Museum of Applied Arts and Design launches a retrospective of the artist Stasys U拧inskas to mark his 120th birth anniversary
Stasys U拧inskas (1905鈥�1974), born to a stone-cutter from Pakruojis on the Lithuanian-Latvian frontier, rose to the top of his artistic career in the 1st half and the middle of the 20th C. Of his contemporaries on the Lithuanian art stage, Vytautas Kairi奴k拧tis (1890鈥�1961) may compare to him in their avant-garde aspirations, yet on the whole U拧inskas鈥檚 multifaceted talent at home knew no equals: a superb painter and draughtsman, a virtuoso of multiple figure compositions, a revolutionary stage designer, book illustrator, stained-glass and decorative glasswork artist, puppeteer, animator and a pedagogue. His brave invention of new stylistics and use of different media, techniques and technologies, his avid reinvention of himself across a range of art fields, set him firmly, in contrast to Expressionists, on the path of constructive and decorative art. The groundbreaking pieces by the artist featured at his birth centenary exhibition in Kaunas were aptly encapsulated as the 鈥榗onstructions of volitional beauty鈥�.
Stasys U拧inskas鈥檚 pioneering contribution embraces so many areas. The artist is considered the father of modern Lithuanian stained-glass was also the founder of professional puppet theatre and the forerunner of Lithuanian animation. 6 May 1936, when Metropolitain Film Theatre in Kaunas gave the first-night of Silverstas D奴del臈 (Silvestras the Pipe), a play of marionette puppets, gave rise to the puppeteers鈥� professional holiday in the country. Stasys U拧inskas was the maker of the first Lithuanian puppet-animated sound film The Dream of the Fatty (1938). His ideas for stage designs for the opera and drama productions show a new approach in the planning and constructing of the visual space for the stage 鈥榖ox鈥�, in contrast to the task of deciding how and where to hang the already produced paintings and to how to 鈥渄ecorate鈥� the stage. U拧inskas produced inspired scenic and costume designs for the State Theatre productions, examples being J. R. Planquette鈥檚 Les cloches de Corneville, A. de Musset No Trifling with Love, W. Shakespeare鈥檚 Twelfth Night, or What You Will, Johann Strauss鈥檚 operetta The鈥疓ypsy Baron. U拧inskas鈥檚 biggest achievement for stage productions was his scenic and costume design for Balys Dvarionas鈥檚 ballet The Matchmaking. His modern Lithuanian folk costume designs show tactful humour, while his brave alterations to the traditional silhouettes, shapes and patterns resulted in the appearance that strikes as modern even today.
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Stasys U拧inskas (1905鈥�1974), born to a stone-cutter from Pakruojis on the Lithuanian-Latvian frontier, rose to the top of his artistic career in the 1st half and the middle of the 20th C. Of his contemporaries on the Lithuanian art stage, Vytautas Kairi奴k拧tis (1890鈥�1961) may compare to him in their avant-garde aspirations, yet on the whole U拧inskas鈥檚 multifaceted talent at home knew no equals: a superb painter and draughtsman, a virtuoso of multiple figure compositions, a revolutionary stage designer, book illustrator, stained-glass and decorative glasswork artist, puppeteer, animator and a pedagogue. His brave invention of new stylistics and use of different media, techniques and technologies, his avid reinvention of himself across a range of art fields, set him firmly, in contrast to Expressionists, on the path of constructive and decorative art. The groundbreaking pieces by the artist featured at his birth centenary exhibition in Kaunas were aptly encapsulated as the 鈥榗onstructions of volitional beauty鈥�.
Stasys U拧inskas鈥檚 pioneering contribution embraces so many areas. The artist is considered the father of modern Lithuanian stained-glass was also the founder of professional puppet theatre and the forerunner of Lithuanian animation. 6 May 1936, when Metropolitain Film Theatre in Kaunas gave the first-night of Silverstas D奴del臈 (Silvestras the Pipe), a play of marionette puppets, gave rise to the puppeteers鈥� professional holiday in the country. Stasys U拧inskas was the maker of the first Lithuanian puppet-animated sound film The Dream of the Fatty (1938). His ideas for stage designs for the opera and drama productions show a new approach in the planning and constructing of the visual space for the stage 鈥榖ox鈥�, in contrast to the task of deciding how and where to hang the already produced paintings and to how to 鈥渄ecorate鈥� the stage. U拧inskas produced inspired scenic and costume designs for the State Theatre productions, examples being J. R. Planquette鈥檚 Les cloches de Corneville, A. de Musset No Trifling with Love, W. Shakespeare鈥檚 Twelfth Night, or What You Will, Johann Strauss鈥檚 operetta The鈥疓ypsy Baron. U拧inskas鈥檚 biggest achievement for stage productions was his scenic and costume design for Balys Dvarionas鈥檚 ballet The Matchmaking. His modern Lithuanian folk costume designs show tactful humour, while his brave alterations to the traditional silhouettes, shapes and patterns resulted in the appearance that strikes as modern even today.
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