Lemko Carving Traditions as Part of Applied Art

Abstract

The purpose of work is to identify the place of Lemko carving traditions in applied art, to describe peculiarities of Lemko carving traditions, and identify its leading artists. The research is related to the fact that Lemko national carpenters and carvers created real masterpieces, distinguished by uniqueness and originality of artistic forms. Methodology of research consists is applying comparative, historical, and logical methods. Scientific novelty of the work consists in the expansion of ideas about the place of Lemko carving traditions in applied art. The specialities of Lemko carving traditions have been shortly described, it has been resumed that Lemkos depicted floral ornaments on their products. It has been assumed that flat carving (plates, trays) probably arose, the products are combined from leaves of various trees, flowers, and bunches of grapes. Firstly, peasants decorated with floral ornament household items, for example, wooden boxes (chests), lizhnyks (woollen plaids), house tragars (decorative wooden beams). Soon, the masters transferred decorative elements to industrial souvenirs (plates, cassettes, and trays). It has been emphasised that one of the most outstanding masters of Rusyn wood carving in Lemko region is M. Orysyk (1885–1946) («Lemko-Rusyn» (1930s) is the most famous work) and V. Odrekhivskyi, the Honored Worker of Arts of Ukraine (1964), the member of the Union of Artists of Ukraine. Conclusions. Highly artistic Lemko carvings reflect the centuries-old traditions of carving, as well as the rich history of the formation and development of Lemko culture, which give us the opportunity to learn the true value of Lemkos. Woodcarving became a very popular type of artistic and decorative wood processing in Lemko region at the border of the 19th and 20th centuries and a significant part of applied art.

Key words: Lemko carving traditions, carving, applied art, artists, products.