| OCR Text |
Show Clint fiuhfer BotethLy The Reinvention of Iconic Tradition in Soviet Russia Clint Bull tar {Boreth Lyl Department of Art History Throughout ¦ '¦ -=-1 ¦ i littery the tonic Iradrtlon has largely formed the Russian nadcmal consckK]5 ness. In the Sovlei era. the On hods-x religion was re|ected but the Iconic tradition perslsied In the a^ oF che afficla I stace artists. PLaying on bochche inferiority and che superiority complexes c-f the ^usslam psyihe, (heart of Sotfel Russia Displaced bcah an attraction and repulshon Icuradrtksn and re^on After the flussla nflevolutlon.lt was necessary tar che leaders to rd1 he country of Orthodox traditions One of chefundairnenial prlnclptesctf Soviet Communism was that the Orthodox religion was something used by 1 he Tsars ic- suppress 1 he people. But Uadltlon Is something thac Is necessary for a society 1g properly Tur>ctlon. Thus what usually happens It 1 hat Uadltlon It simply reinvented 1o fit the riEafs of 1 he new power Thisisexad|ythe situation thac was happening In Com rnunlM ftjssla-Orthodoxy wbs belrg del iberacely not used or more c-fcen acfepted 1o che kleals ofthe new regime Tlie oW tradikms cojW notJuHl be thrown out completely because rhls leaves a rcJd in soclei y_ Thus It was necessary to UN 1 h is v^d with new, Soviet trad HkHis Themc^t Important thing to do For the Soviets was 1o etiabllshi he new tkpnsorCommunlsrn. To do this 1 hey woukJadaiptexIstlngOrrhodoxsKpns. In place of 1 he Cross there would be the hammer and slckfe. or 1 he com-Tiunlustar. Hius throug houl flussla^ e^schllp In hAosccrwitie Crosses trfcat topped 1 he ma|or buildings spues woukJ be caiken off and replaced by stars Graveyards also reflected this change in rieology as gravestc-nes began co be lc-poed with Hairs Instead of crosses. There was also a need to replace che u rtlmaie sq n in 1 he flussian consciousness- Christ hlmselF. This sign wiu H be effectively replaced under che leadership of ^tall n_ Lenin would re the rVpure thai myth would be ceniered on.|us1 asChrtsc had been 10 pf e-revol ui unary flussla. The mc-st effective medium for theSoulet leacfers 1g promote this new slgna^e was 1 h rough cheaffi-clal staceart The Influence oFrelkplous signs, especial |y the Icon, wou H be strong |y Felt In the work oF the parry artists, as well as In the work of 1 he nonconFormls! airtlsis.who soug hi 1g expose thlsexpJc-nation ¦ -¦T, |
