Kaunas Artists' House Lithuanian art news website
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Laisvės Alley echoed with whoops which reminded of an important message, offering, protest and confession at noon of the 1st of September. It was like a strong lightning stroke from the clear sky: passers-by hushed down after getting a split-second slash of energy, sincerity, aesthetical cleanliness; later they continued their road in the chaotic crowd of the street but they had been marked by a strong emotional shock.
Lithuania was proclaimed by lectures of A.Mickiewicz, research of F.de Saussure, memories of Napoleon’s army about the exotic land in France in the 19th century. P.Merimée, who was interested in the Samogitian dialect and paganism, was also presented in the conference “Cultural Links of Lithuania and France in the 19th Century”. The author of the short story “Bear” wrote about Lithuania, the country using the ancient language. He embellished his work by Lithuanian words, described rituals and nature, which was also pictured in the national epic of A.Mickiewicz “Pan Tadeusz”.
The idea of “similar spirits” may be traced in the correspondence of Sofija and Mikalojus Konstantinas frequently. Rhetoric with elevation is refused both in her articles and in letters written to her by Konstantinas; silence is considered an important means of their communication. M.K.Čiurlionis has written to Sofija: “...what can we say to each other with the help of black ink? [...] wouldn’t we say to each other much more by silence?”.
“Reflection on contemporary literature lacks dialogue. Only closed anonymous communities exist which do not want to get acquainted with each other. Events dedicated to dialogue help a creating man to look at himself/herself through eyes of other people and to feel that he/she is not the centre of the world, to feel the diversity of literature, which requires discussion,” said Mindaugas Grigaitis, one of the organisers of the event and an active member of Žirklionis.
How can we speak about wilful artistic or political line in Lithuania if deserters are everywhere. When havoc is noticed in the society, havoc prevails in culture too. I would like one culture weekly to be more national, like the no-longer-existing Dienovidis, another – universal, the third – revolutionary, bold, not trying to please the supporters. Meanwhile, we have weeklies which are mixed and confused. Too little of power and ambition is present. We should not be so scattered in such a small land.
