Antanas Kazakauskas - koliažinių kompozicijų ir dizaineriškų XX a. 7-8 deš. knygų rūbų kūrėjas

LTStraipsnyje pristatomas iki šiol beveik netyrinėtas Antano Kazakausko XX a. 7–8 deš. apipavidalintų knygų dizainas. Šį tyrimą inspiravo pažintis su pačiu autoriumi ir galimybė susipažinti su asmenine jo apipavidalintų knygų rūbų – aplankų ir viršelių – kolekcija, taip pat su jo namų biblioteka, sovietmečiu prenumeruotais užsienio žurnalais ir specializuoto pobūdžio leidiniais. Analizei pasitelkti 7–8 deš. šaltiniai ir grafinio dizaino pavyzdžiai, interviu metu išsakytos autoriaus mintys. Tyrimo metu buvo analizuojami Kazakausko kūrybos proceso ypatumai, atsekant koliažų kūrimo principus, citavimo ir apropriacijų atvejus, tipografinius eksperimentus, siekiant juos vertinti kontekstualiai, remiantis Lietuvos ir užsienio tyrėjų įžvalgomis. Kazakauskas pristatomas kaip pirmasis diplomuotas grafinis dizaineris, todėl vartojami dizaino laukui artimi terminai ir prieiga, atkreipianti dėmesį į novatoriškus knygų konstravimo sprendimus. [Iš leidinio]Reikšminiai žodžiai: Knygos menas; Sovietmetis; Koliažas; Popartas; Postmodernizmas; Apropriacija; Tipografika; Antanas Kazakauskas; Dailininkai; Viršeliai; Book art; Collage; Soviet era; Pop art; Postmodernism; Appropriation; Typographics; Covers; Painters.

ENThe paper introduces the book design by Antanas Kazakauskas (1937–2019), specifically his work from the widely unresearched period of the 1960s–70s. The paper aims to contextually analyse the compositional principles of the book ‘clothes’ (dust covers, covers) and other constructional elements designed by Kazakauskas and determine the author’s stylistic codes. The research has been largely inspired by my personal acquaintance with the author, the interviews I carried out during 2013–2018, and the access to his personal archive with his original graphic design sketches and home library with the magazines he subscribed during the soviet times. It was his book covers, dust cover cut outs and unfolded lapels which I found tidily laid out in the few drawers of his personal archive that suggested the metaphor of ‘book clothes’. The research goal of tracing back the original sources of Kazakauskas’ compositions was inspired by the specificity of his collage techniques. The contextual evaluations are articulated in accordance with the research trends of the East European graphic design of the 1960s-80s, particularly in the use of the notions of quotation and appropriation the terms, as prefered by the researchers Piotr Piotrowski and David Crowley. The detailed analysis of Kazakauskas’ photo collages has identified a series of cases of appropriation: fragments of female portraits from Roman Cieslewicz’s “Horoscope” (1965) in the designs of the books Addressee Unknown (1968), White Clouds (1969), Pastor’s Wife (1971), Another Woman (1972) and Phantom (1991). The examples of appropriation identified by this research contribute to the idea of a general postmodernist tendency already observable in his London Catalogue from 1968 however, due to it being an export publication, these tendencies remained largely unnoticed.It is notable that Kazakauskas was the first academically accredited graphic designer in the Lithuanian SSR. He was among the first industrial graphic designers to graduate from the State Institute of Art in 1962. Although Kazakauskas has never worked in the area of his specialisation, he often used the principles of advertising and industrial design in his work with books. Kazakauskas developed his distinct style that reveals the influences of futurism, constructivism, pop art and the new typographics. The most notable examples include books The Herald of Death (1966), Anti-Aquarius (1967), The Death of Tarzan (1967), The Great Ma (1967), Addressee Unknown (1968), Gents, Don’t Laugh! (1969), Nine Wolves (1970), and Mr Nobody (1972). Another distinct example is his design work with the book series Paths of the Brave and I Want to Know. One might consider the super-covers, covers and title pages as the stylish and original ‘garments’ that have been cut and built around the contents of these books. Kazakauskas’ stylistic code involves the use of a distinct colour palette (usually black, red and white), diagonal and asymmetric composition, small typefaces, trimmed corners, variations of the modular grid, and stylised distinct characters – crowns, arrows, question marks, exclamation marks, feather symbols, and numerals shared by the designs of many of his books. Most of the cut-outs in his collages come from the import magazines: the covers of his books often feature the pop-art-styled stars of the Western cinema, fashion and culture. The research supports the insight by Erika Grigoravičienė: “when we offer contemporary interpretations of soviet artworks and put them in the contexts that are relevant to us as interpreters, we somewhat liberate them from the confinement of historical time”.In the case of Kazakauskas with his position of a willful self-isolation, this liberation is particularly significant as he did not publicise his graphical work during the soviet times, retreated into the quiet editorial office of the Our Nature magazine, and refused to participate in the main exhibitions. [From the publication]

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