The Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Chicago: A Complicated Story of the Search for Lithuanian Identity
The article examines the complicated history of the search for Lithuanian identity in the church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Chicago. After leaving their homeland in the aftermath of World War II, the Lithuanian community struggled to maintain its national identity under difficult...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Sciendo
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Meno Istorija ir Kritika |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.2478/mik-2022-0002 |
| _version_ | 1797947670812164096 |
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| author | Petrulis Vaidas |
| author_facet | Petrulis Vaidas |
| author_sort | Petrulis Vaidas |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The article examines the complicated history of the search for Lithuanian identity in the church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Chicago. After leaving their homeland in the aftermath of World War II, the Lithuanian community struggled to maintain its national identity under difficult conditions of emigration. The search for a Lithuanian architectural character became an important part of this political task. Based on a case study, a church near Chicago’s densely populated Marquette Park in Lithuania, the text analyzes the Lithuanian community’s debate about the cultural and political mission of Lithuanian architecture in exile, and the way to express it. Although the concept of the national style had already emerged at the beginning of the twentieth century, post-war technological progress and the unfamiliar context of emigration brings additional questions to the subject. The article argues that historical reminiscences in the church are more an ethical than an aesthetic choice. This approach embodies the specific cultural expectations of the community and is, at least partially, in line with the critique of modernism from regionalist point of view. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T21:31:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3a2f1152c7d94953a60778cce46f4aec |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1822-4547 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T21:31:31Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | Sciendo |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Meno Istorija ir Kritika |
| spelling | doaj.art-3a2f1152c7d94953a60778cce46f4aec2023-01-19T13:20:31ZengSciendoMeno Istorija ir Kritika1822-45472022-12-01181365110.2478/mik-2022-0002The Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Chicago: A Complicated Story of the Search for Lithuanian IdentityPetrulis Vaidas0Institute of Architecture and Construction, Kaunas University of Technology, Kaunas, LithuaniaThe article examines the complicated history of the search for Lithuanian identity in the church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Chicago. After leaving their homeland in the aftermath of World War II, the Lithuanian community struggled to maintain its national identity under difficult conditions of emigration. The search for a Lithuanian architectural character became an important part of this political task. Based on a case study, a church near Chicago’s densely populated Marquette Park in Lithuania, the text analyzes the Lithuanian community’s debate about the cultural and political mission of Lithuanian architecture in exile, and the way to express it. Although the concept of the national style had already emerged at the beginning of the twentieth century, post-war technological progress and the unfamiliar context of emigration brings additional questions to the subject. The article argues that historical reminiscences in the church are more an ethical than an aesthetic choice. This approach embodies the specific cultural expectations of the community and is, at least partially, in line with the critique of modernism from regionalist point of view.https://doi.org/10.2478/mik-2022-0002architecture in exilelithuanian identitynational styleregionalismjonas mulokasvytautas kazimieras jonynaschicago |
| spellingShingle | Petrulis Vaidas The Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Chicago: A Complicated Story of the Search for Lithuanian Identity Meno Istorija ir Kritika architecture in exile lithuanian identity national style regionalism jonas mulokas vytautas kazimieras jonynas chicago |
| title | The Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Chicago: A Complicated Story of the Search for Lithuanian Identity |
| title_full | The Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Chicago: A Complicated Story of the Search for Lithuanian Identity |
| title_fullStr | The Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Chicago: A Complicated Story of the Search for Lithuanian Identity |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Chicago: A Complicated Story of the Search for Lithuanian Identity |
| title_short | The Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Chicago: A Complicated Story of the Search for Lithuanian Identity |
| title_sort | church of the nativity of the blessed virgin mary in chicago a complicated story of the search for lithuanian identity |
| topic | architecture in exile lithuanian identity national style regionalism jonas mulokas vytautas kazimieras jonynas chicago |
| url | https://doi.org/10.2478/mik-2022-0002 |
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