From the tribune of the Artists’ Congress: art politics and the situation of artists in the late Soviet Period in Lithuania.

Straipsnyje analizuojama LSSR dailininkų sąjungos 1952–1987 m. organizuotų dailininkų suvažiavimų medžiaga. Gretinant ją su atvejo studijai pasirinkto dailininko Rimtauto Vincento Gibavičiaus kūrybines nuostatas atspindinčiais šaltiniais: kūrybiniu palikimu, autobiografija, amžininkų prisiminimais, menotyrininkų tekstais; keliamas klausimas, koks santykis tarp oficialiosios dailės politikos ir asmeninės dailininko kūrybinės laikysenos?A congress was one of the principal official events of the Soviet period giving a rhythm to institutional life and declaring its guidelines in the form of reports and resolutions. Periodically held congresses of artists were not an exception. The material of these congresses reflects the institutional position of the Artists’ Union of the Lithuanian SSR (hereinafter referred to as AU LSSR) of that time, its relation to other state institutions and creative unions. Alongside, it reveals much about art and culture politics, as well as the hot issues of that time and the artists’ position in that respect. The article has been prepared on the basis of the material of the artists’ congresses that took place between 1952 and 1987, covering the period from the end of the Stalinist era to the first signs of the perestroika. Attention is focused on the late Soviet period. The aim of the research is to discuss the dynamics of official art politics of that time and to collate it with an artist’s personal experience. It was important to find out the position of the AU LSSR regarding the relevant and innovatory artistic phenomena of that time and establish if this organization representing all professional artists stimulated progressive change or acted as an inert and restraining force. The research is based on the analysis of the work of Rimtautas Vincentas Gibavičius. He was one of the most active participants in the art scene of the Soviet period, an authoritative figure in both the AU LSSR and the informal art scene. His work won recognition quite early. Its value was not called into question even after the collapse of the Soviet Union; on the contrary, it became an intrinsic part of the heritage of Lithuanian graphic art of the second half of the 20th century. Comparing the material of the artists’ congresses with sources reflecting Gibavičius’s creative views – his creative legacy, autobiography, memories of contemporaries and texts by art critics, a question about the relation between official art politics and an artist’s personal creative stance is raised