Striving for harmony
Every philosophy develops on the basis of its national culture. Ukrainian perception of the world contains the features of both Western and Eastern philosophies, because the borders of great civilizations of East and West run through Ukraine, and this is exactly where they intersect.
Striving for harmony - the philosophy of Ukrainian heart
Every philosophy develops on the basis of its national culture. Ukrainian perception of the world contains the features of both Western and Eastern philosophies, because the borders of great civilizations of East and West run through Ukraine, and this is exactly where they intersect.
The combination of two cultures is a phenomenon created by young Ukrainian painter Alyona Olasyuk. Formed as a personality in Ukraine, but recently living in China, she was able to express the essence that combines seemingly so different Ukrainian and Chinese worlds in her paintings. In her works this creative synthesis is enclosed somewhere on a subconscious level. And it is deeply natural, because striving for harmony has always been principal in the Ukrainian philosophy.
According to the Ukrainian philosophical thought, the main purpose of a human is to bring harmony, goodness and beauty to the world. The ultimate goal both human and society should strive to obtain is an agreement and harmony between people. Besides the outer harmony also lies an ideal inner harmony, which is the highest purpose and value for the Ukrainian thinkers. It is not surprising, that the attraction to this natural harmony is so vivid in the works of Alyona Olasyuk, and the combination of black and white is so harmonic in her paintings. Moreover, this combination creates a totally new reality. At the same time, the most famous Ukrainian philosopher Hryhorii Skovoroda believed, that the world itself consisted of opposites. Opposites exist in unity and together they form the whole world. There are two worlds: the world of visible and invisible, living and dead. You can’t find a day without darkness and light in nature. Without black there will be no white.
Carrying a conflicting nature, black and white colours together create an explicit harmony on the artist’s paintings. Her composition of the three paintings "The Three Steps" expresses a harmony of three states in Buddhism – the awakening state, the state of world perception and the state of liberation from the past. The ultimate goal is the knowledge of the Buddha. These works are essentially equal to the search of the Absolute and discovery of the true way of life by Ukrainian philosophers. They say, that the knowledge of the Absolute is not available to person, however the knowledge about the Absolute is available, and one can achieve it throughout meditation.
The painting "Balance" also carries the principles of dualistic world perception. Harmony can not exist without chaos. The opposites support each other. So, does the whole world. It keeps its balance. Without the balance world would be impossible. Balance is not always about placing a contrast of black and white within yourself. A true balance is about staying balanced between them in a steady flight, without falling or climbing.
The paintings "Comparison" form a peculiar duet and remind us about this concept once again. Our view of things is always based on the first impression. When we see something or when we meet someone, we can not help but compare it to what has happened to us in the past. And it doesn’t allow us to look clearly at new things or people without comparing them with our previous experience. That is why we can’t assess the uniqueness of new things in our lives at a first sight. Although you unwittingly begin to compare paintings "Comparison" with one another, but in the meantime you also think about the uniqueness of each of them and enjoy their exceptional beauty.
The painting "Movement" expresses an idea of movement process and its drawing lines look like a life itself, the rhythm of which is growing faster and faster with every single move. When we move, we do not always arrive to the desired destination and things around us can unexpectedly change. The painting begins with a circle, that is growing bigger by adding more and more circles, and it seems like everything has to end in an equal round... but it all ends up in a square. When you stop for a moment to have a look at this painting, you can suddenly find yourself staring at it for hours, searching for a place where this path can possibly lead us, where the life can finally take us. What kind of experience will we gain on our path? Who will we find on this way to the Absolute, to the Eternity?
Ukrainian philosophy is the "philosophy of heart", because, as the Skovoroda said, heart itself is the center of human soul that contains the whole universe inside. Life is the search for your center. So, the remarkable feature of the Ukrainian mentality is emotionality, a great appreciation of feelings. Shevchenko and Gogol believed, that the deepest and the most principal features of human soul are feelings and emotions, that the heart is deeper foundation of spiritual life than the mind. Their "philosophy of heart" puts an accent on the heart, on the deepest feelings of a human being. They live not much by the truth of their mind, but by the truth of their hearts and emotions. They are characterized by a special vision of nature, by falling in love with it, admiring it, merging together with it, using its symbols properly. In the works of most Ukrainian artists natural harmony is an emotion purified from rationality.
This is exactly what we see in the works of Alyona Olasyuk. "The philosophy of heart" found its reflection in her world perception and her fascinating paintings. The intense influence of this Ukrainian philosophy can be found all over her works. Absorbing the culture and philosophy of the East, the paintings of this talented artist, so deep, emotional and full of inner contemplation, symbolize the continuity of Ukrainian philosophical tradition in contemporary visual art. This is the philosophy of Ukrainian heart by Alyona Olasyuk.
Text by Svitlana Pryzynchuk
Photo : SharpenStudio, Beijing
Every philosophy develops on the basis of its national culture. Ukrainian perception of the world contains the features of both Western and Eastern philosophies, because the borders of great civilizations of East and West run through Ukraine, and this is exactly where they intersect.
The combination of two cultures is a phenomenon created by young Ukrainian painter Alyona Olasyuk. Formed as a personality in Ukraine, but recently living in China, she was able to express the essence that combines seemingly so different Ukrainian and Chinese worlds in her paintings. In her works this creative synthesis is enclosed somewhere on a subconscious level. And it is deeply natural, because striving for harmony has always been principal in the Ukrainian philosophy.
According to the Ukrainian philosophical thought, the main purpose of a human is to bring harmony, goodness and beauty to the world. The ultimate goal both human and society should strive to obtain is an agreement and harmony between people. Besides the outer harmony also lies an ideal inner harmony, which is the highest purpose and value for the Ukrainian thinkers. It is not surprising, that the attraction to this natural harmony is so vivid in the works of Alyona Olasyuk, and the combination of black and white is so harmonic in her paintings. Moreover, this combination creates a totally new reality. At the same time, the most famous Ukrainian philosopher Hryhorii Skovoroda believed, that the world itself consisted of opposites. Opposites exist in unity and together they form the whole world. There are two worlds: the world of visible and invisible, living and dead. You can’t find a day without darkness and light in nature. Without black there will be no white.
Carrying a conflicting nature, black and white colours together create an explicit harmony on the artist’s paintings. Her composition of the three paintings "The Three Steps" expresses a harmony of three states in Buddhism – the awakening state, the state of world perception and the state of liberation from the past. The ultimate goal is the knowledge of the Buddha. These works are essentially equal to the search of the Absolute and discovery of the true way of life by Ukrainian philosophers. They say, that the knowledge of the Absolute is not available to person, however the knowledge about the Absolute is available, and one can achieve it throughout meditation.
The painting "Balance" also carries the principles of dualistic world perception. Harmony can not exist without chaos. The opposites support each other. So, does the whole world. It keeps its balance. Without the balance world would be impossible. Balance is not always about placing a contrast of black and white within yourself. A true balance is about staying balanced between them in a steady flight, without falling or climbing.
The paintings "Comparison" form a peculiar duet and remind us about this concept once again. Our view of things is always based on the first impression. When we see something or when we meet someone, we can not help but compare it to what has happened to us in the past. And it doesn’t allow us to look clearly at new things or people without comparing them with our previous experience. That is why we can’t assess the uniqueness of new things in our lives at a first sight. Although you unwittingly begin to compare paintings "Comparison" with one another, but in the meantime you also think about the uniqueness of each of them and enjoy their exceptional beauty.
The painting "Movement" expresses an idea of movement process and its drawing lines look like a life itself, the rhythm of which is growing faster and faster with every single move. When we move, we do not always arrive to the desired destination and things around us can unexpectedly change. The painting begins with a circle, that is growing bigger by adding more and more circles, and it seems like everything has to end in an equal round... but it all ends up in a square. When you stop for a moment to have a look at this painting, you can suddenly find yourself staring at it for hours, searching for a place where this path can possibly lead us, where the life can finally take us. What kind of experience will we gain on our path? Who will we find on this way to the Absolute, to the Eternity?
Ukrainian philosophy is the "philosophy of heart", because, as the Skovoroda said, heart itself is the center of human soul that contains the whole universe inside. Life is the search for your center. So, the remarkable feature of the Ukrainian mentality is emotionality, a great appreciation of feelings. Shevchenko and Gogol believed, that the deepest and the most principal features of human soul are feelings and emotions, that the heart is deeper foundation of spiritual life than the mind. Their "philosophy of heart" puts an accent on the heart, on the deepest feelings of a human being. They live not much by the truth of their mind, but by the truth of their hearts and emotions. They are characterized by a special vision of nature, by falling in love with it, admiring it, merging together with it, using its symbols properly. In the works of most Ukrainian artists natural harmony is an emotion purified from rationality.
This is exactly what we see in the works of Alyona Olasyuk. "The philosophy of heart" found its reflection in her world perception and her fascinating paintings. The intense influence of this Ukrainian philosophy can be found all over her works. Absorbing the culture and philosophy of the East, the paintings of this talented artist, so deep, emotional and full of inner contemplation, symbolize the continuity of Ukrainian philosophical tradition in contemporary visual art. This is the philosophy of Ukrainian heart by Alyona Olasyuk.
Text by Svitlana Pryzynchuk
Photo : SharpenStudio, Beijing
