dr. Elena Opolovnikova, Moscow, Russia
RUSSIAN WOODEN ARCHITECTURE: THOUGHTS ABOUT THE FORMS
1. Characteristic of Russian wooden churches. Reflection of Christian and Pagan beliefes in the architectural forms: their simbolism. Penetration into the heart of the God's harmony of the universe, the combination of faith and reason, of physical and spiritual bases in the images of architecture. The main principle in the images of architecture. The main principle in the erection of churches is: "as the beauty and measure will tell".
2. The church as spatial and spiritual sense of direction in life. Building from supreme, celestian to the lower and particular. Comprehension of each detail and feature. The image as the reflection of the prototype of the Holy city of Jerusalem. The church as a wish to a human being: "provided with the truth as shoes, crowned with the sense". The use of wood not only as the building material, but as the substance of Art.
3. The main landmarks in the history of Russian Church. The gradual substitution of the Divine grace in the architectural images by the external earthly forms. Pharisaical "splendid renovation" of the ancient wooden churches in the 19th century. Standartization of the architectural images. The substitution of the notion "beautiful" material by the notion of the "expensive". The internal and external boarding of the ancient church wooden framework as an analogue to the Marxist-Leninist "covering" of the Russian people's consciousness. Improverishment of the faith and reason; degradation of wooden architecture.