The Second International Festival Book Arsenal, which took place from October 4 to 7 at the National Culture and Art Museum Complex “Mystetsky Arsenal,” graphically showed the future of paper books, and defined their fate and possible ways of development in the digital era. It is obvious that they will not disappear, but in order to be interesting and demanded, they need to transform, change accents, and become modern. In a word, they need to become high-quality in all respects. The festival demonstrated that paper books are in high demand, but under a condition that they are more than just books. They should become a synthesis of various kinds of art, and have an interesting approach to readers.
The curator of this year’s Book Arsenal Olha ZHUK said that the masterminds of the festival had tried to expand the books’ present-day contexts and show a tight connection among various kinds of art and books. And they have succeeded.
“In the left wing of the ‘Mystetsky Arsenal,’ one could buy a book as an object, as a finished item, and in the right one, a book could be cognized as a process: visitors had a chance to get acquainted with its compounds and see the path each book has to go through, including illustrations, fonts, printing, etc.” says artist Yulia POLISHCHUK, whose works were presented in the visual part of the festival.
One could talk to illustrators here, attend master classes in calligraphy, or try their hand at printing, thus turning from a reader into a publisher.
It should be noted that this year, the first international contest “The Best Quality and Design of a Book” took place within the Book Arsenal program. The contest jury used such criteria as printing quality, design, harmonious and professional combination of paper, illustrations, and so on. The grand prix was won by Khotynska bytva za Tsentralnu Yevropu (The Battle of Khotyn for Central Europe) by Petro Sas and Henute Kirkene, printed by Baltia Druk Publishers. The second place was given to Kazky didusia Hurama (Grandpa Huram’s Fairy-Tales) by Huram Petriashvili, printed by Staroho Leva Publishing House, and the third place – to Kateryna Bilokur. Mystetstvo narodne, naivne, vysoke? (Kateryna Bilokur: Traditional, Naive, or Sublime Art) by Rodovid Publishers.
HIGH-LEVEL FORMAT
Just like in 2011, this year visitors could choose events that would suit their tastes the most. In particular, Ukrainian readers were interested in listening to the star of Austrian intellectual literature, Joseph Winkler, a new name for Ukraine. Krytyka Publishers presented a Ukrainian version of his book Die Verschleppung (Smuggled Away) at the Book Arsenal. The novel is based on a real story of a Ukrainian Nietochka Illiashenko, who survived collectivization, the Holodomor, deportation, and eventually settled down in a poor Austrian village. The meeting with Italian writer Alessandro Baricco, the festival’s guest of honor, was quite crowded too. However, though foreign guests aroused interest in visitors, they did not affect attendance of Ukrainian presentations that happened at the same time. The presentation of the Ukrainian translations of Sklepy Cynamonowe (The Cinnamon Shops) and Sanatorium Pod Klepsydra (Sanatorium under the Sign of the Hourglass) by Bruno Schulz gathered a large crowd as well. The book was translated by Yurii Andrukhovych and printed by Ivan Malkovych. The first Ukrainian graphic blockbuster novel about the adventures of warlock Cossacks Daohopak caused a sensation at the Book Arsenal. The story was written by Maksym Prasolov, with illustrations by Oleksii Chebykin.
“The public was also extremely excited over the arrival of philosopher Oscar Brenifier, illustrator Linda Bondestam, Lithuanian artist and writer Sigute Ach, art therapeutist and writer Elena Makarova. The festival showed that people shift away from the tradition of ordinary purchase. The popularization of books, printing, and reading is at full swing. People start understanding why books are important, why they are precious, and why they are published. Today Ukrainians are interested in quality printing and illustration. I wish we could enhance and expand this interest, because this festival represents a high-level format, a transition to a new intellectual and cultural quality of the whole event,” as curator of the children program of the Book Arsenal Yulia KOZLOVETS explained to The Day.
NUTRITIOUS “BOOK MEAL”
This year, the masterminds of the festival tried to help visitors to get acquainted with the books more closely, to give them an opportunity to be absorbed in the book world, expand the boundaries of their understanding of what a book really is, what it can be, of its roles and functions. It is obvious that the information function of paper books retreats to the background, which expands the artistic abilities of the book to some extent, creates some space for experimenting.
“Book Meal,” the special project of the festival by Alevtyna Kakhidze and Kateryna Svirhunenko, showed people’s need in “books that are something more than just books.” It was an exhibition of art books, where painters’ authorial books were laid at the dinner table as nutritious meals. It was a purely art project that gave space for interpretations and allusions.
“The idea is quite simple – to become sated with books,” Alevtyna KAKHIDZE explains. “And even though this project requires a certain level of preparation and experience of audience in order for it to be able to comprehend such books, the exhibition was highly popular among visitors.”
“Anything can be an art book, even a sculpture piece. It is a very broad format, with no strict boundaries. It is an artistic gesture. It is more than just a book, it is a sequence of images and hidden meanings. Now I can state that Ukrainian audience is ready for such books, there are a lot of people interested in them,” Kateryna SVIRHUNENKO explains to The Day.
Concerning the format and the name of the project itself, the artists advise to use your imagination. “The name ‘Book Meal’ was chosen because it is unusual for a book ‘to be eaten.’ I think it suits the exhibition perfectly, especially if you take the diversity of illustrations and literature into consideration,” Svirhunenko sums up.
By the way, there was a culinary corner at the festival, and all interested visitors could create a book and then literally eat it. Why not?
DEMAND FOR QUALITY JOURNALISM
During the whole festival, The Day’s display stand was in the center of readers’ attention. It turned out that quality journalism was in high demand. Books from The Day’s new series “Armor-Piercing Political Writing” were extremely popular among youth, as well as among more experienced readers. Books by Yevhen Malaniuk and Ivan Lysiak-Rudnytsky were sold out on the third day of the festival. It is hard to find their works these days, because they were published long ago, and some works were not published at all. “You print wonderful works by amazing authors. I have read all of them, and now I am buying them for my daughter,” said the buyer Andrii. The readers were also interested in Syla miakoho znaka (The Power of the Soft Sign) and Ukraina Incognita (Unknown Ukraine). The latter celebrated its 10th anniversary since the first publication.
COMMENTARIES
Natalia STOLIARENKO, research fellow at the International Scientific Research Center of Information Technology under the Center for Cybernetics:
“I have read a lot of works by authors represented in The Day’s new series ‘Armor-Piercing Political Writing.’ However, I have mostly read their fiction stories, while I was hardly unfamiliar with their political essays. Ivan Franko’s journalism captured my attention right away, since I love his poems and prose. I would also like to read articles by Mykola Kostomarov and Ivan Bahriany.
“I feel and understand that I have to buy and read all of these books, and I will accomplish that eventually. I think that this series is extremely interesting, because it stimulates your active thinking. Such works give you an opportunity to see the writers as thinkers and engage in a dialog with them. It is an opportunity to think about where we are heading, about our future path, things we strive for, and what is the most important, they give us an understanding of how important it is to be active.”
Oksana YATSENKO, financier:
“I have bought a copy of Ukraina Incognita. I like the books from The Day’s Library because they are not shallow and contain interesting, substantial, in-depth research. I would like to discover something for myself, and see various views on history. I think it is only natural that a person should know the history of their country, and yearn to know even more and deeper.”
Yana PEREPELYTSIA, accountant:
“I am interested in Ukrainian journalism. I believe that first one should learn about one’s own nation, learn more about oneself, and without quality journalism and historical essays this will be a hard task to accomplish. Among others, I am interested in Ivan Lysiak-Rudnytsky’s work. I have long been looking for his articles, and at last I spotted them on The Day’s stand. His works, as well as those of his other outstanding predecessors, are really hard to come by. This is why such a series as ‘Armor-Piercing Political Writing’ is especially valuable, because such things are so rare today. Besides, the format of the books is handy and practical.”
Tetiana CHAIKA, children’s writer and poet:
“What attracted me in the ‘Armor-Piercing Political Writing’ books is first of all their contents. I hope to find something yet unknown, something new, some interesting details and personal discoveries. Overall, I like the format of the series: handy books, which are easy to pack along. After I’m through with them, I’m planning to hand them over to my friends, so they can also read them and we can discuss what we have read.”
