Representing Time: Art and Artist

Abstract—The proposed paper for the Conference is the insight into Latvian artist Jekabs Bine (1895-1955) life and creative work during 20th century first half. Jekabs Bine was one of the artists of the interwar period who focused on idealized depicting of the Latvian image and search for Latvian identity in the legacy of the past. All my research aim is regional identity, going through politics, history and art. How changes of political powers during the first half of the 20th century affected an artist who strongly believed in Latvia's identity. I am deeply interested in researching what was an artist’s contribution and role in the making of the Latvian identity? Bine's life and work phenomenon is based on the fact, that the artist dedicated all his life and creative work to find and study the Latvian national identity, in spite of regular political regime shifts in the first half of 20th century. Being politically and socially active about sharing his national beliefs, Bine’s personal character traits and success made it possible not only to escape from the Soviet repression, but also to receive international awards and recognition, as well create significant art works in Latvian history of art in the first half of 20th century. The aim of the paper is to reveal the circumstances and qualities of this artist’s language in cultural, political and historical context. The research includes the artist's creative experience and the working conditions in the first period of Latvian independence (1918-1940), then followed by the first Soviet occupation (1940-1941), then the German occupation time (1941-1944) and the Latvian inclusion into the Soviet Union (1944). This situation raised the issues of the importance about how artist’s creative activities make an impact on the environment and how the environment affects the artist's ability to create and express their creative opinions.

Index Terms—Artist, national identity, politics

Agita Gritane is with the Art Academy of Latvia, Kalpaka blv.13, Riga, Latvia (email: agita.gritane@gmail.com).

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Cite: Agita Gritane, "Representing Time: Art and Artist," International Journal of Culture and History vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 157-161, 2017.