Erotinė lietuvių tekstilės ornamento semantika: vietiniai ir tarpkultūriniai kontekstai
LTMonografijoje gvildenami kosmogoniniai erotikos, lytiškumo ir binariškumo aspektai baltų mitinėje-poetinėje tradicijoje ir lietuvių ornamente ir jo simbolikoje. Nagrinėjama lietuvių, baltų ornamento (tradicinės tekstilės juostų ir diminių audinių) tradicija, jos perdava bei kūrybinga interpretacija moderniais laikais plėtojant tautinius simbolius bei stilių, dabartyje puoselėjant alternatyvią ekologišką pasaulėjautą bei numedžiagintą, eksperimentinį ar skaitmeninį meną bei estetinę socialinę komunikaciją. Tarpdalykiškai tyrinėjant XIX–XXI a. lietuvių etnines, populiariąsias ir profesionaliąsias realijas, vizualinės kultūros reiškinius, mitologinius ir archetipinius konceptus, greta etnologijos, antropologijos ir dailėtyros bei archeologijos pasitelkiamos semiotikos bei lyginamoji prieigos, platus tarpkultūrinis laiko ir geografijos kontekstas, apimantis ir gerokai nutolusius Europos ir Rytų civilizacijų reiškinius. Vietinių, regioninių, savųjų kultūros simbolių nagrinėjimas platesniame tarptautiniame istoriniame kontekste gali padėti plėtojant tarpkultūrinį dialogą pasauliui globalėjant, stiprinti valstybės atsparumą informaciniams karams bei skatinti visuomenės įtraukimą į paveldą ir jo sklaidą.
ENOrnaments are commonly perceived in three ways. On the one hand, they are a phenomena of decorative art, an ornamentation of fine workmanship, works of art or simply artefacts. On the other, a symbolising function is also attributed to the ornament, filled with specific meanings, messages and symbolism eventuating as an outcome of years-long traditions. In the third aspect, the ornament can be understood by taking a step back from its primary purpose of decorating objects, and seeing it instead as a specially signified specific sign, symbol, logotype, or ideogram, even one with heraldic connotations, or as a marker of cultural, national or community identity, adapted to serve the communication-related needs of the contemporary world, as a phenomena of society and its cultural life, testifying to the deeply embedded codes in the worldview and the origins of this worldview existing in societies, communities, nations and cultures; research of ornamentation can in this way help disclose the particular features of the mentality inherent to certain communities and societies. This research, based on the above concept of the ornament, analyses how the images and imagery of reality relate to certain symbolic signs and how they are interpreted in culture. Taking this path, we undoubtedly encounter the paradigm of opposites and commonalities existing in local versus universal, us versus the other, national versus international phenomena. When trying to explain the role of the ornament in the coming-into-being of culture, we must inevitably look deeper into questions regarding the origins of tradition, and analyse the processes of its continuity, change, transformation and interpretation.In this monograph, I have chosen to analyse the symbolism of textile patterns from one of the most significant angles to traditional cultures - the aspect of eroticism and cosmogonic binarily opposite mythologems. The term erotica is inherited from the culture of Greek Antiquity. However, as the philosopher Algis Mickunas accurately pointed out, the current concept of erotica, which separates the body from one's inner life and with which only physical or corporeal love is associated, is significantly different to the initial Ancient Greek concept (Mickunas 2010). The Greek concept of erotica may be comparable to the folkloric-mythological worldview of traditional cultures. The Ancient Greek concept of Eros encompasses the archaic mythological concepts of love, beauty, harmony, goodness, birth, immortality, godliness and happiness. Ever since Zeus divided the first people into the opposite sexes, men and women have been searching for their other half, seeking to unite these two sexes to make a whole. According to Plato, Eros is a force, bringing together and drawing people in love of different sexes to unite, it gives the highest hope of being able to return to one's natural state, in which we would heal, be blessed and happy. Eros attracts people to the gods, and in turn, the gods to people. It is a patron of the arts, education, sacrifices and miracles. The well-spring of eternity and immortality is expressed through conception and birth in the mortal being. This cannot be expressed if there is disharmony. Eros is birth, and the fruit of this birth in beauty. If Eros is the pursuit of never-ending goodness for oneself, then Eros must also be worshipped as the Eros of immortality (Platonas, Puota: 190-207).The object of this research and its point of reference are the erotic and duality aspects of ornament symbolism on various types of Lithuanian textiles (diaper twill fabric, pick-up woven sashes, flags, shirts, etc.), its mytho-poetic local and intercultural context and transformations in the cultural tradition. With this research, while making it possible to arrive at a multifaceted "reading" of traditional Lithuanian textile ornamentation, I seek to explain how the erotic mytho-poetic symbols encoded within relate to the broader cultural and social life context, and how its stable and creatively changing, local and intercultural aspects gradually became associated with the Lithuanian identity.
