The contribution of the Volkov artistic dynasty to the development of the culture of the Uzbek SSR (1920s-1990s)

The aim of the article is to analyze the activities of representatives of the Volkov artistic dynasty (primarily its founder, Alexander N. Volkov) in terms of their influence on the formation and development of the culture of the Uzbek SSR. The sources for the analysis were works of art, audio recordings of memoirs, the results of research by art historians and cultural historians. The applied methodological approach is based on the integrated use of historical research methods (historical-descriptive, comparative-historical, historical-systemic methods) and tools inherent in research in the field of art history (methods of formal analysis of works of art, problem-logical method). The artistic environment of Central Asia in the 1920s-1930s is characterized. The factography of the activities of local art associations (Masters of the New East and Volkov’s Brigade) is revealed; Volkov’s role in their creation and development is established. The author emphasizes the inextricable link between the works of the artists who were part of these associations and the Russian artistic tradition. The author explores Volkov’s teaching activities and reveals his influence on the formation in Uzbekistan of a community of young artists who received professional education on the basis of art faculties that opened in the educational institutions of the republic in the 1930s. The author also describes the difficulties of pedagogical activities in this period, which were caused by the need to find a balance between political requirements and the traditions of Russian classical art education. The creative and organizational activities of Alexander N. Volkov’s sons are described: the sons continued the work of their father’s life in the 1960s-1990s. The author presents the transcript of the audio recording of the memoirs of the artist’s son, Alexander A. Volkov, about the participation of the dynasty’s representatives in the formation of the collection of the Karakalpakstan State Museum of Arts named after I.V. Savitsky. The author concludes that the creative and pedagogical activity of the Volkov dynasty fully reflects the influence of Russian culture on the development of the artistic tradition in Uzbekistan. Its essential basis was the synthesis of local color with the stylistic tendencies of socialist realism and avant-garde, supplemented by the influence of Russian art associations Knave of Diamonds, Blue Rose, New Siberia. Thus, the culture of the Uzbek SSR was formed under the influence of various regional art centers in Russia and in its neighboring states, and with the direct participation of gifted enthusiasts who took on the difficult mission of ensuring the processes of cultural construction.