Exposition “Ornaments in Stone”
At the end of May 2004, stones with Lithuanian national ornaments were placed in Mažeikiai Old Town, on the lawns cared for by the then Mažeikiai Branch of Vilnius Bank. The boulders, weighing 150-200 kg, organically blended into the environment of the modern building and became invisible. The sculptor transferred national art into the modern space. At first, the author’s exposition “Ornaments in Stone” had to be exposed until the end of the summer, but it stayed for a long time. It seems as if the 27 boulders have been standing for a century on the spectacular night-lit lawn.
The original works of Paulius Daujotas, a student of Telšiai Faculty of Applied Arts of Vilnius Art Academy, were created in half a year. The idea was born from the desire to evoke the memory of common folk ornaments, because only a small part of them was carved in stone over the centuries. The majority of such ornaments were carved from wood, even more were woven.
Part of the ornaments were “borrowed” by the author from the works of Steponas Gailevičius (1815–1885), the most famous sculptor of the 19thcentury, a talented folk craftsman who lived and created in Ukrina Village. At first, Paulius Daujotas collected stones according to shape, colour and texture. After evaluating the boulder, he applied the appropriate ornament. The author tried to choose larger stones, just in case someone would decide to steal them so would not carry them too quickly. Of all the ornaments, only one is processed with a compressor, the others are made as if they were processed 100 years ago. The stones are about 30-35 cm above the ground. You can feel the contours and shape of the ornaments with your fingers. The sculptor gave a new meaning to works of nature.
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