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Research

Dressing poetics: Costume in the cinema of the Soviet Poetic School

Application summary

Research 'Dressing Poetics:Costume in the Cinema of the Soviet Poetic School' explores the functions of costume in the films of four directors of the 'Soviet Poetic School': Sergei Parajanov, Andrei Tarkovsky, Yuri Ilyenko and Tengiz Abuladze. It examines the ways in which costume contributes to the fabrication of the purely mental reconstruction of the mythical universe on the basis of a historical and ethnographic reality in their films. The research highlights the key learnings from a historically significant period in the Soviet cinema (1960s -1980s) which was often defined by the tendency to link national particularity with stylistic experimentation. It demonstrates that costume can be used not only as a device to support the storytelling and make the cinematic experience comfortable, but also as a poetic device that helps create a challenging journey for the viewer's perception while retaining its dramaturgical qualities. The methods of the study are designed to provide valuable insight into the viability of the hybrid approach of art and practice in academia, and how these angles can be leveraged to expand and enhance future studies. By employing the set of methodologies that are both academically and artistically grounded, this research reflects upon the functions costume attains within the cinema of poetry.

Research project 'Dressing Poetics: Costume in the Cinema of the Soviet Poetic Cinema' analyses the films of four central directors of Soviet poetic cinema, Sergei Parajanov (1924–1990), Tengiz Abuladze (1924–1994), Andrei Tarkovsky (1932–1986) and Yuri Ilyenko (1936–2010), with a particular focus on the role of costume in their work. While there is a considerable body of literature on all of these figures and their contribution to film art, relatively little has been written about their preoccupation with costume as a key component of the cinematic image. By engaging in a detailed analysis of four films by these authors – 'Mirror' (1975) by Andrei Tarkovsky; 'The Colour of Pomegranates' (1969) by Sergei Parajanov; 'The Plea' (1967) by Tengiz Abuladze and 'The Eve of Ivan Kupala' (1968) by Yuri Ilyenko – the aim of my research is to push the discussion of costume in film beyond narrative-driven films and focus instead on problems of visual style and expressive qualities in non-narrative cinema. More specifically, my work explores the capacity of costume to partake in the construction of visually compelling and affective images. By combining archival research, case study analysis and historical-theoretical enquiry into the subject of style in these four films from the Soviet poetic cinema tradition, I offer new perspectives on film costume and, more broadly, cinema studies.

Accordingly, this thesis is situated within the field of film costume research at the crossroads of two fields: film costume studies and Soviet cinema. It explores the Soviet poetic cinema as an important and somewhat neglected aspect of film history and introduces it to the field of film costume design studies. Similarly, by exploring film costume as a neglected aspect of Soviet poetic cinema, this research seeks to expand existing debates on the subjects of national cinema, modernist cinema, and auteur cinema by introducing the agency of costume into these discussions. The set of inquiries central to this research demonstrates the need for broadening the existing discourse on film costume to include film spaces outside of traditional storytelling structures that can help shift the understanding of the functions of costume on screen and its agency as a visual medium. Thus, through my work I seek to interact with and contribute to the existing scholarship on mise-en-scène and film style by asserting that costume is no less important in revealing and conveying the author’s artistic intent than the atmosphere and environment of a given action. As a visual element and a framing device that evokes strong haptic and kinesthetic response through its direct link to the human form, costume is one of the crucial points of engagement for the viewers gaze and their interpretation of the visual image.

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