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Abstract

The major argument of this research is that Soviet novelists such as I. Esenberlin, G. Musrepov and others,, and others were creating the image of "brave", "noble", "generous" and "masculine" Kazakhs via the construction of the image of two main antipodes: "cruel" and "barbaric" Qalmaks (Kalmyk) or Oirats, and "nefarious" and "cowardly" Sarts. This paper argues that these novels heavily impacted on post-Soviet cinematography genre and national reimagining. From the 1990s to the 2020s, Kazakhstani cinema created a cycle of epic historical movies full of stereotypical perceptions of Kazakhs and their historical neighbors. Both literature and cinematography are creating this banal or everyday nationalism, which cements the narrative of Kazakh people as both the victims and as champions, as brave defenders of their native lands. In other words, this paper shows the paradox of nation-building, where the construction of "negative" images of Oirat and Sart is necessary for the everyday or banal nationalism process of creation of an image of a "noble" Kazakh.

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This paper explores the development of contemporary art in Kazakhstan as a unique cultural phenomenon shaped by overlapping historical, ideological, and aesthetic systems. Unlike the linear evolution of modernist and postmodernist movements in Western art, the Kazakhstani context integrates socialist realism, late-Soviet alternative practices, and post-Soviet experimental approaches within a single artistic field. This coexistence of incompatible visual and linguistic systems creates a multilayered environment where artists negotiate ideological constraints, cultural transitions, and new forms of expression. The paper argues that critical theory and art criticism are essential tools for understanding these dynamics.

Through the work of art historian Valeriya Ibraeva, the study highlights how subtle gestures and internal resistance within socialist realism prefigure contemporary artistic practices. Her method of “reading” paintings as multilayered texts reveals hidden meanings, individual agency, and cultural ruptures. In contrast, philologist Gazinur Gizdatov approaches art as language, emphasizing text, play, and trickster strategies, especially in the works of Sergey Maslov. His analysis shows how post-Soviet artists use linguistic and performative gestures to reinterpret reality, disrupt ideological narratives, and construct new cultural meanings.

By combining historical context with critical analysis, the paper demonstrates that contemporary art in Kazakhstan operates as both aesthetic practice and cultural critique, making art criticism central to its interpretation.

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This paper analyzes traveling war artist Vasily Vereshchagin’s (1842-1904) paintings depicting Russian

military activity in Central Asia. The paintings, lauded for their realism at the time, feature gruesome

violence, religious undertones, and subject nature that aligns with the 19th-century Orientalist artistic

movement. Interpretations of Vereshchagin’s paintings by his contemporaries were mixed—some

regarded them as a look into the grim realities of war and a criticism of violence, while others viewed

them as a justification of the Russian conquest.

The paper aims to discuss whether Vereshchagin’s war paintings advocate for an anti-war stance,

perpetuate violence, or both. I argue that despite the anti-war themes of Vereshchagin’s works, and their

classifications as protest art, the Russian reception of his works at the time nevertheless indicates that his

art had the potential to fuel violence towards Central Asians.

I approach the dual nature—that of violence and nonviolence—in Vereshchagin’s works through formal,

art historical analyses of his war paintings during his military travels through Central Asia, namely

Uzbekistan. I bolster this analysis, aiming to understand reception of Vereshchagin’s artwork by critics

and ordinary 19th-century Russians alike, using both archival and secondary sources. In particular, this

paper focuses on Vereshchagin’s own memoirs, and critiques of his work as propagandistic in the 1899

Mir iskusstva publication.

Understanding the ambiguous and multifaceted nature of Vereshchagin’s paintings remains relevant both

within the field of art history and in the context of current events. In order to contextualize this idea with a

contemporary case study, I discuss the 2022 arrest of Stanislav Karmakskikh by Russian authorities.

Karmakskikh conducted a peaceful protest against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and Vereshchagin’s The

Apotheosis of War (1871) was a central tool in this act of resistance. The 2022 protest reframes

Vereshchagin’s artwork This case provides yet another lens, this time one immediately recognizable to

21st-century readers, through which to view and interpret Vereshchagin’s war paintings.

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Producing silk images and offering silk textiles had been a major means of patronizing Tibetan Buddhism of imperial power from the east. Tibetan Buddhist icons produced in silk technique are popular in the court of Tangut, Yuan, Ming, and Qing empires. However, since eighteenth century, accompanied with the global trade and cultural encounters, more diverse sources of textiles came to Tibetan monasteries. In the list of gifts sent to monasteries from Mongolian nobilities include Russian carpets and Mughal fabrics; Monks’s robes made of European brocades were sent to Tibet from the Qing court. Even now, 18th to19th century ikat fabrics from Central Asia could be still found in the monasteries in Ladakh. In the portrait of the seventh Chiangkya Khutukhtu (1891-1957), a ཆབ་ཤུབས chab shubs, the square bag holding a small water-container, made of Indian golden brocade occupies the most prominent position. These foreign textiles not only enriched the visual and material culture of Himalayan arts but also raised questions about exoticism and efficacy. How did these newly introduced textiles integrate into the assemblage of Buddhist instruments and acquire religious significance? How did imperial powers and local monasteries negotiate the influence of foreign products? This paper traces the complex history of golden brocades, originally European silks but imitated in India and sent to Tibet, exploring how they became the most iconic ornaments in Buddhist rituals. It examines the political dynamics surrounding the use of textiles in Tibetan Buddhist monasteries during the transitional period from the eighteenth to the nineteenth century.

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Abstract

Stitching Kazakh Identity

This submission takes the form of a short documentary film and will be presented with discussion of its research framing, methodology, and key findings.

In post-Soviet Kazakhstan, ethnic identity remains contested, shaped by decades of colonial assimilation and the recent resurgence of nationalist sentiment. This documentary addresses an underexplored question: how can traditional clothing serve as both a medium of cultural revival and a form of subtle political resistance? The work is especially timely in light of the Ukraine war, which has reignited postcolonial discourse and heightened sensitivities around language, heritage, and identity throughout Central Asia.

The aim of this project was to investigate how young Kazakhstani youth and creatives are reclaiming traditional clothing as a way of expressing identity and agency. The objective was to understand both the aesthetic and socio-political functions of ethnic clothing today. How it acts not only as fashion, but as a visual argument for cultural continuity and pride.

This 7-minute documentary employs a qualitative, interview-based method, combining observational filming with testimonies from four key groups: young Kazakh designers, an art historian, and youth from both Kazakh and non-Kazakh backgrounds. The film was shot across urban and semi-urban locations in Kazakhstan, capturing both garment creation processes and personal reflections of those. It also positions the visual medium as a methodological tool in its own right—offering affective, embodied access to lived experiences of identity formation and cultural practice that may otherwise be overlooked in text-based research.

Preliminary findings suggest a strong link between the revival of ethnic clothing and broader postcolonial identity work. Interviewees viewed cultural attire not merely as cultural artifacts, but as active tools of self-definition. The influence of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was palpable: several participants noted an increased desire to distance themselves from Russian cultural influence, instead embracing Kazakh language, symbols, patterns, and history with renewed urgency.

This documentary concludes that clothing, while often dismissed as decorative or apolitical, can act as a living archive and a quiet declaration of cultural resistance. The findings contribute to scholarship in postcolonial studies, fashion anthropology, and Central Asian identity politics. The project’s central message is that reclaiming what we wear is, in many contexts, inseparable from reclaiming who we are.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CY2iBUyy8AFkS2lTXeixb3sdmFo1x_WH/view?usp=sharing