Jelizaveta Sedler

• Images of Home Kitchen in the Context of the Estonian SSR in the 1960s
• Tutor: Andres Kurg (PhD)

This study focuses on the design and practices of home kitchen in the 1960s and goes into the details of kitchen representation in the ESSR periodicals: the almanac Kunst ja Kodu (Art and Home) and the magazine Nõukogude naine (Soviet Woman). The design and everyday culture of the Estonian SSR deserve careful study, despite the profane nature of the topic. Periodicals illustrate power discourses in addition to valuable factual information about the design of the chosen era. The aim of the research was to analyze the image of the Estonian kitchen in the 1960s, as well as the sociocultural paradigm surrounding it; identify the gaps between theory and practice, between the ideal image of the kitchen and real everyday possibilities of the Soviet citizen. It was also important to characterize the designer’s mission in the context of journalism and society.