: https://artes-almanac.com/volodymyr-makarenko [in Ukrainian].
  • Chekan, O. (2011). Where Makar did not tend calves. Ukrainskyi tyzhden. Retrieved from: https://tyzhden.ua/tam-de-makar-teliat-ne-pas/ [in Ukrainian].
  • (1982). World exhibition of Ukrainian artists = International exhibition of Ukrainian artists: catalogue. Toronto: Ukrainian Canadian Art Foundation. Retrieved from: https://diasporiana.org.ua/wp-content/uploads/books/25868/file.pdf.
  • Horskа, A. (2013). Personal notes. In: Central State Archive-Museum of Literature and Arts of Ukraine. Fond 1165. Opys 1. Spr. 37. Ark. 31—32 [in Ukrainian].
Our authors
Oksana Sapeliak. Senior Research Fellow, Ph.D. in... read »
Yatsiv Roman. Scientific interests: art history,... read »
Roman Radovych. Researcher, Ph.D. in History. read »
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