Papers by Evgenia Anichtchenko
Alaska Park Science, 2008
https://envisioning-alaska.org/, 2017
Until the voyages of Vitus Bering in 1741, Alaska remained a blank spot on maps and in the Europe... more Until the voyages of Vitus Bering in 1741, Alaska remained a blank spot on maps and in the European imagination. Capturing this unknown world in images, words and charts was the first call of business for the early Russian explorers. From 1743 until 1867, over a dozen artists travelled to Alaska on voyages sponsored by the Russian Crown and the Russian-American Company. Their pencils and brushes captured peoples and places of Alaska, but also reflected their personalities and time they lived in.
This project grew from questions of value and meaning of the artistic legacy of Russian America. Images created during the Russian voyages of exploration to Alaska are typically referred to as expedition art, and are treated as a scientific and ethnographic record - a faithful representation of their subject, and thus a reliable historic source. Indeed, the accuracy of representation was one of the main requirements. In the words of a President of the Russian Academy of Art Alexei Olenin, who recommended artists for Russian round-the-world voyages, their mission was to produce the “perfect likeness of the nature without adding any imagination.” Yet these images are not impersonal reproductions of life. Each reflects the individuality of its creator, his personal experiences, and style. Each encompasses the moment of encounter between two very different worlds. Despite their best efforts, the artists did not “copy” Alaska, they envisioned it. Their images are cultural palimpsests containing many layers of information both about the subject of artwork and the historical context in which they were created.
Even more layers of meanings evolved once these images reached larger audiences. Published in the accounts of scientific expeditions, this artwork captivated readers in Russia, the US and Europe, and “delivered” Alaska to the world’s capitals, thousands of miles away, shaping public and political opinions about this land and forging powerful perceptions about its cultural and socio-political identity. It can be argued, that the very concept that the vast expanse of land from Chukchi Sea to Sitka inhabited by dozens of Native nations could be seen as one socio-political unit was introduced and defined by the colonial efforts of the Russian American Company. Along with maps and political statements, the artistic record was instrumental in delivering this concept. Depicting Alaska’s varied natural settings and a wide array of Native cultures, the artists of Russian America projected an image of imressive diversity and richness, and at the same time presented it as a single entity. The cumulative effect of these images went far beyond a mere collection of exotic views and portraits – it formed a powerful concept of Alaska as a place that despite its environmental and cultural diversity had a shared identity and a geographical, political and cultural entity. In many ways, this vision of Alaska as a multi-cultural unity remains at the core of the modern identity of the state.
The collection of images presented here is not a comprehensive body of all artwork created during the time when Russia called Alaska its land. Rather, this is a visual guide to the images of this period and the artists who created them. In selecting the images the preference was given to the representation of people, places, and objects which can enhance understanding of cultural history of Alaska. Drawings and watercolors of flora and fauna, although both beautiful and informative, were not included. Images of coastline recorded for navigational purposes are represented by just a few examples.
Images are organized in two ways: artwork following individual artists biographies introduces personal artistic accomplishments, while the interactive map allows for review of representation of particular geographical locations. The ultimate goal of this project is to foster understanding and appreciation of the artistic legacy of Russian America and to make this legacy more accessible for both scholars and general public. This project was supported in part by the Alaska Historical Commission and the State of Alaska Office of History and Archaeology.
St. Lawrence Island kayaks are absent in both museum collections and written historical sources. ... more St. Lawrence Island kayaks are absent in both museum collections and written historical sources. At
the same time, the pictorial record, indigenous oral lore, and archaeological data point to uninterrupted
use of kayaks well into the beginning of the twentieth century. Drawing on the analysis of kayak data from four archaeological sites, this article reconstructs structural details and discusses the history of the St. Lawrence kayak over the last millennium; it also analyzes the values of these data for understanding prehistoric maritime networks of the Bering Sea.
Rossiskaya Akademia Nauk, Sbornik muzeya antropologii i etnografii. (Russian Academy of Sciences, Journal of the Museum of History and Ethnography, St. Petersburg, Russia), 2010
Alaska Journal of Anthropology, Volume 11, Numbers 1& 2, 2013
In August 2007, a whalebone mask was excavated from a 3,000-year-old settlement site in the easte... more In August 2007, a whalebone mask was excavated from a 3,000-year-old settlement site in the eastern Aleutian Islands, Alaska. Although wooden masks are ethnographically common and well-documented from most other regions of coastal Alaska, examples made from bone or other materials are quite rare. The uses and signifi cance of prehistoric masks are diffi cult to ascertain. Russians, the fi rst Europeans to visit the Aleutian Islands, recorded ritual and ceremonial use of masks by indigenous inhabitants during the latter half of the eighteenth century. Ceremonial mask use is also known from related cultures, especially Yup'ik and Inupiat Eskimos as well as Sugpiaq peoples (Kodiak Islanders). This investigation describes the Amaknak mask and the circumstances of its discovery, and draws on comparative material from local and neighboring regions for analysis and interpretation of the mask. Although conclusions remain speculative, the Amaknak mask likely offers a glimpse at prehistoric Aleutian ritual and spiritual life.
Springer Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology , Jan 2014
Сборник музея антропологии и этнографии "Этнография и археология коренного населения Америки" Санкт Петербург, Наука, 2010
Этнография и археология коренного населения Америки: сборник музея антропологии и этнографии имени Петра Великого; Санкт Петербург, Наука, 2010
Вспомогательные исторические дисциплиныб XXVIII, Российская Академия Наук, саект-Петербург, 2002
Etudes Inuit Studies 2012, 36 (1):157-181
Изучение памятников морской археологии, Выпуск 7 (Maritime Archaeology Study, # 7), 2013
Arctic Studies Center newsletter, march 2013, Mar 2013
Over Near Horizon: proceedings of the 2010 International Conference on Russian America, 2013
Каспийская Атлантида: подводные исследования западного берега Каспия
Mains'l Haul, A journal of Pacific Maritime History, Vol 44:3&4, 2008
Conference Presentations by Evgenia Anichtchenko
paper presented at the Maritime Ventures symposium, Trondheim, Norway, October 2, 2013
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Papers by Evgenia Anichtchenko
This project grew from questions of value and meaning of the artistic legacy of Russian America. Images created during the Russian voyages of exploration to Alaska are typically referred to as expedition art, and are treated as a scientific and ethnographic record - a faithful representation of their subject, and thus a reliable historic source. Indeed, the accuracy of representation was one of the main requirements. In the words of a President of the Russian Academy of Art Alexei Olenin, who recommended artists for Russian round-the-world voyages, their mission was to produce the “perfect likeness of the nature without adding any imagination.” Yet these images are not impersonal reproductions of life. Each reflects the individuality of its creator, his personal experiences, and style. Each encompasses the moment of encounter between two very different worlds. Despite their best efforts, the artists did not “copy” Alaska, they envisioned it. Their images are cultural palimpsests containing many layers of information both about the subject of artwork and the historical context in which they were created.
Even more layers of meanings evolved once these images reached larger audiences. Published in the accounts of scientific expeditions, this artwork captivated readers in Russia, the US and Europe, and “delivered” Alaska to the world’s capitals, thousands of miles away, shaping public and political opinions about this land and forging powerful perceptions about its cultural and socio-political identity. It can be argued, that the very concept that the vast expanse of land from Chukchi Sea to Sitka inhabited by dozens of Native nations could be seen as one socio-political unit was introduced and defined by the colonial efforts of the Russian American Company. Along with maps and political statements, the artistic record was instrumental in delivering this concept. Depicting Alaska’s varied natural settings and a wide array of Native cultures, the artists of Russian America projected an image of imressive diversity and richness, and at the same time presented it as a single entity. The cumulative effect of these images went far beyond a mere collection of exotic views and portraits – it formed a powerful concept of Alaska as a place that despite its environmental and cultural diversity had a shared identity and a geographical, political and cultural entity. In many ways, this vision of Alaska as a multi-cultural unity remains at the core of the modern identity of the state.
The collection of images presented here is not a comprehensive body of all artwork created during the time when Russia called Alaska its land. Rather, this is a visual guide to the images of this period and the artists who created them. In selecting the images the preference was given to the representation of people, places, and objects which can enhance understanding of cultural history of Alaska. Drawings and watercolors of flora and fauna, although both beautiful and informative, were not included. Images of coastline recorded for navigational purposes are represented by just a few examples.
Images are organized in two ways: artwork following individual artists biographies introduces personal artistic accomplishments, while the interactive map allows for review of representation of particular geographical locations. The ultimate goal of this project is to foster understanding and appreciation of the artistic legacy of Russian America and to make this legacy more accessible for both scholars and general public. This project was supported in part by the Alaska Historical Commission and the State of Alaska Office of History and Archaeology.
the same time, the pictorial record, indigenous oral lore, and archaeological data point to uninterrupted
use of kayaks well into the beginning of the twentieth century. Drawing on the analysis of kayak data from four archaeological sites, this article reconstructs structural details and discusses the history of the St. Lawrence kayak over the last millennium; it also analyzes the values of these data for understanding prehistoric maritime networks of the Bering Sea.
Conference Presentations by Evgenia Anichtchenko