Kantegh scientific articles, N1 / 58 | Asoghik Publishing House, Yerevan

These opinions were created still during the earliest periods of the development of the human society. The separate references and pieces or information about design and its elements were in the works of philosophers of Ancient Greece like Aristotle, Plato, Polikletes, Herodotus, Ancient Rome like Pliny the Elder, Vitruvius and others works and Armenian, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Near East and Middle East and European sources from ancient and middle centuries. Summarizing the development of the artistic practice and the theoretical mind, especially precious mind and references about design left Leonardo da Vinci (see the tracty of “About painting”). They found their future developments in the works of numerous scientists, state, public and religious workers of medieval Renaissance era.

The greatest representative of the German Renaissance, Albrecht Durer (1471-1528), the beauty, therefore, design also compared with the aesthetic perception of the nature and with the reproductive things created by the man. Already during 17- 18th centuries, remarkable aesthetic minds expressed Frenchmen Condillac, Dyubon, Didron, Englisman Hetcheson, Hom, Borq, Germans Kant, Shelling, Hegel, Russians Belinski, Dobrolyubov and the others.

The Urartian inscriptions contained the aesthetic taste or that could be identified the different elements of design. As it is known Armenian philosophy is formed in first centuries of B.C. becoming the substantial component of Armenian spiritual culture, the worldview manifestation of national self-consciousness. Parallel to the philosophy in Armenian bibliography always is used also another term for philosophy. In the matter of development of Armenian aesthetic mind, about the creation of philosophical ideas, there were significant participation and important references and essays of that fields in the works of Agathangelos, Faustus of Byzantium, Mesrop Mashtots (exactly expressing the Armenian letters system, the creation of their final image of new invention word forms), Movses Khorenatsi (specifically in the constructional descriptions of Tigranakert, Shamiramakert, Ervandashat, Ervandakert), David the Invincible, Eznik of Kolb, Anania Shirakatsi, Grigor Narekatsi, Mkhitar Gosh, Grigor Magistros, Stepanos Taronetsi, Aristakes Lastivertsi, Hovhannes Sarkavag, Nerses Shnorhali, Samuel Anetsi, Kirakos Gandzaketsi, Stepanos Orbelian, Thomas of Metsoph, Hovhannes Vorotnetsi, Gregory of Tatev, Stepanos Lehaci and others works[3].

[3] Очерк развития эстетической мысли в Армении (под обшей научной редакцией Я. И. Хачикяна), Москва, “Искусство”, 1976, с. 12-72:

Xenophon, Strabo, Plutarch and many others left so much information and programmes, precious descriptions and characteristics about the aesthetic sides of the Armenian settlements, castles, churches and other constructions. The characteristic of R. Aghababyan is remarkable that “The invention of the Armenian alphabet significantly promoted to the keeping and the rapid development of our culture’s independence in 406. One of the outstanding branches of that culture was the organizing Armenian classic architecture”[4].

[4] Աղաբաբյան Ռ., Հայ ճարտարապետության պատմությունը // <<Սովետական արվեստ>>, Երևան, 1965, հոկտեմբեր, թիվ 10, էջ 41:

Design, already as type of applied art and the formation its theory, is conditioned with the fall of the handicraft production and organizing and development of the industrial production. The mass consumed subjects produced by the industrial way, were appeared in 18th century. The subjective environment, created by a man, stopped being only the result of handmade, the machines also started to create it. The mechanical production exceled to a vocational in many times from the productive aspect, within it new issues were appeared, the quality of the production created by a handmade in the workshops totally could be reflected and found place in each production of machinery mass production. The imaginations about the beauty and attractiveness of machines and the technical structures were forming at the beginning in 19th century and the necessity of harmony and reorganization of the subjective world arose. These main issues deepened in the end of 19th century and in the beginning of 20th century. Design bases were starting to form and comprehend, which were offered as the main directions of the artistic projecting corresponding with the production standards of that country during the first years of its being. These bases were the manifestations of person surrounding environment, subjects, things, him created production and their human meaning and concrete correlation, which already could be worth for the artistic assessment.

“Design” as a word appeared in the beginning of 20th century. “Design” word means to draw, project and scheme as well as drawing, projecting by which are mentioned new ways of projecting of the subjective world. This word comes from “design” in English and first of all supposes the artistic projecting, however at the same time includes the process of useful and beauty[5].

[5] Романычевa Э.Т., Яцюк О.Г. дизайн и реклама // Компьютерные технологии: справочное и практическое руководство. Москва, ДМК Пресс, 2002, стр. 18.

In the most generalized way “design” notion could describe as high consumption features and industrial product having aesthetic qualities, the subjective environment surrounding the man, productive, household and social-cultural field formatting projecting, the artistic and technical activity, which nature and development level was linked with the different approaching of aesthetic perception of the subjective environment surrounding the man in that era and its development state and level. And as has mentioned M. Mikayelyan: “… we must not forget that every stone, which is put today, tomorrow will sound and read by tomorrow’s eye. So let it put in a way that apart from satisfying the material-cultural demands of the next generations, be correspond to their taste, be one of the necessary aesthetic elements of the future life”[6].

[6] Միքայելյան Մ., Տիպարային նախագիծը և մեր քաղաքների կառուցապատման էսթետիկան // <<Սովետական արվեստ>>, Երևան, 1960, մարտ, թիվ 3, էջ 25:

The regularities of design development, the principles and ways of the artistic projecting, the public nature and meaning, study the technical aesthetics, which is the system of social, cultural, technical and the aesthetic main issues forming harmonious subjective environment created through industrial production for person life and activity. It totally includes the general theory of design, which presents its social essence, causing necessity and conditions, development duration and history, present state and development perspectives. At the same time design reflects the mutual connection of technique, culture, especially the art, the aesthetic questions of the subjective environment. It defines the aesthetic requirements of producing production, person surrounding and the subjective environment created by person, assessment ways of technical standards, formatting principles of the harmonious subjective world and requirements and peculiarities of the artistic projecting. In this meaning it is necessary to mention that during 1960-80s, as has mentioned the doctor of arts, professor, Ararat Aghasyan that already in Armenia “… in the aspect of architectural volumes and surfaces and the artistic decoration, decorative- rhythmic and the arqitektonik emphasis with sculpture, have actively started to be included monumental-decorative various forms of painting and the specific point of views like fresco, mosaic, stained glass as well”[7].

[7] Աղասյան Ա., Հայ կերպարվեստի զարգացման ուղիները XIX-XX դարերում, Երևան, <<Ոսկան Երևանցի>>, 2009, էջ 155։

According to Valter Gropius design creates ‘’the visible specific language” which gives visible expression to ideas. The proportionalities, imaginations, visible (optics) illusion, color, the relations of light and shadow, emptiness and subjects volumes, color and harmony become the signs in the “visible language” of design. The penetration of the aesthetic pre- beginning in the industry gradually includes all spheres. The close unification of the utilitarian and the aesthetic preference happens in the industry. The utilitarian searches of the form usefulness and the creating subjects are combined with its expressiveness and beauty creatures.

Generally approaches and processes towards to the person surrounding environment, its components, production formation is the key part of the artistic projecting, which are connected with type of industrial product, form, using material, prepare technology and meaning. “…decorative art includes almost all sides of life since from external formatting of cities, streets, public buildings and flats up to clothing modeling”[8].

[8] Այվազյան Մ., Դեկորատիվ֊-կիրառական արվեստի մի քանի հարցեր // <<Սեվետական արվեստ>>, Երևան,1965, հուլիս, թիվ 7, էջ 38։

Design develops approaches and typical examples in order to organize difficult environment of that society activity. Today no branch of the industry can be managed without design. Design, in some meaning, is the pledge of the extended of the sphere of the applied art and its development.

Design confirms a specific connection between spiritual and material cultures. This is a link between them and the crossed focus. By this it secured the cultural totality of the contemporary civilization. It reflects the scientific and technical level of that society, the technological result of the production. Design is the cooperation between the planner and painter, producer and consumer, by which result its utilitarian and aesthetic qualities, are appreciated. “Today the main problem of design is to serve subjective world to the man, with its diverse and complicated interrelations”[9]. In other way design is mass cultural communication inner of the society, which unites to the persons as by the stylistics of consumption joint productive-aesthetic subjects as by the imaginations towards to the lifestyle. The study of design social essence, its conditions, the historical bases, present state and development perspectives and the creative thinking influenced on them, regularities and peculiarities of approaches facts that it was called to collect also the spiritual and material, humanitarian and scientific and technical spheres and improvements of the national culture, historical tendency of surrounding environment and production and style change generally in the world and specifically in that country.

[9] Հայկական դիզայն, գործեր, հոգսեր // << Սովետական արվեստ>>, Երևան, 1977, թիվ 12, էջ 15, (Լրագրող Է. Դանեղյան և դիզայներ Ա. Մելիքյանի Երկխոսությունը, Մ.Լ.):

Studying the artistic and applied nature of Armenian design from the side of industrial, cultural, scientific and technical, analyzing its formatting and public duration, presenting the artistic, technological and technical main issues of Armenian design it is obvious that its methodological base also includes approaches and principles of the artistic and theoretical-artistic concerning with the historical- public and the artistic development of the national art.

Parallel with the different directions and types of art and culture, design, being one of the main standards of the public culture and that time and one type of mass form of the applied art, being the direct result of person activity, as a new and previously never commented branch of science and art, was comprehended perceptibly in a short time. Only during one-two generational period a new professional orientation activity was confirmed, which was necessary to comprehend in a way, and all the more, substantiated its right, requirement, reasons and necessity as a separate, new professional independent existence.

Coming from the necessity of revealing the artistic and historical-cultural nature of design, and the requirements of the contemporaneity and from the tendency to satisfy these requirements, numerous scientists-art critics, designers, philosophers touched upon design and its manifestations and role in the newest art in a short time. Later, studying design from a new aspect, they started to touch upon the projecting process of designing subjective world, the things created by its result, its beauty and comfort, flexible peculiarities of the aesthetic and applied sides. Then designers were in the center of the studies. The art critic-researchers gradually had starting to show interest towards to the activity of designers, working way and styling the principles, designing specific solutions and to the question that how did these solutions differ from the engineering solutions[10].

[10] Աղասյան Ա., Հայ կերպարվեստի զարգացման ուղիները XIX-XX դարերոմ, Երևան, << Ոսկսն Երևանցի>>, 2009; Гвишиани Д.М. Наука, дизайн, будушее// Техническая эстетика, Москва, 1970, № 1,с.1-3; Глазычев В.Л. О дизайне. Очерки по теории и практике дизайна на Западе. Москва, Искусство, 1970, Курьерова Г. Г. феномен и дизайн- образования в Италии // Труды ВНИИТЭ, выпуск 50. Москва, ВНИИТЭ, 1986, стр. 29-44. Huisman D., Patrix G. L’ésthétique industrielle. Paris, Presses universitares de France, 1961.

Undoubtedly, imaginations about profitability and beauty had changed, but it was not sufficient base for assessment, as the system of imagination is always going to change. Certain strategy of design was formed in the field of mass production of contemporary industry. Due to the works of theorists and practical specialists that strategy not only secured its stable place in the perceive system of industrial production and scientific studies during decades, but also reached to the fact that design, as a type of art and science, perceived in a proper way, and the designing works, as the spiritual and material cultural values, assessed and recognized properly.

Design must strive to maximum correspond the mass and special use production with the requirements of the consumer, secure the aesthetic high quality of industrial product, correspondent with the mass actual imaginations about beauty, will be able to analyze the demand, make and present projects, creative solutions and guide them to the industrial implementation. In this meaning it is appreciate to cite the speeches of the president of USA, George Bush: “Design is an inseparable part of American life…Design gives an opportunity to a person to live more strong and an effective life”[11].

[11] Բաղդասարյան Լ. Վաղը չէ մյուս օրը մտնելու ենք XXI դար // <<Արվեստ>>, Երևան, 1991, թիվ 5-6, էջ 46։

The general image of design makes it more complete the circumstance that design is not only in the field of market and consumer, but also in the sphere of culture. However, this identification gives an opportunity to include deign in the system developed by the art-criticism and tries to reveal unknown sides through the known. That peculiarity of design has clearly expressed Tomas Maldonado. And as characterize G. Nelson: “Different philosophies of design expresses different attitude towards to the world. The place, which we give for design in the world, depends on the fact that how do we understand this world…”[12].

[12] Nelson G. The problems of design. New York, Whitney publications, 1957, p. 33.

About the cultural achievements of Armenian people during a thousand years, which reflect the design of that time, fact many historical constant values including, city planning, architecture, church building, engineering mind, national clothing, sculpture, fresco, bibliography, graphics, painting, miniature painting and many other spheres. They present the historical destiny of people such as origin, passed way, struggle and achievements.

Design, being one of the most important spheres of national culture, was always linked with the aesthetic mind development of that era. And it should be taken into consideration that painting and other creative directions and design, as well as their elements, could not formed and developed out of that aesthetic systems. For such a kind of high level corresponding environment and surrounding was necessary as in the own country as in some political trading connection countries.

The study of Armenian design during 1960-80s gave an opportunity to see that its theoretical direction, having significant independent, in some way influenced on the formation of designer’s ideology. The artistic projecting in public environment vitally promoted to the transformation of the subjective world, the creation of comprehensive, harmonious, favorable conditions for person development.

Therefore, as in the cultural and aesthetic whole system, as in design, successes were a lot when the artistic mind was measured with already known problems, which was always connected with the aesthetic development of each era including the essence of design of that period.

The development of the artistic mind starts not only from the transfer of the accumulated experience and cognition, but also from the sensitive approaches of world perception reproduction, philosophical analyses, which, by their turn, are the base for innovation and creative process. In this case design is not only the reproduction of the past, but also the expression of present, contemporary aesthetics and art taste.

LILIT MELIKYAN