Date of Award

8-20-2013

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Art

First Advisor

Floyd Martin

Abstract

Alexander Volkov (1886-1957), an Uzbek artist identified by his expressive style, vibrant palette, and devotion to folk subjects, was a leading figure in the movement known as the Uzbek avant-garde. Volkov's influence is still at work among artists in Uzbekistan, though his legacy remains largely unexplored by Western scholars. The Arkansas Arts Center owns one drawing by Volkov depicting the tradition of dancing boys or bachas, a subject the artist also painted among his reflections on Uzbek culture. Work from the same period by fellow artist Alexander Nikolaev (Usto Mumin, 1897-1957), who was better known for his attachment to bachas, provides insight to the subject. Through an analysis of iconography specific to Volkov's bacha imagery and Central Asian culture, this study seeks to develop the context of the bacha and bacha dance during the critical period of the 1920s, just years before both the art and the dance disappeared.

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