ACADEMIA Letters

«FOLK DESIGN»: A NOTION, WHICH DID NOT

BECAME A TERM
Michael Selivatchov, Professor in the National Academy of Fine Art and
Architecture, Kiev
Alona Lebedieva, Designer, Independent Researcher, Kiev

Abstract
The usage of given widespread notion is under investigation. It appeared in the 1960s, as a
metaphor, having in mind not ornamented items of the Folk Art with predominantly practical
function. Finally, this expression changed its meaning in the mass media to quite opposite –
the modern stylization after traditional manner.

Keywords: Décor, Design, Ethnical Trends, Folk Art, Folk Design, Folk Industry, Making,
Stylization, Traditional Art

Shortly after the term «Design» became internationally accepted (1960s), a derivative phrase
«Folk Design» emerged. It began to be applied to those samples of Folk Art, where the func-
tion prevailed and there was almost no additional décor. These are, in particular, expressive
structural details of traditional housing, tools, vehicles, unornamented utensils and so on.
At that time, such an innovation was perceived quite logically, because the mentioned
branches of peasant creativity were not considered as an art and were in the field of view not
of art critics, but of ethnographers and historians of technology. At the beginning of the XXI
century, the opposite situation arose, when hundreds of thousands of resources in the multi-
lingual world network called «folk design» just products, mostly stylized and ornamented in

Academia Letters, January 2022 ©2022 by the authors — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0

Corresponding Author: Michael Selivatchov, mik_sel@ukr.net

Citation: Selivatchov, M., Lebedieva, A. (2022). «FOLK DESIGN»: A NOTION, WHICH DID NOT
BECAME A TERM. Academia Letters, Article 4769. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL4769.

1
the manner of Folk Art. Something in line with «country», «ethnic», «Provence», «Scandi-
navian» and similar trends.
Google provides more than 13 million results for the query «Folk Design» in English.
It is noteworthy that Wikipedia does not contain articles «Folk Design», at least in English,
Ukrainian, Russian, Polish. And this is probably due to the very broad polysemantic nature
of expression.
Even with the repetition of a results, and despite the fact that some of them do not re-
late to design itself, still an array of information looks vast and inexhaustible. However, one
can easily divide such examples into several groups to see the wideness and volatility of the
spontaneous concept of «Folk Design». Therefore, it includes:

1. traditional folk art and architecture of all periods, as well as relevant literature, ethnic
festivals, exhibitions, conferences, etc.;

2. amateur artistic and technical creativity, particularly under the slogan «Do-It-Yourself»;

3. traditional motifs in the works of designers of all specialties, up to the design of sports
uniforms and decoration of vehicles, as well as the design of dishes in ethnic style –
«folk cuisine design»;

4. journalistic visionary materials about the «ethnic sources» in design, representation of

nationally oriented creativity of designers;

5. advertising of associations, hotels, restaurants, other establishments that provide ser-

vices and use combination of words derived from folk and design;

6. advertising of designer products intended for mass consumption.

All this only confirms the existence of a fictitious concept, and does not mean its reality. That
is, it is a quantitative expansion, evidenced by an inexhaustible amount of contradictory factual
information, that is not able to be implemented in effective practice. This is a kind of inactive
existence, which asserts its significance in the «system of objects» [1, p. 46], pretending to
accept the likeness of something else.
Of course, the expansion of phrases containing word «Design» is due to the spread of
the English language in the modern world. In addition, this word has dozens of meanings
in English. According to the Oxford Dictionary [2], the main ones are: «drawing or out-
line from which something may be made»; «general arrangement or planning (of a picture,
book, building, machine, etc.). Other definitions include guessing, contemplating, assigning;
plan, design, construct; depict, outline, draw… From nouns – sketch, cliché, pattern, model,

Academia Letters, January 2022 ©2022 by the authors — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0

Corresponding Author: Michael Selivatchov, mik_sel@ukr.net

Citation: Selivatchov, M., Lebedieva, A. (2022). «FOLK DESIGN»: A NOTION, WHICH DID NOT
BECAME A TERM. Academia Letters, Article 4769. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL4769.

2
calculation; good intentions and criminal intent etc. For example, M. Selivatchov’s book
«Ukrainian Folk Ornaments» was translated and published in Australia under the title «Folk
Designs of Ukraine» [3].
In the late twentieth century, Design actually became synonymous with Art, and the bor-
der between them was not marked. For example, the main and temporary exhibitions at the
Museum of Arts and Design in New York sometimes show things done spontaneously, with-
out any project (http://madmuseum.org/). The Cooper Hewitt National Museum of Design in
New York also exhibits a variety of decorative arts, crafts and industries, and household items
from antiquity to the present day (www.cooperhewitt.org). Thus, Design in English is rather
a broader notion than a term, like in some other languages.
It is significant that the sites of museum and other reputable institutions avoid the stable
phrase «Folk Design», preferring options, that are closer to the nomination, than the concept,
or even more so – to the term. For example, the Folk & Design Hotel in Zakopane, Poland, the
«Design and Tradition of Archaic Form» exhibition at the All-Russian Museum of Decorative
Arts in Moscow, the International «Design folk» group in Dublin, Ireland; or a similar «Folk»
in New South Wales, Australia.
Interestingly, the direction of «Folk» in the projects of the first of these studios is mainly
the use of natural materials, simple furniture designs and interpreted signs of traditional or-
namentation, without direct citation. In the second case, we also have a persistent tendency
to abandon some new materials as plastics (especially plastic bags, which have been out of
fashion in the Britain for several years). The wittily formulated ideology of the Australian
«Folk» emphasizes simplicity and purposefulness as a result of careful pre-design research,
in which the customer is asked the maximum number of questions to take into account his
needs and choose the best possible solution. However, we did not notice the traditional decor,
albeit rethought, in the works of the Australian «Folk».
Examples of play with such English-language names are both varied and sometimes unex-
pected. If everything is clear with all sorts of«ethnic designs», as well as with <www.wearyfolk.com>,
<https. flowerfolkdesign.com>, <https. folkbuilt.com> or <https://www.noblefolkdesign.com>,
the version of www.embirddesign.com makes you read the whole small letters text and be-
came sure that embirddesign is a specific mix of bird and embroidery. Such phrases only
indicate that the imagination is limited by a reproductive function.
It was unexpected to learn about the 2009 international conference in Wenzhou, China,
entitled«Research on Design and Development Strategies in the Traditional Folk Culture In-
dustry». An unusual combination of keywords for the European ear, isn’t it? The urgency
of the forum, according to the organizers, is due to the weak development in China of the
same«folk culture industry», which should become one of the largest industries of the XXI

Academia Letters, January 2022 ©2022 by the authors — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0

Corresponding Author: Michael Selivatchov, mik_sel@ukr.net

Citation: Selivatchov, M., Lebedieva, A. (2022). «FOLK DESIGN»: A NOTION, WHICH DID NOT
BECAME A TERM. Academia Letters, Article 4769. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL4769.

3
century. And this despite the fact that in many countries a significant part of their«ethnic
souvenirs» are made in the China [4].
It should be noted that the«Folk Design» itself was not mentioned in the conference ma-
terials, as well as in the modern scientific literature on the history of technology, crafts, trades
and industry. For example, in the international yearbook of the Society for the History of
Structural Construction, published in Britain since 1985, which covers civil engineering, ar-
chitecture, art, archeology and other aspects of this issue, demonstrating a culturological rather
than a narrow professional approach [5]. England, which by the middle of the twentieth cen-
tury played the role ofthe«world workshop», has a vast literature on local industry. Perhaps
the earliest in Europe, handicrafts gave way there to industry, design has become a mass pro-
fession [6].
Another field of research related to our topic, which has emerged in recent decades, can
be named «Making as a kind of Thinking». Among active adherents of this scientific school
is Norwegian professor Mikkel Tin, a researcher on the perception of aesthetic phenomena,
particularly on the material of traditional Folk Art, which he considers in the context of Con-
temporary. In 2012, he organized an international conference (http://making.nordfo.org/),
where 173 scientists from 16 countries on four continents discussed the historical-theoretical
and practical-pedagogical aspects of this issue [7].
Manifesto of new study direction can be considered an article «Making and the sense it
makes» [8]. In the chapter «Work as a source of non-scientific knowledge» M. Tin notes
that work is a peer of culture, its practical dimension. Work transforms matter, articulating
semantic meaning. Manufacturing has a cognitive dimension and meaning with a special role
of bodily practice, not a theoretical concept.
Should we repeat, that the scientific publications covered above do not contain the expres-
sion «Folk Design»? Some may argue that the concept of «Art» also did not once embrace
folk art. In fact, the currently accepted phrase «Folk Art» has spread only since the 1930s, on
a wave of high prestige of everything related to the concept of «Folk». Before that, the con-
cept of «peasant art» was used. XIX century’ literature sometimes tell us about «folk books»,
«folk drama», but never about «Folk Art» in general. Probably, because «Art» meant only
«high» or «fine» examples, leaving the «Folk Art» in the field of ethnography. In English-
speaking countries, the notion «Folk Art» spread even later. At least, Margaret Lambert and
Enid Marx’s book on this topic (1946) was titled «English Popular and Traditional Art» [9].
With declining share of the peasantry in the modern population, and due to the fact that
more and more city dwellers are engaged in traditional art, there are many educational institu-
tions that teach traditional crafts. Therefore, usual phrase «Folk Art» is becoming vulnerable
and the search for adequate counterparts continues. For example, the Polish researcher Józef

Academia Letters, January 2022 ©2022 by the authors — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0

Corresponding Author: Michael Selivatchov, mik_sel@ukr.net

Citation: Selivatchov, M., Lebedieva, A. (2022). «FOLK DESIGN»: A NOTION, WHICH DID NOT
BECAME A TERM. Academia Letters, Article 4769. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL4769.

4
Grabowski proposed an oxymoron «natural art», emphasizing his inherent «inexperience»
[10; 11]. Indeed, it’s almost impossible to do something aesthetically unsuccessful from nat-
ural materials and using traditional methods.
Expression «Folk Design» is mainly used in the conceptual field, far from science. The
rare exception is American professor Thomas Hubka: he applied this notion to the vernacular
architecture [12]. Nevertheless, in the professional terminological field term «Design» is in-
extricably linked with modern industry. Therefore, «Folk Design» cannot be an appropriate
term.

About the authors

Alona Lebedieva graduated from the Kherson National Technical University (2015, design
department). 2017 – 2020 – postgraduate studies at the Kiev National University of Culture
and Art, the topic of the dissertation is “Design Theory in the Ukrainian Art studies”. Pub-
lished near 20 works in the field of Art Theory.

Michael Selivatchov graduated from the Repin Institute for Painting, Sculpture and Architec-
ture in Leningrad (1970). Defended doctorship at the Moscow Lomonosov University (1978).
Obtained habilitation at the Rylski Institute for Art Studies, folklore and ethnology within Na-
tional Academy of Sciences, Kiev (1997). Professor in the National Academy of Fine Art and
Architecture, Kiev. Published ca 700 scientific and popular works, mostly about Folk Art.

Academia Letters, January 2022 ©2022 by the authors — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0

Corresponding Author: Michael Selivatchov, mik_sel@ukr.net

Citation: Selivatchov, M., Lebedieva, A. (2022). «FOLK DESIGN»: A NOTION, WHICH DID NOT
BECAME A TERM. Academia Letters, Article 4769. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL4769.

5
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Academia Letters, January 2022 ©2022 by the authors — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0

Corresponding Author: Michael Selivatchov, mik_sel@ukr.net

Citation: Selivatchov, M., Lebedieva, A. (2022). «FOLK DESIGN»: A NOTION, WHICH DID NOT
BECAME A TERM. Academia Letters, Article 4769. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL4769.