Front cover: VAL (Alex Mlynárčík, Viera Mecková, Ľudovít Kupkovič), Heliopolis, 1968–1974, ink on paper and photocollage, 90 × 90 cm, Courtesy of the VAL Group, Žilina
Give My Regards to Those You Connect! Cultural Interactions Between South America and Eastern Europe (Vol 105) /
Perduok linkėjimus bendriems pažįstamiems! Kultūrinės sąsajos tarp Pietų Amerikos ir Rytų Europos (Nr. 105)
Edited by Dr. Laura Petrauskaitė
This collection of texts covers a wide historical period spanning from the 17th to 21st centuries. The authors show how, over a range of historical periods, the religious festivities (Rūta Janonienė), art shows and world fairs (Lena Trüper, Karolina Jakaitė), art criticism and artistic networks (Katarzyna Cytlak), and literary translations (Krzysztof Siatka) became certain ‘contact zones’ for the emergence and development of cultural interactions between South America and Eastern Europe. They also show what interfered with these interactions, and the images these individual countries had developed. In line with the problematic of connections, the volume features articles on mobility of images (Sigita Maslauskaitė-Mažylienė), transcontinental artistic migration (Laura Pertauskaitė), and the inter-textuality of modern poetry (Dovilė Kuzminskaitė). The authors also discuss the role of orientalist imagination in the construction of the South American and Eastern European identities (Gražina Bielousova), and rethink the impact of coloniality for art canons (Bart Pushaw).
The volume traces the connections not only between the different geographical and problematic contexts, but also between the researchers from Uruguay/Slovakia, Poland/Argentina, Lithuania/USA, USA/Denmark, Germany/USA, Poland and Lithuania. However, the initial aim of equal input from the researchers of South America and Eastern Europe remained unachieved. The challenges that arose during the editorial process have only confirmed the fact that both the topic itself and the connections between the scholars from both regions are still in the early formative stages, and thus require further efforts and developmental initiatives. Furthermore, there is a shortage of researchers who specialise in these regional contexts and are consistently working in this area. I hope that this volume will bring attention to the problematic of relations between the South American and Eastern European cultures, and serve as an impetus for the researchers to develop it further.
