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Beside theatrical, musical and literary life there exists the life of fine arts as part of cultural process. It is a many-branch and many-coloured phenomenon. Historical traditions of fine arts play an important role in it, as well as local and mobile exhibitions, museum activities and monumental decorative arts.
To define the process of fine arts one should embrace educational and art pedagogics, that is the art school, teaching aesthetics in secondary schools, excursions, and lectures. Relations between artists and other creative bodies, such as architects, musicians or writers, also the links with other cities and foreign countries, and the community, too, are of great importance. Interaction among these and its harmony determine the intensity of art process, its significance and role in the cultural panorama of the city on the whole.
Nevertheless, the most significant element in this chain is the artistic, a creative individual. A few or many artists living and doing their creative work in a city doesn't mean the absence of "cultural province". It is much more important how many artists join the life of the community and how they do it. Their influence on the life of the cociety is extremely important. The activities of the local artists and their
creation should be getting more and more perfect through arranging exhibitions and creating pieces of art not to be characterizided as "provincial".
The formation of creative individuality in periphery is rather complicated with a lot of conservatism, levelling and other dangers of that kind. Some of the artists of Siauliai have been influenced by these, too. The whole body of the artists of the city schould not allow this by involving every creative member into active creative activities.
During the first years of independence there lived and taught in Siauliai gymnasiums and Teachers' College artists and teachers of art, such as Gerardas Bagdonavicius, Jonas Janulis, Juozas Jankus, Teofilis Petraitis and Petras Aleksandravicius. There originated art exhibitions, both mobile ones and those by local artists and school students. This was initiated by the "Ausra" Museum and Vocational school.
Gerardas Bagdonavicius (1901-1986) influenced greatly the cultural life of the city during the first two postwar decades. It was he who was the teacher and tutor of almost all art teachers in schools and a scene - designer, as well as the initiator of the first art exhibitions. He was a designer and consultant for all mass festivities, a lecturer, and so on. Besides that he was countinuously painting new pieces of his art. A great many of his canvases depict his home city Siauliai. The above decades were only an episode of the long lasting activities of the outstanding veteran of Lithuanian fine arts. But this period of his creative work was like a link between the two generations of artists and proved to be dedicated to the home city and its cultural development. It was an example to be followed by other creative people. Owing to his devotedness and great creative efforts, Gerardas Bagdonavicius holds a high post in the history of fine arts, both in Siauliai and Lithuania on the whole.
The whole life of painter Joana Taujanskiene (1924-1983) has been connected with the city of Siauliai. She worked as a scene - designer in Siauliai Drama theatre. Since 1954 up to 1974 she had been working as the theatre's chief designer. J.Taujanskiene was both a creative and socially active individual. It was her home where creative workers used to meet very often. She was popular with young people, especially yong actors and stage directors. She gained great experience in theatre desinging. Estimable humanitarian culture and wide outlooks were her nature. Most probably these valuable qualities attracted people to her. A great many people were eager to communicate with her attractive personality.
J.Taujanskiene has made a considerable contribution to fine arts and their development in Siauliai and Lithuania on the whole. All in all she has designed 101 performances in the professional theatre, as well as almost fifty amateur performances. She has also exhibited her paintings in a great member of art exhibitions. Her creative activity was stable but temporal moods and demands highly effected her creation. Not once she has expressed the opinion of her own on the world's and national classics, modern dramaturgy and other spheres of art. Her works of scene - designing have mede a great contribution to Lithuanian scene designing on the whole.
A new stage in the development of fine arts in Siauliai began in about 1960 because at that time the graduates of Lithuanian Art Institute came to teach in Siauliai Pedagogical Institute. They were monumental painters Jeronimas Kmieliauskas and Vitolis Trusys, also sculptor Aloyzas Toleikis. These artists were the kernel of the newly - formed artistic community. They initiated art exhibitions by the artists of Siauliai. Children's art scool (or Art scool now) was established in 1967, as well as the the Art faculty in the Pedagogical Institute training handicraft and drawing teachers for scools. The above mention educational art institutions became centres for aesthetic education. A great number of talented young people gained their education there
Later painters A.Visockis, V.Tribandis, R.Trusys, S.Prancuitis, R.Garbaciauskas, R.Vilkauskas, artists of graphic arts E.Juchnevicius, V.Zigmantas, sculptors Birute Kasperaviciene and Kazys Kasperavicius, and ceramic artist A.Visockiene joined the artistic Community. Later they were followed by painters P.Anikinas, G.Arlauskaite - Vingriene, J.Dobkeviciene, textile artist S.Anikiniene, stained - glass creator P.Dobkevicius, designers V.Puronas and G.Simoliuniene. The graduates of the Art faculty B.Saltis, V.Kurtinaitiene, V.Simoliunas, P.Rakstikas, V.Janulis, V.Zabarauskaite and many others stayed in Siauliai, too. One should mention the long - lasting creative work of painter A.Kristopaitis. His works are big water - colour series, such as "Lithuanian Curches", "Mills", "Oaks", "Lithuanian soldiers" and others. At the present time the artistic body of Siauliai numbers one hundred artists. Many of them are members of the Lithuanian Artists' Association and Designers Association. Branch of the Lithuanian Folk Arts Association functions and unites folk masters of the city and neighbouring districts.
The association of the artists of Siauliai is a kind of organism that is dynamic and under development. The pace and rythm of this development coincides with the general pulse of the city's cultural life. The above artists have produced significant works of art to help embellish the streets, squares and even enterprises in Siauliai. Painter monumentalist Vitolis Trusys has grown and matured here as a painter. Having begun with decorative pieces of art, he was greatly exigent towards himself, doing his best to perfect his brush and stylistic side of his creation. Now we can emphasize his being parent of the local branch of Lithuanian monumental painting, especially mosaics. He has painted fresco "Aurochs Hunt", mosaic piece "Lithuanian Gods" for Vilnius University, also mosaic portraits of the famous people of Siauliai (P.Visinskis, S.Salkauskis, M.Birziska, P.Bugailiskis and others). Sculptors Aloyzas Toleikis and Dovydas Lukosevicius have made many decorative sculptures, lyrical or chamber - like ones. Some of the monuments, dedicated to soviet statesmen and politicians, were removed after the restoration of Lithuanian's independence. Monumentality and intimity are expressed in sculptures by spouses Birute and Kazys Kasperaviciai. The main character of their sculpture works is a child, a teenager, usually with a sympathetic smile in the face. The teenager is portrayed warmly, with love and understanding. Both Birute and Kazys Kasperaviciai have their own individual vision of the world, and their own individual themes. But they do their creative work in the same studio, that is why their pieces of sculpture are close in style and phylosophy of life.
Part of Vilniaus street has been turned into an avenue. Now it is colourful and cheerful. The design of the pedestrian street is the result of the creative work of designer V.Puronas as well as of architects and painters. The contribution to this of each of them has become a common one, consisting of outside wall painting, playful and interesting advertising. All of these have elements of the city's mode of life and folk art. The formation of the city's image is purposeful and this in itself is a significant social and artistic phenomenon.
The monument to Povilas Visinskis in Siauliai was the first monument after the restoration of Lithuania's independence to honour an outstanding person (figure) of the nation. On the whole, however, monumental painting meets with certain hardships such as lack of means, for example. Nevertheless, a number of decorative pieces of art have appeared to add to the interior of cafes, banks, or enterprises lately.
The present artistic life of Siauliai is mainly expressed through displaying in art exhibitions. These are constantly held in the Art Gallery and Gallery "Laiptai". The expositions are large or small and may be defined as diverse. Side by side with the expositions of traditional genres, such as painting and graphic arts, they arrange experimental projects and complex art sessions. Modern art, its ways and prospects are undergoing sharp discussion. Tendencies towards nationalism and cosmopolitism collide with each other. Historical and folk art exhibits are usually displayed in the "Ausra" museum. Small
exhibitions can be found in many cafes. About a hundred art exhibitions a year are held in Siauliai. Some of them arrived from other Lithuanian cities and even a few ones from Denmark, Germany, Poland, and Holland. The artists of Siauliai have displayed their exhibitions in Holland and Sweden. They have
also participated in artistic creation camps for artists. It is definitely true that artistic life is intensive and versatile. Yet, on the other hand, the situation for a creative artist is complicated. It lacks the want and understanding by the people. Ahead there is a long way to cover in order to gain interaction and interrelation between artists and initiators of art exibitions, and the society.
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