Pozuotojo istorija. Justinas Mikutis

LTJustino Mikučio (1922–1988) gyvenimo kelias tyrinėjamas kaip kasdienio pasipriešinimo forma. Gvildenamas intelektinis mąstytojo žemėlapis ir gyvosios filosofijos pobūdis. Atskleidžiami sąryšiai su kitamaniais, neformaliais dailininkų ir rašytojų tinklais.

ENThe book reconstructs the portrait of a personality from the behind-thescenes of silent modernism culture. Justinas Mikutis (1922–1988) was an intellectual, thinker, literary critic, art theorist, political exile, and a man of tragic fate, who expressed himself freely in an oppressed Soviet society. His life was a tragic aberration of the time. Displaced from his life’s path and returning from exile, he chose a mode of existence closest to him in the cultural backstage, becoming a marginal yet important actor in cultural life. He was and remains a figure of the margins of modern Lithuanian culture – working behind the official scenes to create spaces of unusual intensity that liberated both himself and others. Even his pseudonym, Pelys (“Mouse”), reflects not only his image as a bookworm but also his role as a vibrant figure of cultural recesses and peripheries, profoundly influencing the worldview of individual groups of artists. The monograph reveals the existential paradox of an intellectual of Vytautas Mačernis‘s generation, highlighting the distortions of a bygone era. After returning from Siberian exile, Mikutis intermittently worked as an artist’s model at the Lithuanian SSR State Art Institute and the Vilnius Children’s Art School. However, even in this role, he was no ordinary model: through his distinctive existential stance and wandering lifestyle, he embodied a nonconformist attitude. Engaging with young artists, he sought to broaden their worldview, drawing them into processes of authentic thought through poetic and philosophical discourse. Entering the backstage of cultural and artistic life as a model, Mikutis became a prominent figure within the community of rebellious creators and dissenters. He turned the circumstances of his life toward informal activities, taking on moral commitments to educate and liberate the artists around him.His “legend” was shaped both by the generations of artists who interacted with him, listened to his profound, unconventional reflections freed from stereotypes, and by Mikutis himself, who embraced the role of a wandering sage. This monograph is dedicated to reconstructing the portrait of Mikutis as an enigmatic figure of the cultural backstage, focusing on the core of his worldview and his cultural contributions during the Soviet regime in the circle of rebellious artists. It also seeks to unveil his intellectual map, exploring how Mikutis’s “legend” emerged, the sociocultural context that shaped it, and its broader significance. The study draws on political and cultural anthropology to examine Mikutis’s mode of existence in Soviet-era culture, exploring his symbolic behaviour, speech codes, and the practice of living philosophy as a quiet form of everyday resistance. To characterize Mikutis’s stance, the concept of everyday resistance developed by political scientist and anthropologist James C. Scott proved particularly apt, as it emphasizes the “unheroic” actors of such resistance. This form of resistance, rooted in everyday life, manifests through a way of living that offers its own unique infrapolitics. By fostering sensitivity to humanity, providing meaningful guidance, and encouraging self-awareness, Mikutis created alternative spaces for dialogue and thought within informal communities of silent modernism. In these spaces, he shared “hidden transcripts” – alternative discourses that challenged the dominant narratives.Resistance rooted in everyday life is not merely a practice but also a lifestyle that dynamically interacts with power. This book approaches Mikutis’s life and his cultivated “infrapolitics” through the lens of resistance studies, viewing it as a form of opposition that was partly conscious and partly unconscious. Such a perspective highlights Mikutis’s nonconformist cultural stance, behaviour, and practices as a morally engaged struggle for freedom – not only for Lithuania’s independence but also for the spiritual freedom foundational to human dignity. The monograph is divided into five parts. The first part, applying Scott’s theoretical model, explores the intertwined stories of two models and political exiles – Kazimieras Skebėra and Justinas Mikutis. It reveals their extraordinary existential stance, cultural engagement, and behaviour, focusing on Mikutis’s integration into the Art Institute environment and the informal artistic milieu. It also sketches his lived experience as an “existential thinker” embedded in the fabric of everyday life. [...].