Painting in the time and space of culture: on the centenary of the birth of Garri Rokchinsky (1923-1993)

The study aims at understanding the creative activities of the Kalmyk artist Garri Rokchinsky (1923-1993) through the disclosure of features that make it possible to present his heritage in the space and time of traditional culture. The material included Rokchinsky’s paintings created in Shiroklag and Kazakhstan, where the artist received an art education while in deportation, as well as his canvases painted later in Kalmykia; the results of art history and cultural studies were also used. The research process in the study is a reconstruction that synthesizes the methodological foundations of history, art history, cultural studies and philosophy. The formation of the artist’s personality took place under the influence of the traditional worldview of his ancestors, which was reflected in a consistent appeal to the history of the Kalmyk people. Love for his homeland inspired Rokchinsky to understand himself and his ethnic heritage in various genres of painting, graphics and original small plastic arts. The idea that it is in fruitful activities that a person acquires ethnic identity, formed in a deeply meaningful connection of the concepts “clan”, “people” and “homeland”, was embodied in Rokchinsky’s extensive pictorial cycle Land and People. The artist’s picture of the world was further expressed through the traditions of Mongol zurag flat painting in the epic cycle Jangariada. Rokchinsky deeply understands the connection with the culture of Mongolia, the ethnic ancestral home of the Kalmyks. At this point a philosophical doctrine was introduced; the artist develops its ethical foundations in his works, which allowed him to assimilate the spiritual essence of Buddhism. In the author’s opinion, the artist’s turn to non-objective painting, which embodies the truths of existence, was a natural facet of comprehending world culture. The paintings of Rokchinsky, born in the harmony and contradictions of Existence, express the originality of the fine arts of Kalmykia as part of the artistic culture of Russia. At the same time, the universe created by the artist is one of the ethnic facets of the world artistic heritage. The space and time of Rokchinsky’s works embody the “genetic code” of national culture, preserving the figurative memory of the people. The methodology implemented in the study made it possible to reconstruct the process of formation, preservation and continuity of traditions in the art of Kalmykia, clearly represented by the works of Garri Rokchinsky, a People’s Artist of the RSFSR, whose 100th anniversary is celebrated in the Republic of Kalmykia in 2023