GDC Part 2, Week 5 : EAOT "Shezhire" - Ornaments and Patterns. Introduction.

In Kazakh ornaments, as in folk myths and fairy tales, meanings and signs are hidden from the depths of centuries. I have been looking for stories and myths related to this for a long time, and I managed to find something. Some of them were lost, while others, passed from generation to generation, by folk craftsmen and craftswomen, have come down to us in their original form. There is not only one purpose to "decorate" objects, clothes, etc. Initially, in very recent times, when our ancestors also possessed magical knowledge and lived in unity with nature, ornaments served them as amulets, were able to attract good luck and happiness

In Kazakh ornaments, there is a complex of archetypal motives and symbols that is universal for all peoples of the world, denoting the elements of the universe in the form of a circle, a spiral and a cross, associated with the cult of the sun, earth and stars, in their own way altered and adapted to their culture. So, the interpenetration of the background and the pattern, the color solution based on the principle of contrasts is a feature of the Kazakh ornament.

Also, the Kazakhs had bronze and silver talismans with solar circles, symbols of the sun, moon, sky, which they worshiped. The ornamented talisman was a sign of magic, a symbol of happiness and well-being, surrounded by religious beliefs. Almost all ornamental patterns were "read" in their time in a completely definite way. For example, the Kazakhs had such a custom: a girl who got married, some time after the wedding, sent gifts to her relatives. And it was not just a gift, but "news" about how a young bride lives. If a tall and thin man was embroidered, and next to him was a full and small one, then this meant that the girl was living badly. If the gift depicted a bird's beak, then the parents knew that the girl lived in a strange house as a free bird. And after this joyful news, the bride's parents arranged that.

The color scheme prevailing in Kazakh woven products consists of an incredibly cheerful and red-colored range, which is based on contrasting combinations. For example, velvet-black, or burgundy, or - blue background and colorful ornamental stylized compositions glowing against their background. This cheerful spectrum refers us to the spring herbs of the flowering steppe, in the color symbolism of which: red personifies fire, the energy of the sun, love; blue - sky, white - truth, yellow - wisdom, morality, sadness, green - youth and spring.

Several contemporary artists who skillfully play with the national flavor, bringing a certain meaning to their work :

Saule Duysembina. "Danaya"

Elena and Victor Vorobyevy. "Ornamentalizer"

Kuanysh Bazargaliev. "Between a bear and a dragon, between a rock and a hard place, between the red-haired Ivan and the black Van, between"

Dilyara Kaipova. Embryo from the Soft Life project. Photo by Fyodor Panov