The Phenomenon of Play in Boris Mikhailov’s Works of 1966–1980

Abstract

The paper examines the game prerequisites of creativity and investigates the play in Boris Mikhailov’s (born August 25, 1938, Kharkiv, Ukrainian SSR) works from 1966 to 1980. Analysis of the artist’s works and narrative interviews enables a historical periodisation of his legacy based on certain markers and principles. During the first, metaphorical stage of his creativity, B. Mikhailov figuratively denies and at the same time praises his current reality in search for the Ideal. The open photo series created by B. Mikhailov at this time have a form ofslide shows of overlays of two colour diapositive films and views of thematic series of photographic prints. The artist presents them during photographic seminars, clubs meetings, and private meetings. Artistic imagery by B. Mikhailov manifests itself in the unfinished transition from life to art and back. The photographer introduced the concept of carnivalization of photography into the theoretical discourse, with carnival images and folk-holiday forms of carnival-type laughter entering the art of photography. Mikhailov’slaughter at this stage is already carnival-like, i.e. ambivalent, universal and nationwide, it has a folk-celebratory nature and is aimed at everything and everyone. In the course of the study, biographical, conceptual, descriptive-phenomenological, hermeneutical, and comparative methods of analysis were applied.