Exploring tourists' perceptions and influencing factors of creative tourism in Europe

Author(s): Mihaela Clincu,Iuliana TUDOSE-POP / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2024

The emergence of co-creative interactions between tourists and touristic activities has extended in Europe generating increased interest, driven by contemporary trends in tourism emphasizing meaningful, authentic experiences and direct engagement with culture and local communities. Our paper aims to reveal insights and nuances in tourists' perceptions of creative destinations in Europe. The findings are based on a literature review on creative tourism and a qualitative methodology of two focus groups carried out with 20 people in total from 13 countries from Europe, including Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Spain. Within the focus groups there were explored the levels of understanding on the creative tourism concept, European destinations associated with creative tourism, influencing factors that stimulate engagement in creative tourism experiences in Europe as well future perspectives of creative tourism evolving in Europe. A diversity of opinions have emerged in consideration of creative tourism trends and patterns and the idea of a 'one-size-fits-all' model resulted to be particularly inappropriate in terms of creative tourism perceptions and experiences. Our analysis highlights several directions for further information development on the introduction of creative experiences into tourism developments.

The Ruin as Phantasmagoria: The Faces of Nordingrå kyrkoruin

Author(s): Katrin Holmqvist Sten / Language(s): English Issue: 11/2023

In this article, the ruin of the medieval church in Nordingrå is investigated by questioning the function and meaning of the ruin today. Nordingrå, in the north of Sweden, is in the center of the World Culture Heritage area, #e High Coast, which annually attracts many tourists due to its scenic landscape. By using the notions of reflexive and restorative nostalgia by cultural theorist Svetlana Boym and rethinking Walter Benjamin’s idea of phantasmagoria in a rural context with the tourist as spectator, the transformation of the ruin from an abandoned site to a tourist experience is analyzed. A dialogue between the history of the ruin and the aims of The Swedish National Heritage Board reflects the perception of ruins in Sweden today. During the last renovation, an artistic project which mimics the Middle Ages and emphasizes the wish to attract and amaze visitors was added to this ruin.

“Berlin, a Housing Block by Bruno Taut Will Be Demolished”. Álvaro Siza in the “Taut City” (1975-1988)

Author(s): Miguel Borges de Araújo / Language(s): English Issue: 11/2023

Ruins are ultimately the end point of any architecture, but also often, whether literally or metaphysically, their origin. The ruin, as a reference conserved in a process of transformation, has been a key for understanding the work of the Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza (1933-). The present article examines an encounter between Siza and the work of Bruno Taut (1880-1938) in three sections. First, it proposes that Siza prepared it by studying books by and about Taut; second, it conjectures a specific encounter between Siza and the ruins of a building by Taut; third, it suggests how the latter could have influenced Siza. Siza’s projects in Berlin’s Kreuzberg district between 1975-1988 presented his first opportunity to work abroad. Berlin – which Siza called, in tribute, the “Taut city” – was then a city under extraordinary circumstances: divided, ruinated, and under renovation. The article claims that although Siza’s interest in ruins and in Taut precedes his Berlin work, the sight of Taut (that is, of modern architecture) in ruins made the encounter memorable and stimulating. A crucial source is a 1977 article by Tilmann Buddensieg, which depicts the ruins of Taut’s apartment building in Kottbusser Damm 2-3 (1910-1911), also in Kreuzberg, damaged during WW2 and set for demolition at that time. At the last moment, Taut’s ruins were incorporated into a renovation by architects Inken and Hinrich Baller (1982). However, only the ruins, essential and transient, and not the renovated building, could have captured Siza’s attention.

Dirty Ruins and Their Online Afterlives

Author(s): Elena Rădoi / Language(s): English Issue: 11/2023

Ruin porn proves, as the contemporary successor of Ruinenlust, that humans still share Georg Simmel’s fascination for ruins. However, modern ruin-enthusiasts of the Mediocene consume them through visual media, because “real ruins” are either musealized or too dirty to be accessed. They seem – unless staged by contemporary media – on the verge of losing their meaning. Similar to Bram Stocker’s Dracula, who lived in a Transylvanian “vast ruined castle” before transferring to Whitby Abbey, ruins seem like empty shells, gradually robbed by humans and metaphorically “eroded by time.” However, they “host” a multitude of life forms. Analogously to the simultaneously dead and alive Dracula, ruins are trapped in traditional dichotomies of nature-culture or absence-presence. Nonetheless, the doorless ruin takes dichotomies off their hinges by annulling the door as operative ontology and ceases to delimitate the inside and the outside. I argue that, either dirty crumbling objects or captured in (digital) media such as photography or film, ruins remain meaningful for both humans and non-humans. Ruin porn, which is online available, makes them everywhere accessible. Yet they objectify the ruin as their aesthetic has assimilated a universal visual grammar established by porn.

Oana Cristina Țiganea, The Rise and Fall of Romanian “Steel Fortresses” and the Case of Hunedoara, 1949-1999. Built and Environmental Legacies of Socialist Industrialisation

Author(s): Dana Vais / Language(s): English Issue: 11/2023

Based on a doctorate conducted at the Politecnico di Milano and a decade of research, Oana Țiganea’s book addresses the most famed socialist heavy-industry site in Romania: Hunedoara. Written from a heritage perspective, it aims at providing an exhaustive historical research on the tangible legacy of steel industry in Hunedoara at all scales, from the physical transformations at geographic level to building details, together with an insight into the intangible heritage of the specific culture and the social reality this industry has created. The book combines the most in-depth historical analysis with the widest perspective. While the focus is set on socialist Hunedoara, this case is also widely contextualized, both temporally and spatially – addressed over a longer time frame and on a wider territory. Its evolution is followed from the beginnings of metallurgic industry on this site, before the modern Romanian state even existed, to its rise as the very epitome of heavy industrialization in socialist Romania, and eventually to its post-socialist fall into the partial ruination we see today. By also investigating the two other major steel sites of Reșița and Galați and highlighting the networking feature of steel production under socialism, the book eventually gives the most comprehensive picture of the evolution of the steel industry on Romanian territory.

Śpiew w Triduum Paschalnym z perspektywy reformy liturgicznej na przykładzie parafialnego chóru w Klewkach

Author(s): Sławomir Ropiak / Language(s): Polish Issue: 25/2024

Since 1989 the four-voice mixed choir named after Elzbieta Golebiowska has been active in the Roman Catholic parish of St Lawrence in Klewki (the Warmian Archdiocese). On the example of the collection of chants of this ensemble analysed in this article, we can see the liturgical-musical changes that occur in the celebration of the Paschal Triduum, especially in communities far removed from the cathedral model. In the repertoire of the choir from Klewki we can see a tendency to abandon Gregorian chant and chants referring to Cecilian ideas, common in performance practice as late as the first half of the last century. The collection of pieces prepared by the choristers from Klewki for the Paschal Triduum celebrations is dominated by the repertoire originating from the academic environment of the Dominicans in Krakow and the style represented by contemporary composers of sacred music and conductors animating nationwide liturgical-music workshops. In accordance with church legislation, the choir in Klewki contributes to the celebrations of the entire congregation, and the polyphonic compositions it performs are thematically integrated into the liturgical action. The main theological content of the post-Vatican II reformed liturgy of the Paschal Triduum can be distinguished in these chants: The Eucharist as a banquet of love, the redemptive death of Jesus Christ on the cross and the paschal joy of the baptised at the Lord’s resurrection.

ВЕШТАЧКА ИНТЕЛЕГЕНЦИЈА – УМЕТНИЧКА КАТАРЗА ИЛИ КАТАКЛИЗМА ЗА КРЕАТИВНОТО ПИШУВАЊЕ

Author(s): Natasha Sarafova,Marica Tasevska / Language(s): Macedonian Issue: 1/2024

With the development of technology, human creativity has never been tested as it is now. Artificial intelligence, by collecting thoughts, questions, and data, is creating a new order in a cathartic or cataclysmic environment where the art of language acquires standardized global significance. The question arises: Can human creativity and emotions be conveyed accurately with just a click of a keyboard? In other words, ethical and spiritual purification may be reduced to an idea, the period of creation may be shortened or even altered, all in an effort to leverage new tools provided by artificial intelligence. We wonder, who owns the copyright? The author or a tool that might simultaneously transmit the text to the other side of the world? Isn't this an artistic cataclysm in creative writing? This paper will attempt to explore the positive and negative aspects of artificial intelligence in relation to creative writing.

Adorácia sv. Krížu. Oltárny obraz z kostola kapucínov v Bratislave

Author(s): Andrej Botek / Language(s): Slovak Issue: 2/2024

The Altar of the Holy Cross is situated in the Capuchin Church in Bratislava, on the northern wall in a niche. It was built during the reconstruction of the church in 1735 and its donor was Count Karol Zichy (Ziči). It is a composite of architectural, sculptural and painting works from an unknown artist (artists). The main motif displays the “Adoration of the Cross”. In the middle is an oil painting of the crucified Christ that shows representatives from the social layers of that time. On left there are clergy (bishop, abbot, monks and nuns), and on the right secular people (king, duke, noblemen and others). The symbolic message concentrates on Christ´s redemptive sacrifice for all people. This article deals with the symbolical, iconological and artistical issues of this altar painting.

Recenzie la MARCEL MUNTEAN, Istoria artei din România. Repere din arta religioasă veche şi postbrâncovenească, Ed. Renaşterea, Cluj-Napoca, 2022, 232 p.

Author(s): Dacian But-Căpușan / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 05/2024

Book-Review. Renowned specialist in the History of Art and Visual Arts, Prof. univ. dr. habil. Marcel-Gheorghe Muntean from the Faculty of Orthodox Theology in Cluj-Napoca, PhD supervisor at the West University of Timișoara, recently published, at Renașterea Publishing House, the work titled: The History of Art in Romania. Landmarks of Old and Post-Brâncovenesc Religious Art. The book is structured into 14 chapters, preceded by an Introduction and followed by an Appendix (Plans of representative monuments), a very useful Glossary, and a Bibliography.

Kristýna Jirátová, Samota uprostřed davu. Charles Baudelaire a české umění, Praha 2021

Author(s): Jan Bolehovský / Language(s): Czech Issue: 52/2024

This paper contains following book review: Jirátová, Kristýna, ed. Samota uprostřed davu: Charles Baudelaire a české umění. First edition. [Praha]: Arbor vitae societas, [2021], ©2021. 295 pages. ISBN 978-80-88256-17-5.

Принципът „Еспирал“ – българската следа, взаимодействия, открития, уникалност

Author(s): Zahari Nankov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2024

The “Espiral” Principle (Control, Master, Create) is a Bulgarian method for dance training, in short it can be presented as “the way of the warrior in contemporary dance”. The text will examine and analyze the influence of the Martha Graham Technique, German Expressive Dance, American Jazz Dance, as well as the philosophy of the “The Warrior’s path”, united in The “Espiral” Principle, as a unique Bulgarian methodology for developing the possibilities of the human body, the art of dance and contemporary choreography. Subjecting the topic of The “Espiral” Principle to scientific research is new for the scientific environment dealing with the problems of Bulgarian dance art. It presents a significant Bulgarian contribution in the field of contemporary dance art – the combination of dance methodology and principle of work with a deep philosophical concept, which is applicable in various dance techniques.

Osias Hofstatter: polski malarz Holokaustu

Author(s): Avital Hecht / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2024

Osias Hofstatter jako artysta przetrwał Holokaust, co pozwoliło jemu i jego żonie Annie odbudować życie w Polsce po tym, jak podczas drugiej wojny światowej stracił większość rodziny. To właśnie sztuka doprowadziła go do przekonania, że nie będzie mógł swobodnie wyrażać siebie w reżimie komunistycznym. Mimo tragicznych doświadczeń i trudności, które naznaczyły jego życie intensywnymi barwami walki o przetrwanie, sztuka stała się centrum jego życia. Nawet po wyjeździe do Izraela, mimo trudów związanych z łączeniem twórczości artystycznej z koniecznością zarobkowania i trudnościami życia w Izraelu w pierwszych latach po przeprowadzce, nie porzucił pracy twórczej. Przełomem okazało się spotkanie z Ireną i Yaakovem (Jakubem) Wodzisławskimi, które miało decydujący wpływ na artystyczną ścieżkę kariery Hofstattera. Wodzisławscy stali się jego mecenasami, wspierając artystę od pierwszego spotkania aż do jego śmierci. Możliwość poświęcenia niemal całej energii i czasu malarstwu przełożyła się na wyraźny wzrost tempa powstawania jego prac i ich liczbę.

Predslov

Author(s): Ladislav Tkáčik / Language(s): Slovak Issue: 1/2025

Foreword by the Editor-in-Chief to the tenth issue of the Yearbook

Badacze ukraińscy o Tomaszu Oskarze Sosnowskim – synu ziemi wołyńskiej

Author(s): Lechosław Lameński / Language(s): Polish Issue: 3/2023

Twórczość rzeźbiarska Tomasza Oskara Sosnowskiego (1812-1886), polskiego artysty urodzonego w Nowołynie na Wołyniu (obecnie Ukraina), od dawna nie budziła zainteresowania ani ukraińskich historyków, ani historyków sztuki. Pierwsze artykuły naukowe i popularnonaukowe dotyczące artysty ukazały się dopiero w latach dziewięćdziesiątych XX w. pod redakcją Jarosławy Bondarczuk. Jednak ani ona, ani inni badacze nie znali daty urodzenia Sosnowskiego. W 2012 r. Mykoła Bendiuk na podstawie odkrycia Igora Teslenki opublikował książeczkę, w której podał, że urodził się w grudniu 1812 r. Ujawnienie Bendiuka zawiera jednak cały szereg nieścisłości i błędów merytorycznych, spowodowanych zbyt liberalną interpretacją niezweryfikowanych informacji przez autora. Z kolei w latach 2015 i 2022 malarz i pisarz Walerij Wojtowycz samodzielnie opublikował dwa wydania swojej książki o Sosnowskim. Są to pierwsze tak obszerne i znaczące książki w języku ukraińskim, w całości poświęcone artyście. Niestety te (zwłaszcza pierwsze) charakteryzują się skrajnym nacjonalizmem, a treść merytoryczna i interpretacyjna jest więcej niż nierzetelna i wprowadzająca czytelnika w błąd. Niemniej jednak pierwszy krok został zrobiony i być może już niedługo ukraińscy autorzy będą zachęcani do większego obiektywizmu w pisaniu o polskich artystach urodzonych na terenach dzisiejszej Ukrainy.

Ukrainian Scholars on Tomasz Oskar Sosnowski, the Son of the Volhynia Region

Author(s): Lechosław Lameński / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2023

The sculptural works of Tomasz Oskar Sosnowski (1812-1886), a Polish art-ist born in Novomalyn in Volhynia (modern Ukraine), have been of no interest to both Ukrainian historians and art historians for a long time. The fi rst scholarly and pop-ular articles concerning the artist were published as recently as the 1990s by Yaro-slava Bondarchuk. However, neither she nor other researchers knew Sosnowski’s date of birth. In 2012, Mykola Bendiuk, based on Igor Teslenko’s discovery, published a book-let claiming the date of birth was December 1812. However, Bendiuk’s disclosure con-tains a whole series of inaccuracies and factual errors caused by its author’s overly liberal interpretation of unverifi ed information. On the other hand, in 2015 and 2022 Valery Vojtovych, a painter and writer, self-published two editions of his book on Sos-nowski. These are the fi rst such comprehensive and signifi cant books in Ukrainian ded-icated entirely to the artist. Unfortunately, these (especially the fi rst) are characterized by extreme nationalism, while the factual and interpretative contents are more than unreliable and misleading to the reader. Nevertheless, the fi rst step has been taken, and perhaps soon Ukrainian authors will be encouraged to become more objective when writing about Polish artists born on the territory of present-day Ukraine.

Points of Connection and Separation of the Text and the Play on the Example of Wilde’s and Zadar’s „Star-Child”

Author(s): Igor Tretinjak / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2024

Understanding adaptation as a two-way process in which the original medium and the medium of adaptation interact with each other, the paper analyzes the relationship between the fairy tale The Star-Child by Oscar Wilde and the puppet play The Star-Child by the Zadar Puppet Theater, directed and adapted by Milena Dundov. The two works are connected by a series of common elements that they approach and use in some places similarly, but more often differently. The key point of difference, in addition to the differences in the media, is the temporal, spatial and especially social context in which the fairy tale and the puppet show were created. The paper analyzes the similarities and, particularly, the differences between the two works, and attempts to notice the second part of the two-way influence — the adaptation’s influence on the source.

O serii Czeska Bajka wrocławskiego wydawnictwa Afera

Author(s): Dorota Żygadło-Czopnik / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2024

The publishing house Afera was established on the initiative of Julia Różewicz in Wrocław in 2010. The main goal of the publishing house is to introduce new Czech books to the Polish market. The Wrocław publishing house offers the Czech Fairy Tale series, within which ten positions of Czech literature for children and young people have been published. In the paper, we will consider how the Czech Fairy Tale series influences the shaping of the image of Czech literature for children and young people in Poland.

Библиотека „Атониада“: оригинален научен прочит на иконографската традиция

Author(s): Boyka Donevska / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 49/2024

Image of the Snake-Dragon in the Architectural Decoration of the Christian Churches of the Medieval Period

Author(s): Ekaterina Endoltseva,Nelly Tabueva / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2023

The article focuses on the evolution of the image of the snake in the architectural decoration of the Christian churches in Caucasus during the medieval period. The origins of the image in the more ancient cultures of the Mesopotamia and of the Mediterranean world are studied. An attempt is made to trace the continuity in the image and meaning of the snake from ancient times up to the present day (according to ethnography and folk art). A rare iconographic type of a snake was revealed, which appears in the Middle Byzantine period in the remote mountainous regions of the Caucasus (the upper reaches of the Ksani and Liakhvi rivers, Racha, Svaneti, Upper Kartli).

Lux Magna. The Spectacle of Light in Architecture and Art Oana Maria Nae, Lux Magna: o istorie culturală a utilizării luminii în artele vizuale din antichitatea târzie până în zorii modernităţii/ Lux Magna: A Cultural History of the Use of Light

Author(s): Irina-Andreea Stoleriu / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2024

Book review. Oana Maria Nae, Lux Magna: o istorie culturală a utilizării luminii în artele vizuale din antichitatea târzie până în zorii modernităţii/ Lux Magna: A Cultural History of the Use of Light in Visual Arts from Late Antiquity to the Dawn of Modernity, Editura Universităţii „Al. I. Cuza”, 2023, 315 p.