Letonica Nr. 48 is issued

The latest thematic issue of the humanities journal "Letonica" is dedicated to art research and is a collaboration between the Art Academy of Latvia and the Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art of the University of Latvia.

This issue of the journal features publications by Art Academy of Latvia doctoral students and academic staff, which reveal the diversity of research topics in art studies today and provide a glimpse into the future of this research - both in dissertations in progress and in other research topics that will hopefully be fully developed in the coming years. The thematic diversity of the articles confirms the significant contribution of the Art Academy of Latvia to cultural and artistic research, in which traditional analysis based on extensive archival studies is complemented by a modern methodology rooted in the use of critical theory and related to current societal issues of the time.

The three articles in this issue interpret the work of painters from different periods. Agita Gritāne analyses the modifications of the aesthetics of the famous 20th century Latvian painter Jēkabs Bīne during the Stalinist period, while Ieva Melgalve delves into the paintings of contemporary artist Ineta Freidenfeld, examining her work in the context of post-humanist ideas. Jānis Ozoliņš and Kārlis Vērdiņš have focused on the interpretation of the portraits of the younger period of Atis Jākobsons. The two articles provide a broader picture of the Cold War period when two distinct worlds of Latvian art existed. Andra Silapētere explores the archives of Latvian art in exile, researching the connections of emigrant artists with the art scene in the United States. Laine Kristberga, on the other hand, reveals the potential of participatory art on the other side of the Iron Curtain - in the art environment of Soviet Latvia in the 1970s-1980s. The history of applied art in Latvia is represented by Kristīne Budže's research on the history of the glass chandelier in the Alūksne Lutheran Church. Elīna Veilande-Apine's and Rita Broka's articles contribute to the study of Latvian textile art. The former emphasises the importance of technique in defining textile art and shaping perceptions of the art form. At the same time, the latter uses the concept of personal geography to analyse textiles from the school founded by Rūdolfs Heimrāts.