Juozas Mikėnas. Gyvenimo ir kūrybos pradžia

LTJuozas Mikėnas lietuvių dailėje užima išskirtinę vietą dėl daugelio priežasčių. Pirmiausia dėl savo meninių gabumų, kurie jo asmeny laimingai derinosi su kitomis kūrėjui būtinomis ypatybėmis - valia, darbštumu, profesine erudicija. Antra vertus, šis dailininkas, pedagogas, visuomenės veikėjas įsidėmėtinas ir dėl jo vaidmens Lietuvos dvidešimtojo šimtmečio skulptūroje. Kaip tapytojai Antanas Gudaitis ir Viktoras Vizgirda, grafikas Vytautas Kazimieras Jonynas etc., taip ir skulptorius Juozas Mikėnas buvo toji iškili asmenybė, kuri XX a. ketvirtajame dešimtmetyje koregavo ne tik savo kultivuotos šakos, bet ir visos lietuvių dailės vertybinę orientaciją (tačiau, perfrazuojant V. Vizgirdą, tam, ką ano meto jaunieji grafikai ir tapytojai sukūrė kolektyvinėmis pastangomis, „Mikėnas atstovauja vienas”). Jis pirmasis iš skulptorių aiškiai ir tikslingai atsigręžė į vakarietiškąją meno kultūros tradiciją, šia linkme pakreipė visą būrį savo auklėtinių ir tapo pagrindiniu formuotoju bei reiškėju krypties, kuri kelerius dešimtmečius buvo vadinama „lietuviškąja skulptūros mokykla”. Jai, kartais vadinamai ir „Mikėno mokykla”, priskiriamų dailininkų kūrybai būdingas minties taurumas ir optimizmas, apibendrinta, sintetiška ir dekoratyvi forma, monumentalumas kaip esminė vidinės išraiškos kokybė. Trumpai tariant, J. Mikėno kūryba pradėjo lietuvių XX a. skulptūros istorijos modernųjį etapą, tad neišvengiamai tenka į ją atsigręžti, kai aptarinėjamas, vertinamas ar pervertinamas ir ligtolinis, ir juo labiau - kiekvienas vėlesnis plėtotės tarpsnis įskaitant ir šiandieninį. Tai tik viena priežastis, dėl kurios šio skulptoriaus kūryba buvo ir tebėra svarbi ir aktuali.Tačiau kiekvieno krašto kultūroje esama asmenybių, kurių gyvenimas ir veikla tokie, kad laikui bėgant, atsiskleidžia vis kiti jų reikšmingumo aspektai. J. Mikėnas yra vienas iš tokių. Per trisdešimtmetį, praėjusį po jo mirties, iš esmės pasikeitė krašto bendrakultūrinis kontekstas, mene atsirado, suklestėjo ir išseko bent keli „judėjimai” ir dar daugiau „srovių”. Būtina pasvarstyti, kaip visų tų pokyčių šviesoje atrodo J. Mikėno išpažintosios ir siektos įkūnyti vertybės bei jų plastinė išraiška. Tai antra priežastis, verčianti tyrinėti jo kūrybą - kad būtų geriau suprasta, kurlink pasuko skulptūros menas. Ir trečioji - būtinybė koreguoti praeityje ne dėl tyrinėtojų kaltės sukurtą vienpusį ir iškreiptą J. Mikėno - kaip asmenybės ir kūrėjo - įvaizdį. Toks jis tapo dėl ideologinės priežiūros daugiapakopių instancijų totalios cenzūros. Kai jos nebeliko, tyrinėtojas buvo įpareigotas pirmtakų pateiktas menininko gyvenimo bei kūrybos versijas papildyti duomenimis, kurių tie negalėjo paskelbti arba surinkti. [Iš teksto, p. 227-228]

ENSculptor Juozas Mikėnas occupies an exceptional place in Lithuanian art not only because of his artistic talent, social and pedagogical activities; his role in the overall development of artistic culture of the country deserves attention first of all. Jonas Mikėnas, just as painters Antanas Gudaitis and Viktoras Vizgirda, graphic Vytautas Kazimieras Jonynas etc., was a prominent personality that in the 1930-ics had altered the value orientation both of his branch of art and of Lithuanian art as a whole, attempting to free it from Eastern influences. Jonas Mikėnas was the first among the sculptors to clearly and purposefully turn to the Western tradition of the fine arts, to lead in this direction a group of his pupils (from 1931 till his death he taught at higher art schools of Lithuania), ant to become the one who moulded an artistic trend for several decades to be called „the Lithuanian school of sculpture”. The authoress discusses the preconditions, motives, and circumstances that determined Juozas Mikėnas', becoming the leader of Lithuanian sculpture. Therefore the early period of his biography, i. e. 1901-1931, was selected. These years represent just half of the artist's life but it was exactly during this period that his world outlook and aesthetic views were formed, the field of artistic expression was chosen, and professional training was received. The authoress attempts to reconstruct this process on the basis of literary and archival sources as well as abundant memoirs material presented by Juozas Mikėnas' contemporaries, relatives, and fellow students. Compared, analyzed, and supplemented by documents, this material reveals the environment of the sculptor's native place (a farmstead in the North of Lithuania, near the Lithuanian-Latvian border), the specificity of peasant life, and finally, the lifestyle of a family that was distinguished for artistic inclinations.All this formed certain ethical position and implanted a feeling of special dutifulnees and responsibility and, what is the most important, a wish to determine his fate by himself. These features - some characteristic of the Lithuanian peasantry of that time and some only of Mikėnas' family, - maximalism, ambitiousness, special persistence in pursueing one's object, on the one hand, and aspiration to spiritual values and light, on the other hand, helped overcome everything that crossed his path. It seemed that both external circumstances and personal misfortunes had to crush him. J. Mikėnas had just started his studies when the World War I broke out and the family had to withdraw to Russia where everyday difficulties and wanderings awaited for them. After returning to Lithuania, there arouse a necessity for the reconstruction of destroyed parents' home and the farm. The rather vague young man's understanding of aims and real possibilities was an obstacle too. At first, believing in his acting abilities. he tried to become an actor. However, it appeared during the studies in the stage director's A. Sutkus' acting school that both the abilities and improvisation talent were lacking. J. Mikėnas came to Kaunas Art School, but again he chose a sphere - painting - for which he did not have absolute capabilities. However, as he worked persistently he achieved excellent results and graduated from this school with honors and with a grant for studying abroad. Sculpture, the true sphere for the expression of his creative potential, was found by J. Mikėnas when he already was a mature, almost 30-year-old man. This occurred in Paris.Much attention is devoted in the article to J. Mikėnas' studies in the academies and schools of this world centre of art (Ecole Nationale Superieure des Arts Decoratifs, Lhote Acadėmie, Acadėmie Julian, Conservatoire National des Arts et Mettiers), since the earlier authors who wrote about the sculptor had neither necessary data nor possibilities for dealing with this subject. The question as to what extent this and other Lithuanian artists who studied at that time in Paris were influenced both by the famous professors (M. Magne, Ch. Despiau. M. Gimond etc.) and the general artistic atmosphere of the city is discussed. The reminiscences of contemporaries, literature, and comparative analysis of works enables to make a conslusion that the main thing acquired by Lithuanian artists in Paris was the understanding of the importance of artistic form and the ability to create one’s distinctive, authentic style of expression. In Paris J. Mikėnas familiarized himself with modern art, however, neoclassicism was most acceptable to him as the closest to his aesthetic precepts and understanding of art's meaning and mission. The article is ended with the analysis of J. Mikėnas' works created in Paris which show the artist’s ability to generalize and synthesize nature, to speak about the fullness of man's being and beauty by means of plastic art. The Lithuanian sculptor remained faithful to these ideals during all his lifetime.