Unique art of Perm wooden sculpture
Unique art of Perm wooden sculpture
The age of a wooden man is a little longer than a human and much shorter than a century of its bronze and stone counterparts. Although equally threatened by fire and dampness, but on the other hand, it travels more easily, transforms, and renews. Besides, it is egalitarian, because wood is inexpensive and affordable, and anyone can learn the skills of a carver.
But Perm wooden sculpture is still a riddle. This unusually expressive art has no youth, neither is it ever old. It appeared at the turn of the 17th-18th centuries as a mature phenomenon. It quickly absorbs a lot of styles, tries a lot of various techniques. Also, it shows itself in all its splendor and bloom and disappears, not having had time to exhaust its possibilities. It has no canons, more precisely, it uses different canons, but as a whim, and not as a dogma.
Noteworthy, Perm wooden sculpture almost did not save the names of their masters, but in every detail bears the imprint of their individuality. Common features can be traced, even with ease – and disappear with the same ease. The only undoubtedly common feature for all works is non comformism. Rules exist to violate them. Aliens from the White Sea, immigrants from Polish churches, monochrome replicates of high classicism are accepted into this silent wooden fraternity without objection. But let’s start from the threshold and further: deep down and up.
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