The morphology of the material world and the «plan of chamber propaganda» in the products of the Leningrad art industry factory of the 1940s–1960s

Abstract

The morphology of the space of the material world of Soviet culture of the 1950s and 1960s and the products of the Leningrad art industry enterprises is presented in this paper. The material world is a collection of everyday objects of utilitarian purpose with symbolic content. They are perceived as cultural signs. The three factors influencing the structure of the material world are ideological, technological and stylistic. The first one is connected with the system of ideological coordinates. The second one is related to the general trends in the development of industrial society. The third factor is related to the development of visual dominants of the living environment. At the internal level, three components (content, technology and aesthetics) form the components of the morphology of the new materiality. The literal purpose of a particular object of the material world determines the external structure. This is a set of artistic, artistic-utilitarian and utilitarian objects. Each level is considered on the example of works of art industry enterprises. These are the following enterprises: the Leningrad Lomonosov Porcelain Factory and the Leningrad Porcelain Factory (artistic things), the Leningrad Enamel Factory (artistic and utilitarian things), the Komsomolskaya Pravda Factory and the First Tableware Factory (utilitarian things). The space of presentation of the concept of chamber propaganda is the translation of significant ideas, images, plots in mass–produced works of mass demand, which are based on an element of art. The maximum inclusion of objects in the space of the ordinary was ensured by the production scale of the enterprises of the art industry. A high level of presentation of significant ideas and plots was guaranteed by the professional development of technical aesthetics of objects.