Finding Lithuanian Identity in the USA with Vaidas petrulis

Meet Vaidas Petrulis, an architecture and heritage specialist with a Ph.D. in Art History. He's also a senior research fellow in the Institute of Architecture and Construction at the Kaunas University of Technology and the first guest in the second season of the Beyond BAFF podcast.

In 2023, Vaidas spent six months in Chicago, Illinois, researching the topic of modernism and national identity. His project examined the complicated history of the search for Lithuanian identity in post-World War II North America and how architecture became a means to express it in exile.

Get a glimpse into our talk with Vaidas in this article and find out more about his research and experience in the U.S. by listening to the full podcast episode.

If you have to describe Lithuanian architecture, what makes it special? And how different is it from Latvian and Estonian architecture?

Oh, it's a provocative question. Architecture by its nature is international. Well, actually we start to talk about the so-called international style in the 20th century – the modern movement.

Through centuries, architecture was very much based on the dominant understanding of what is beautiful, what is avant-garde, and what is interesting at the particular time. It’s a fusion of technology and predominant concepts of beauty and function.

But sometimes we also have a cultural, non-functional component in it. Lithuanians were looking for a specific Lithuanian style starting with the beginning of the 20th century. We, Lithuanians and Estonians as well, were part of the Russian empire, so that time was about changing our mentality and trying to find ways to liberate ourselves, and architecture was a part of it.

But it's not easy to understand the language of architecture. When we talk about the Lithuanian style, it’s about two specific aspects. One – Baroque architecture because Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, is a Baroque city, so we consider Baroque to be Lithuanian.

Another way of doing this, which is popular until now, is to find inspiration in folk art, ornaments, decorations, wood carving, and textiles, and to use them in new buildings, like in floor tiling, roof decor, or something similar.

And when you travel to the United States and you see some specific forms, for example, towers in the shape of a wayside shrine, you can be certain that it's Lithuanian. It's unique in the world. You will never find something like this elsewhere. Many European cultures don’t have a specific national style, but we do.

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church, Chicago, designed by Jonas Mulokas, built in 1957. From the archive of Mulokai family. (Source)

Could you share some specific examples of buildings, for example, in Chicago that are clearly Lithuanian?

Yes. Actually, if you travel to the United States and you're from the Baltic countries, you have to visit Chicago. And in Chicago, there are three most important examples.

So, the first, building is the Church of Lithuania in the Market Park, also called, Blessed Virgin. The church was built in 1956 based on the project of a Lithuanian architect Jonas Molokas, and the whole team of Lithuanian artists worked here.

Then, we also have the Lithuanian Youth Center. Again, this is a very important meeting point for Lithuanians, and looking from a point of view of architecture, also a very interesting building.

And the third building is a monastery and a publishing house for Draugas – a newspaper which Lithuanians started to publish at the beginning of the 20th century, probably. But again, it's not just a newspaper. It's a community around this place.

The most important legacy come from the fifties and sixties. In that period, all the area was really Lithuanian. You could go in the streets and speak Lithuanian and you would find Lithuanian shops and Lithuanian banks.

I think these buildings send a very strong message about the complicated history of the 20th century, and how we are still having complicated times in the 21st century. How nations struggle to keep their identity, survive, and continue to be who they are.

National symbol (Vytis) on the central façade of the Lithuanian Youth Centre in Chicago, designed by Jonas Mulokas, built in 1972. From the archive of Mulokai family. (Source)

You just recently returned from the U. S. from Chicago. If you look back at the time you spent there, are there any specific things that you're most proud of?

I'm especially proud of and happy that they had a chance to tell the story of these Lithuanian buildings to the American public. I had a lecture in the American Institute of Architects in Chicago where I could discuss this topic with people from Chicago and architects of different other countries, like Poland and Denmark.

Of course, I also did research, not just shared my experience with students. I’m therefore really grateful for my host organization, Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture where I spent quite a lot of time analyzing photos, documents and so on.

“Draugas” publishing house in Illinois (Image: Monika Bonckute)

And how do you see your future and the future of architecture?

Now that I’m back, I’ve been writing a book together with my colleagues on one of the Lithuanian architects, Jonas Molokas, who made projects for the church in Market Park, the church in New York, and many other buildings. We are going to publish a monograph, and hopefully we will come back to Chicago to present the book at least to the Lithuanian diaspora.

After we finish the book, we will maybe also do an exhibition, I don't know yet. When you write a book on one architect, you as a historian have to see the bigger picture.

I have always wondered where these buildings were built, what the context was, and what other architects did. It was really important to be in Chicago to understand it.

Because architecture is not just about creativity or art. It's about communication between communities. But if the architect works alone and no one supports him, he is not relevant to the period and community, and the work only stays on the paper.

So what my research in Chicago truly gave me was an understanding of the whole picture of the community and where these buildings were. They are actually like stand-alone little islands. It’s a big, interesting phenomenon, and hopefully, we will continue with another book and paint the whole picture of diaspora architecture.

Even these few Lithuanian buildings, sometimes an overlooked legacy in the United States, can tell a powerful narrative on the diversity of the United States and the diversity of American cities.

And I really believe that keeping them, preserving them, and talking about them can contribute to a better understanding of our world, and can help us value each other even more.

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