The “Inevitability of Culture” Today

Abstract

The article represents a review of the book by A.I. and G.Yu. Demchenko “Milestones. Events. Faces. The Art of Saratov” (Saratov: Saratovtelefilm — Dobrodeya, 2015), devoted to the study of the region’s artistic culture as a holistic phenomenon, in the totality of all branches of art (architecture, graphic art, literary art, musical art, theatre and cinema art). The review reflects structural and conceptual parameters of the book, features of the presentation and analysis of the vast artistic material. The article assesses the publication and exposes its uniqueness and relevance. The emergence of this work leads to reflection on the role of artistic regional studies in the general context of cultural studies in Russia, on the “inevitability” and priority of regional cultural studies in the conditions of the Internet cyberculture development, as on the opposition to the depersonalizing trends, depriving a person of soil identity. The book is also considered, in the context of scientific and educational activities of Doctor of Arts, Honored Art Worker of Russia, Director of the Center for Comprehensive Art Research A.I. Demchenko, as a part of the author’s project “Artistic Treasury of the Volga Region”. Aimed at attracting attention to the spiritual wealth accumulated over four centuries of the region’s existence, this project provides a new look at the country’s culture as a whole, taking into account the contribution to the national treasury of the “infusions” from regional cultural centers.