Kazakh ornament: from traditions to the new combinations of shapes in contemporary art

This article discusses the issue of continuity in the evolution of the content and forms of the Kazakh national ornament.  Semantization and structuring of ornamental forms and compositions in Kazakh folk art is the result of a long historical development and spiritual experience of the nomadic people.  In the decorative and applied art of the people, the mental processes of society are represented.  The artist-nomad is a spokesman of the Kazakh nomadic mentality, which is characterized by the originality of spiritual experience and traditions and is formed as a result of the long development of historical eras and periods under the influence of geographical, social, cultural conditions of life.  In the Kazakh arts and crafts, a system of expressive means and images has been formed, which reveal the specifics of the nomadic way of life. The ornaments are a historical source that sheds the light on the peculiarities of the beliefs, the way of life of the nomads.  The artistic vision of the Kazakh people is manifested both in the forms and in the decorative decoration of the dwelling household items, military equipment, jewelry.  In the products of decorative and applied creativity, the artistic picture of the world of their creators is reflected: ideas about heavenly bodies, natural phenomena, animal and plant life.  Ornament plays a role of a kind of tool for symbolic and sign thinking.  A stable system of specific signs and combinations of units is recorded in the Kazakh ornamental language.  Craftsmen and contemporary artists, using the language of ornaments as an important visual communication tool, have filled their artworks with non-verbal messages and mental information.