Original subtitles

Dovzhenko Film Studios

GOLDEN HANDS

Through centuries of strife and suffering,

The people of Ukraine have forged their distinctive artistic culture -

Incredible treasures of folk art.

A Zaporozhian powder flask with ornamentation

That we also encounter in the monuments of Kievan Rus'

The Tomb of Yaroslav the Wise

What a perfection of form and the elegance of composition.

The design on a wooden block for the printing of 17th century textiles

and on 18th century wooden dishes.

Dishware of the 19th century.

What a unity of artistic tastes

among the artisans of Kiev, Stanislavsky, Poltava, Chernivtsi, Chernihiv and Podolia!

What a lively variety in

the colors and forms of the rich Ukrainian spirit!

Tiles from Hutsul Folk artist Bakhmatyuk.

Household scenes, traditionally decorated with a floral ornament.

Clay ovens decorated with these tiles

graced the homes of lords and wealthy masters.

From dawn to dusk, thousands of talented serf women

worked to create artistic masterpieces

which went into their masters' coffers.

Oh sisters! Sisters, woe unto you,

my young doves!

Who do you live for in this world?

You were raised in servitude, as strangers

In servitude you will grow old

In servitude, sisters, you'll die! (From Taras Shevchenko)

Folk Art is the bared soul of a people.

Its love, hatred and hope.

Look closely at the patterns on this Kilim,

made by unknown artisans from Podolsk.

It has been named "Mankind's Tears"

Indeed - a miserable life,

conscription, and rough soldier's training.

But the design...

The remarkable design,

holds a dream of happiness.

And where there is a dream of happiness, there are storks.

It is they who built the lord's palaces and village churches,

that today we find striking in their originality

and perfect in their architectural form.

The church appropriated the finest works of folk artisans,

so that from the height of their altars, they could preach to the people

about humility and obedience to their Masters.

No, it was not faith in God

but a wretched life that forced

the talented Hutsul artisan, Yuriy Shkriblyak,

to give his works to the church for a pittance.

There, on the horizon, is the village of Vinnytsia

and the crooked house of the old potter.

He has long since sent his son and helper off to bed.

Long since the second rooster's crow.

But poverty is poverty.

Our hands, of their own will

reproduce traditional shapes,

But a child's imagination

searches for something new,

unusual.

It was the first independent work,

the product of the childish imagination of Ivan,

who, like his father and grandfather, was called Gonchar (Potter).

His creative impulses and talents

appeared in witty everyday scenes.

With earnestness and light humor,

he depicted the day to day life of ordinary people.

And with a sharp, scathing wit he criticized

the pettiness and greed of the rich, the lords, the police.

New creative aspirations,

New themes and images brought the October Revolution to art.

Ivan Gonchar's "Budenovets"

Emelyan Zheleznyak's "Carts".

And again the distinctive works of Ivan Gonchar,

"The Whites Fleeing",

"The Lords Fleeing".

Time passes.

The Communist Party and Soviet rule

open a wide road for the craftsmen of folk art.

These are the hands of potter Mikhail Kozlenko.

We are witnessing a miracle.

In a minute, a formless lump of clay

is transformed into a work of art.

Folk artisans

masterfully use traditional methods

as well as modern technology, which simplifies their work.

Kiev craftsman Dimitri Golovko

incorporates new techniques into artistic traditions.

Simple clay comes to life in his capable hand

The artisan Emalyan Zheleznyak

dedicated decades to his beloved craft

And so through the burning flames

pass the ceramic figurines,

in order to preserve the form and color

bestowed upon them by talented artists.

Keen observation and imagination

allows the talented craftsman to create

a joyous, fantastical world

of remarkable animals and birds.

They are made with the joy of life,

distinctive character,

and the happy smile of the author.

Like a magic paintbrush,

the talented hand of Paulina Tsvilyk weaves unique patterns,

an original artisan from Kosivsk.

Being demanding of yourself - the first rule of mastery.

Observe, Nadia. Make your grandmother proud.

New ideas, new aspirations are born of creative inspiration.

Thoughtfully searching for new forms is artisan Grigriy Kirichuk

Even this handsome fellow

won't stop his inquisitive imagination.

Alexandra Selyuchenko

Ancestral Opishnyan craftsman of unique shapes

and subtle harmony of color in painting.

Each of her works contains a unique allegory.

Opishnyan craftsman of the younger generation - Nastya Poshivaeva.

These frightening creatures,

are inspired by vivid childhood memories

of grandfather's fairy tales.

Passing through the fire of a potter's kiln,

they become the characters of a folk tale.

"And the witch snatched Ivasik-Telesik

and carried him to her hut.

They approach the hut:

"Olenka, unlock the door!"

Olenka opens it.

The witch enters the hut.

"Olenka, stoke the fire so hot, that the stones fall apart,

and bake me Telesik,

and I'll go fetch the guests."

And Olenka stoked the fire so hot that the stones fell apart

And then she says:

"Sit, Telesik, on the shovel"

He puts his hand on the shovel. "Like this?"

She says: "Not like that! Sit all the way."

"Well then show me, - says Telesik, - since I don't know how."

As soon as she sits, he grabs the shovel and throws her in the fire.

He runs from the hut and climbs the tall maple settling in the branches.

And so the witch arrives with guests.

They enter the hut,

but Olenka is nowhere to be seen!

They ate their fill

and stumbled outside.

"Stumbling and tumbling"

Telesik from his maple: "Olenka's not there?"

Who is that?

He says again: "Olenka's not there?"

What's the matter?

So they search, they investigate.

And so they see Telesik in the maple.

They fell upon the maple and begin to gnaw on it.

They gnaw, break their teeth, and gnaw some more.

Little by little the maple will fall!

Little by little, death will come!

But suddenly a solitary goose flew by.

"Goosey, goosey - little gosling! Carry me on your wing,

carry me to my father."

And it says: "Sit"

And carried Telesik away!

And with the dawn the evil spirits disappear.

Here's a story for you, and a string of bublik for me.

Every year in the College of Applied Arts

gifted young people begin their studies.

Future artists learn from the best examples of folk art.

This masterpiece

was created by the distinguished master Ivan Gonchar.

Observe the inimitable unity of the fine pattern

and the form of the vase.

Original works by Dmitry Golovko

inspire awe in patrons

of our museums and many foreign exhibitions.

Works by Paraska Voloschuk

and Paulina Tsvilik.

A variety of shapes and colors

vividly convey a subtle feeling of the beauty of the Carpathians.

Opishnya, a village in Poltava.

A centuries-old tradition in the works of modern masters

obtains a new, uplifting tone.

An ordinary piece of wood.

But how many fantastic shapes are hidden within?

Forms that can be seen by the inspired artist's eye.

Subservient to his hand,

it turns into a perfect work of art

Moving in their sincerity are

the works of self-taught woodcarver Vasiliy Bedulev,

They contain images of a difficult past.

"In Servitude" - a sculpture by carver Andrey Sukhorskiy,

"I have turned thirteen"

"The Sower" by Peter Vern

Perebendya (Poem by T. Shevchenko)

Today, the free Ukrainian people sing new songs.

Morning

Herd

"In the Meadow" by Basil Svida

"Pioneer"

"Collective Farm Women"

"To School"

Works by Svida, Sukhorsky, the brothers Andrihivskiy

capture with their original compositions

and sharp observations - realism.

New, cheerful motifs

resound in the works of Kosiv masters of fine carving -

Tyschuk, Megedilyuk, and Koreanyuk.

Mechislav Pavlovsky, master of free-blown glass

is known not only in Lviv.

Crystalline bears, vases, barrels glisten in many colors.

In these you can clearly see

the perfection of age-old skills of the masters of free-blown glass.

Only for a moment, while the glass is red, is the glass obedient to its master.

A skillful hand and keen eye dictate the artistic creation.

This seems simple and straightforward,

But how many years of stubborn and persistent searching

How much practice to achieve such mastery and simplicity?

The rich imagination of the artist

appears vividly in the fairy tale world of glass toys.

The village of Bogdanovka, In Kiev.

It is known well beyond the borders of our homeland

Because Katerina Belokur, People's Artist, lives and works here.

It's hard to say where the hard life of a village girl

would have taken Katerina in the old days.

This hand, the hand of a true People's Artist,

With the spectacular colors of her brush,

She celebrates the beauty of a worker's life,

reproduces on canvas the bright colors of flowers,

and the stirring image of the nature and beauty of her native land.

Her poetic and melodious paintings, like hazy dreams.

Her works are admired in Kiev, Moscow, Brussels and Paris.

The Soviet Government

has highly valued Katerina Belokur's contributions to

the development of the arts,

awarding her the highest honorary title: People's Artist.

Since time immemorial, the doors shutters, and wood stoves of Ukrainian homes,

Several times a year and each time a new way,

blossomed remarkable patterns. born of the rich popular imagination.

The masters of painting enjoy well deserved fame -

Paraska Vlasenko, Tatiana Pati, Maria Primachenko, and the sisters Pavlenko.

Now prominent masters of decorative painting,

former students of Tatiana Pati, Marta Timchenko,

and Vera Klimenko.

The products of folk artists enter more and more of our lives.

There is no region in Ukraine, where there are no celebrated embroiderers.

Bright and gentle,

Ukrainian Embroidery: Red as a poppy, blue as the sky.

It is always distinguished by delicate craftsmanship,

perfect composition,

a richness of color in a wealth of shades.

It is well known and loved in our country,

and far beyond its borders.

Embroiderers in Reshetilovka.

Her hands are golden - skillful,

It could be that her needle is enchanted.

If she wants winter, the snow appears.

The sun shines, and spring appears.

Artisans of the Degtyarivska Cooperative,

like other Ukrainian weavers,

create colorful Kilims and large, decorative panels.

Like harp strings, the weaver sorts the threads of the Kilim.

And so, thread by thread and knot by knot,

pattern by pattern,

from rough, ordinary woolen yarn

delicate, subtle patterns of Ukrainian kilims are created.

Kilim "Sisters" by the Degtyarivsk artisans.

Honor and glory to the Golden Hands

of the hundreds of thousands of capable craftsmen

Who, with their talents, immortalize

a bright happiness and the beauty of nature!

Honor and Glory to the Hands of Gold!