XIII Международная студенческая научная конференция Студенческий научный форум - 2021

SUMMARY

The article deals with the study of the phenomenon of the Russian province as a special historical and cultural space. Why are the photographs and postcards so popular and interesting? On the one hand they have become widespread, they are available and relatively cheap, and on the other hand, they capture almost the entire world that surround us.

Key words: provincial, landscape, photography, to capture, to be in great demand, the approach, to survive.

Scientific interest in the province and its images

At the turn of the XX-XXI centuries the attention of domestic researchers again turned to the study of the phenomenon of the Russian province as a special historical and cultural space. A landscape photography and a postcard capture this space. They help to analyze, interpret, create individual artistic images of a particular area.

In one of his books “Camera Lucida. Commentary on the Photography” Roland Barthes drew attention to the participation in the process of photographing three permanent actors: “Operator” (photographer), “Spectator” (viewer) and “Spectrum” (those who are captured on them) [2].

L.V. Koshman in the book “City and Urban Life in Russia in the 19th Century: Social and Cultural Aspects” notes “gradually photography became one of the sources of the image of real life, preserving it in various forms for future generations. If we approach photography as a source, then it undoubtedly expanded the ideas and possibilities of studying the cultural environment of a particular epoch, which subsequently did not survive in everything” [3].

So why are photographs and postcards so popular and interesting? On the one hand, they have become widespread, they are available and relatively cheap, and on the other hand, they capture almost the entire world that surrounds us. There is a simple statement: “If it is not captured, then it was not”. Taking photographs has become part of everyday practice. A photograph and postcard is a statement of fact, event, phenomenon.

How is a photography different from a postcard? Photography (from ancient Greek light painting - a technique for drawing with light) is a technology for recording an image by registering optical radiation using photographic material or a semiconductor converter. Photography also refers to: final prints of a photographic image produced on photographic paper chemically or on plain paper by a digital printer. A card is a special kind of postcard for an open letter (without an envelope).

For the researcher it is important: how the image of provincial Russia was presented in art photography and postcards at the turn of the 19th - 20th centuries. But there are some nuances here - what was depicted on them, with the help of what tools; but are there any analogues in the Russian capital photographs and postcards, and whether what is depicted has survived (if not, then they may have signs of a historical or cultural monument), etc. It is worth noting that the “ancestor” of photography and postcards is painting, and the postcard is a part of photography.

The aim of the research is to recreate the image of provincial Russia, reflected by postcards and photographs of the turn of the 19th - 20th centuries.

The object of study will be postcards and photographs depicting images of provincial / “non-capital” Russia at the turn of the 19th - 20th centuries, using the example of provincial and district cities [1].

Photography and postcards did not immediately become part of the everyday practices of the people of the Russian Empire in the 19th and 20th centuries. The inaccessibility of the expensive and insufficiently perfect technology “camera obscura” (devices for photographing, printing, distribution were not in every provincial, and even more so in the district town) delayed the spread of this practice. On the other hand, where there was equipment, it was either not in great demand, or the interest of the townspeople themselves was insufficient to popularize their city. But, despite this, amateur photography of metropolitan, provincial, and district cities developed.

Characteristics of sources and revealed meanings

The author studied over 20 different photographs, for example, Pskov. Velikolutskaya street. Photographer M.I.Gerasimov; Sofronovskaya Square and Blinovsky Garden, Nizhny Novgorod; Caravan of ships on the Volga near Yaroslavl; and others. The author reviewed more than 30 different postcards, for example, Yaroslavl. Big Christmas street; Provincial zemstvo council. Samara; General view of the factories of Voznesensk and Dmitrovka. Ivanovo-Voznesensk and others [1].

Consider the appearance. As a rule, photographs and postcards were small in size 9 × 14 cm. The color varied from black and white to silver-gray and purple-brown, in rare cases they could be painted by hand. The authorship of a particular photography or postcard can be established. But the author did not always indicate his name on them. For example, Pskov. Velikolutskaya street. Photographer M.I.Gerasimov. Sometimes they could be pasted on the mat.

It is worth noting the “most beautiful part” of the postcard, that is, the front with the image. Often in the lower left or right corners (sometimes both), a four-digit number, the name of the city and street, or the cathedral, or the store and its owner, and other objects in several languages were applied. For example, 8995. City of Arkhangelsk; 8888. Odessa. Prison Square; Kazan. Voskresenskaya st. View from the fortress; Riga. Hagensberg steamers. Riga. Die Hagensberger Dampler. It is also interesting that such a situation could have happened: someone left their autograph or wrote a wish, congratulation, etc. But why did this someone leave him? If there is a flip side of the “coin” for this?

And then it is quite logical to go to the back of the postcard. Here the sender could write a written message, his address, and the address of the addressee, and his signature, as well as stick a postage stamp.

Examining the images in photographs and postcards, you can see that a river, for example, the Volga, Amur, Yenisei, or the coast of the seas, will be an almost obligatory element on them. From this we can conclude that, firstly, it is a river or sea city (port and merchant city). Secondly, it is a cult center (temple, cathedral, or church); the historical center (rampart, Kremlin walls, main square, a large number of other city stone or wooden buildings, for example, shops, city and district councils, gymnasiums, banks, etc.). Thirdly, it is a city that keeps up with the times (an echo of the scientific and technological revolution at the turn of the 19th - 20th centuries), an industrially developed city, etc.

This leads to the question: “Who authorized the release of postcards and photographs with images of provincial cities in Russia?” These could be city or zemstvo councils (one can say “order’), enthusiasts who filmed the most important and memorable places for memory for local residents, patrons interested in the development of their provincial cities, etc.

Another quite adequate question arises: “Why was it necessary to produce postcards and photographs with images of provincial cities of Russia?” On the one hand, the authorities positioned the city as an alternative to nature, rural areas, with all the benefits of mankind (modern housing, transport, places of work, recreation and entertainment, etc.); a city that keeps up with the times (electricity, post office, tram, etc.), in no way yielding even to the capitals; on the other hand, a small city as opposed to a major large city; a city that advertised itself with its successful views; the difference between the provincial and district cities from the capital city, etc. [1].

Thus, on the basis of the above, we can conclude that the photographs and postcards represent a rather complex symbolic image of the Russian province at the turn of the 19th - 20th centuries.

Literature

Barinov M.V. The image of provincial Russia in art photography and postcards at the turn of XIX-XX centuries/M.V. Barinov.-Text://21 international scientific-industrial forum “Great rivers-2019” volume 2-c.289-291

Bart, B Camera lucida- Moscow: “AD Margeem Press», 2011. – 272 с.

Koshman L.V. The city and Urban life in Russia XIX century: Social and cultural aspects, L.V. Koshman. – M. : Rosspen, 2008. – 448 с.