Figurative Art Research Articles

Виставкова діяльність Гуртка діячів українського мистецтва у дзеркалі української преси 1920 -х рр.

The article analyzes a work of the first interwar art association ― the Circle of Ukrainian Art Figures (HDUM) in the field of exhibition organization. It reveals the role of this society in consolidating the Ukrainian artists living and working in Western (Polish-controlled), and Great (Soviet) Ukraine. About 30 publications reflecting a reception of exhibitions of HDUM by critics and Lviv public have been introduced into scholarly circulation. A little-researched aspect is yet how creative efforts of the HDUM were received by its contemporaries, as well as by the Ukrainian press. Therefore our article aims to present the overview of activities of the association on the basis of content of the Ukrainian (mainly, Lviv) publications of the 1920s ― the newspapers «Hromadskyi Vistnyk», «Dilo», magazines «Literaturno-Naukovyi Vistnyk», «Mytusa», «Nova Ukraina», «Ukrayins’ke Mystetsvo». HDUM was founded in Lviv on 28 December 1921 thanks to an initiative of the well-known Lviv art critic Mykola Golubets’ and émigré artists Petro Kholodnyi (Elder) and Pavlo Kozhun. One of the key principles of the Society was to shape national identity in artists’ circles and ordinary citizens. Pursuing this aim, HDUM actively conducted exhibiting work. Specifically, every exhibition was followed by issuing a catalog. According to the press reports of that time, the first two Ukrainian art exhibitions took place in the halls of the Museum of Shevchenko Scientific Society. They received positive press coverage. All Ukrainian artists wishing to participate in these exhibitions were invited regardless of direction or art school they represented, as well as the HDUM affiliation. The next shows were on display in the halls of the National Museum. The public had felt some tension already during the third expo organization, and the next one didn’t match expectations of its organizers and wide public explicitly. Consequently, active initiatives of the association were gradually curtailed, although it formally continued to be operational yet for three years. Keywords: HDUM, exposition, press, publication, criticism, art.

Artıstıc studies on desıgn development wıth fabrıc scraps ın the context of sustaınable fashıon

The process of clothing production creates waste and scrap, which creates environmental, economic, and ethical issues. With this in mind the concept of ethical and sustainable fashion is discussed on many platforms as an important and timely topic. Many solutions have been presented on this subject. For the solution of this problem which has been increasing in the fashion and textile industry, the usage of sustainable materials and production methods is needed. There in a ‘recyclable material cycle’ should be adapted, instead of a ‘traditional material cycle’. New methods and techniques should be developed with multi-disciplinary design approaches to produce creative and high value-added products in the name of fashion and sustainability. This is seen as one of the more effective solutions. This study aims to show that production scraps can be transformed into timely clothing designs with samples. The fabric scraps from different brands were turned into unique clothing designs with up to date trends by designer. In the practices completed while following the design process, collage and patchwork techniques were applied depending on the characteristics of the scrap fabric, artistic figures were hand-stitched onto the design. With this study, the scraps that get thrown into dumping grounds and damage the ecosystem can turn into ethical and economic benefits for the manufacturer. How to choose new high value-added products and create an awareness of social responsibility is also shown with examples in this study.

The Gift of Emperor Michael, Papal Textiles with Chrysoclabas and Figurative Art in the Period of Iconoclasm

On Christmas of the year 811, Emperor Michael I Rhangabe solemnly crowned his elder son Theophylact in the church of Hagia Sophia. On this occasion, he offered to the cathedral numerous precious gifts, among which was a set of four curtains embroidered with gold and purple. Sacred images were depicted on them. These textiles did not survive to our times, and are known to us only thanks to the short record in the Theophanes’ Chronicle. However, it is possible to reconstruct their form on the basis of preserved contemporary examples. The practice of donating silks decorated with figural religious motifs to churches is confirmed by the Book of Pontiffs. The source mentions gifts given by popes Hadrian I (772–795), Leo III (795–816), Paschal I (817–824), Gregory IV (827–844) and Leo IV (847–855) to shrines in Rome and Ravenna. The textiles mentioned by the source include both those decorated with ornamental motifs (griffins, crosses) and those adorned with evangelical scenes (Annunciation, Nativity, Entry into Jerusalem, Passion, Ascension, Descent of the Holy Spirit) and images of Christ and saints. The word chrisoclabum (or chrisoclavum), which is repeated in written sources, seems to relate to compositions placed inside medallions, and perhaps also to exceptionally precious appliqués of gold and purple fastened to the textile background. Already 75 years ago, Wolfgang F. Volbach sought to associate two pieces of silk samits with the Annunciation and Nativity scenes (kept at the Vatican Museo Sacro; initially dated to the 6th c.) with papal gifts from the turn of 8th and 9th c. His hypothesis, accepted by most scholars, has recently been disputed by Anna Muthesius, who suggests a later date for both silks (after 843). Due to this fact, it seems necessary to offer a new analysis and interpretation of both textiles that will rely on the current body of knowledge about the Byzantine art of 8th and 9th c.

Langile bat gehiago

Although we are in the twentieth century, the image of the bohemian artist is still alive. The present of this figure is not only the result of the eyes of those outside the field of art, but also of something that has been nurtured from within. This idealized artist figure remains attractive based on a double belief. On the one hand, it is thought that being an artist, is something like rejecting material needs, in order to self-realize, achieve certain individual freedom. On the other hand, it is thought that in a capitalist society, this figure, based on nonconformity and an antagonistic attitude, is able to build a separate life or place itself in a possible anti-world. But this double belief is wrong. The myth of the bohemian artist is very far from the reality that the artist lives today.

T. S. Eliot in the Art of R. B. Kitaj: Anatomy of an Influence

R. B. Kitaj’s keen interest in literature, which he connected with his Jewish heritage and its reverence for the written word, shows through as an essential characteristic of his art. As a young artist, Kitaj’s cultural referents included Ezra Pound and, especially, T. S. Eliot. The external and imaginative structure of The Waste Land (1922) inspired the composition of Kitaj’s Tarot Variations (1958), while Eliot’s “Notes” to the poem were a model for Kitaj’s “prefaces,” short texts supplementing many of his paintings. If Not, Not (1975-1976) memorialises the Shoah, also drawing on The Waste Land —the definitive text as well as its drafts and critical reception. Like Eliot’s poetry, Kitaj’s art is highly allusive, in a way that conforms to Eliot’s views on tradition and creativity. This is one of the reasons to stress the continuities with modernism in Kitaj’s figurative art, which developed in the predominantly non-figurative context of postmodernism. In later years, Kitaj distanced himself from Eliot—prominently in The Killer-Critic (1997)—rejecting the poet’s early emphasis on impersonality and the anti-Semitism of his verse. Despite these differences, Eliot’s influence on Kitaj was intense, long-lasting and productive. Keywords: R. B. Kitaj; T. S. Eliot; modernism; influence; tradition

SOME ISSUES GRAPHIC MOVEMENT. USE MIRRORING IN RESEARCH M. PYSANKA

The matter of the graphic image of the motion, taking into account the laws of the picture plane, as well as the study of patterns of motion as one of the leading composition factor, especially in terms of creating and perceiving the artistic image, is extremely important for the instructional program of the academic drawing. The formula of the work involves the presence of students with a very specific knowledge and skills related to the properties of the picture plane, the nature and character of the motion within the composition, as well as the patterns of its visual perception.The purpose of the article is an attempt to determine the main issues of graphic image of motion and the peculiarities of its visual perception in the structure of the picture plane, as well as to demonstrate the expediency of use a mirroring in work on the composition, mainly on the basis of research of the famous native artist-educator Mykola Pysanko. The author collected his searches in the book “Motion, Space, and Time in the Figurative arts”. We can make a conclusion that the study of the influence of the basic laws of the picture plane, in particular the areas of its right and left sides, on the mode and contextual aspect of the motion in the middle of the picture field is a fundamental issue for the instruction of academic drawing. This predetermines the need for a broader coverage of theoretical issues of the graphic image of motion and its research using the mirroring.This topic is relevant in terms of using the article's material as an auxiliary methodological basis for the instruction of vocational subjects to students of creative specialties. The action of the laws of the right and left sides of the picture plane reveals the internal pattern of the artist's concept.Knowledge and understanding of the nature of the sides of the picture field, as well as its connection with the mode and content aspect of the motion within the composition is important for students of any creative specialty.

Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception. Vol. 15: Kalam–Lectio Divina

<i>Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception.</i> Vol. 15: <i>Kalam–Lectio Divina</i>

Bird bones from Trou de Chaleux and the human exploitation of birds during the late Magdalenian in Belgium

The Trou de Chaleux is a cave site located in Belgium. It delivered a rich late Magdalenian material culture constituted mainly of lithic artefacts but also including bone industries and figurative art. This paper presents the results of the analysis of the large collection of bird remains recovered by E. Dupont in 1865, which was yet unstudied from taphonomical and archaeozoological perspectives. In addition to the taxonomic identification, surface alterations were investigated based on a macro- and microscopic analysis, including an analysis of wear traces and elementary composition. Special attention is devoted to the presence of human modifications such as disarticulation or butchering marks, traces of heating, presence of colourants and traces of bone working. The taphonomic history of the bird assemblage is reconstructed and the use of birds by humans characterized, as well as their importance in past human activities. We also discuss evidence for seasonal exploitation and for reconstructing the local environment and integrate our results with evidence from other Magdalenian assemblages from north-western Europe. At Trou de Chaleux, birds were used for food, as raw material for bone working and for symbolic purposes. The exploitation of avian products was intense, and species have been used for several purposes such as the raven and snowy owl having been exploited both for food and for symbolic reasons. Large bird bones were used as raw material to produce artefacts, but the use-wear analysis did not evidence unambiguous traces related to the use of the objects produced. Despite several limiting factors, the bird material from Trou de Chaleux considerably increases the knowledge of past human exploitation of birds during the late Magdalenian in north-western Europe.

Visual culture in the sacred spaces figurative representation. The Duccio di Buoninsegna’s Majesty cycle of stories

Starting from the XIII century the figurative arts underwent a profound transformation. In fact, we can note the gradual passage of the use of mosaic to the pictorial representation on the table and then on the wall, initially used for the altar paintings and then in all the sacred works. The figurative arts begin to break away from a predominantly symbolic conception to arrive to a narrative communication. Therefore, one of the first elements of representative experimentation begins to be the architectural space (interior and/or exterior) where to set up scenes of a sacred nature. The present contribution offers the graphic analysis of the cycle of stories present on the back of the large table depicting the Majesty of Duccio di Buoninsegna (1255-1318) which constitutes the triumphal epilogue of the Siena artist itinerary.The ‘putting into shape’ of any iconographic apparatus (pictorial, engraved or graphical) depends fundamentally on the point of view from which one chooses to represent it. The determination of the latter is a function of distance from the representation framework; the direction of observation of the observer's height with respect to the station plan. With respect to this assumption, the present paper examines both the similarities and the differences that distinguish themselves in the use of different geometrical representation modalities for the staging of different spatial configurations that extract or immerse the observer in the context. Furthermore, graphic artifices designed to resolve points of incongruity obtained by the incorrect application of such codified methodologies which only in the following centuries are identified.The research has currently obtained the graphic analysis and the identification of the different methods of geometric representation.

Towards a definition of postcolonial biographical fiction

In this introduction to the special issue on “Illuminating Lives: The Biographical Impulse in Postcolonial Literatures”, we start by situating the genre of biographical fiction, which has become increasingly popular in postcolonial literatures and beyond, in relation to more “traditional” nonfictional biography. We then examine how postcolonial biofiction might be distinguished from its postmodern avatar, and we tentatively circumscribe some of the tendencies that appear to cluster more systematically in postcolonial biofiction than in other types of writings: the focus on individuals — including artist figures — either forgotten or marginalized in traditional history; the use of the biofictional as a veritable mode of knowledge that allows writers and their critics to explore the philosophical implications of examining human trajectories; and the presence of narrative fragmentation, which often problematizes the possibility of ever fully apprehending an individual life.

A Search for the Hidden King: Messianism, Prophecies and Royal Epiphanies of the Kings of Aragon (circa 1250–1520)

Modern historiography has studied the influence of messianic and millennialist ideas in the Crown of Aragon extensively and, more particularly, how they were linked to the Aragonese monarchy. To date, research in the field of art history has mainly considered royal iconography from a different point of view: through coronation, historical or dynastic images. This article will explore the connections, if any, between millennialist prophetic visions and royal iconography in the Crown of Aragon using both texts and the figurative arts, bearing in mind that sermons, books and images shared a common space in late medieval audiovisual culture, where royal epiphanies took place. The point of departure will be the hypothesis that some royal images and apparently conventional religious images are compatible with readings based on sources of prophetic and apocalyptic thought, which help us to understand the intentions and values behind unique figurative and performative epiphanies of the dynasty that ruled the Crown of Aragon between 1250 and 1516. With this purpose in mind, images will be analysed in their specific context, which is often possible to reconstruct thanks to the abundance and diversity of the written sources available on the subject, with a view to identifying their promoters’ intentions, the function they fulfilled and the reception of these images in the visual culture of this time and place.

Bringing metaphors back to the streets: a corpus-based study for the identification and interpretation of rhetorical figures in street art

Research on (verbo-)pictorial metaphors and other rhetorical figures is primarily focused on the genre of advertising, leaving other genres under-investigated. In this study, the authors focus on street art, a visually perceived cross-cultural medium used to address sociopolitical issues. This genre typically combines two interacting semiotic systems – language and depiction – and is thus a form of polysemiotic communication. Their analysis is based on a corpus of 50 street artworks addressing the financial, sociopolitical and migrant/refugee crisis in the city of Athens (2015–2017). They present a data-driven procedure for the identification and interpretation of metaphors and other rhetorical figures in street art, informed by cognitive linguistic and semiotic models. Quantitative analyses show that their models can be reliably applied to street art and can enable them to distinguish metaphors from other rhetorical figures within these images. At the same time, qualitative analyses show that this genre usually requires the integration of conceptual, contextual, socio-cultural and linguistic knowledge in order to achieve successful interpretation of these images. The authors discuss their findings within the theoretical framework of cognitive semiotics.

Artistic landscape of the former State of the Teutonic Order in Prussia defined by the Gothic crucifixes

The aim of this article is to show a broad artistic panorama of Gothic sculpture of the Teutonic Order State in Prussia. It takes into consideration a few characteristic iconographical types like shrine Madonna and the Beautiful Madonna. But it points out that the numerously preserved woodcarved crucifixes shape the picture of three-dimensional figurative arts of the said state in the eyes of academics and audience. A synthetic review of written sources and scientific approaches was presented, as well as a methodology. Various academic views on one crucifix were shown. Artistic influences and exchange as part of the art of Baltic coast, Central and Western Europe were emphasized. Unpublished, archival photographs were presented and analysed. They show six crucifixes, up to now not known from illustrations.

Образы Севастополя в советской культурной памяти

Key images of Sevastopol typical for the Soviet epoch, motives and mechanisms of their formation were found out and analysed in the article. Based on studies of various types of histo­rical records, authors drew a conclusion that cultural memory of the Soviet society maintained several predominant images of Sevastopol. “Fortress city”, “hero city” and “holiday city” were the most common ones. These images carried several ideas such as a battle between light and darkness (the good and the bad) based on the Gospels or heroic, even selfless, service to the Motherland perceived as the supreme goodness of a citizen that is closely related to a formal discourse of pre-revolutionary imperial Russia. Also, a concept of imminent revolution and construction of a classic socialistic city appeared as late as in the Soviet epoch was presented. The Soviet historical policy affected most commemorative practices, memorial and historical works, fiction about Sevastopol, as well as the city images presented in the figurative art, music, the stage and screen played a key part in formation of these images. At the same time, memorial policy of public institutions and several city heads adjusted creation of Sevastopol images rammed through “from upstairs”. Despite the Soviets’ intentions to create predominantly heroic images of Sevastopol “flavoured” with communistic ideology, as a result, they were pretty diversified (including both patriotic origin and lyric component). It is revealing that most Soviet people considered Sevastopol not only as a “hero city” but also as a “holiday city” fulfilled dreams of the late Soviet society.

Figurative art in Bulgaria from the 1920s and 1930s: The School of Kyustendil, Kiril Tsonev and Boris Elisayeff

The aim of this paper is to present those realistic tendencies in Bulgarian painting from the 1920s and 1930s, that echoe contemporary West European ones, like the New Objectivity in Germany. Among others, it will be shown how Bulgarian artist’s paintings are inspired by the folklore primitive from the past and reflect the assiduity of cultural administration to renew the idea of a modern artistic school of art with a defined national character.

Choral creativity by Hanna Havrylets as a symbol of the togetherness of Ukraine (on the example of the musical and stage action “We will sow the Golden Stone”)

Choral creativity by Hanna Havrylets as a symbol of the togetherness of Ukraine (on the example of the musical and stage action “We will sow the Golden Stone”)

LYING LIFE: HOW LIFE DESIGNS LIES AND HOW LIES DESIGN LIFE

[In this work we will show chance, necessity and, sometimes, opportunity of an abhorred informational alteration and how fake/true are artificial, conventional categories. Information arises with life, and with information arises a gap between reality (or another information that is assumed as original and true) and information that represents, repeats or replaces it. This is a gap and it creates a difference, a duality, a not virtual distance, it opens a space for potential (or unavoidable?) unfaithfulness, incongruities, falsehood. Lie can be meant as alteration, as distortion, as denial, or as creation “ex nihilo” if referred to what (world reality or other information) is assumed as original and authentic. The information (or latter information) is valued comparing it to the primary factor, aiming to find its compliance. Somehow or other, the conformity between these two poles is never full and unconditional. Due to this, life arises with the not eliminable lie “germ” inside. This has advantageous implications. “Untruthful” information has had a decisive importance in evolutionary balance and trending forever. Between life and lie, there is an indissoluble mutuality loop. Our thesis aims to: • Expand the meaning of lie and to draw its continuity (that is different from homology or identity) between biologic sphere and anthropic/cultural one • An appreciation of lie, starting from an investigation that examines its nature, its genetic processes and its function, both in the biological world and in the anthropic one • Show its inseparableness from truth, that is to say the continuity (not homogeneity) between it and the lie, both in the biological world and in the anthropic one • If the lie is meant in the widest sense, it presents some characterizing features. The lie is • Random, that is to say it arises by chance, due to neither predictable nor controllable causes • Necessary, because sometime it occurs in an inescapable way, due to the fact that it is intrinsic of the process of representation and/or of replication Appropriate, because sometimes it is the result of an aimed process and offers benefits if it is implemented.&#x0D; The excursus will be scientifically documented and it will be furnished with various iconography (pictures, video-clips…). It will lead us to adopt a wider, critical and not conventional overlook in considering topics as mimicry (meant in all its types: molecular, cryptic, batesian, müllerian, emsleyan, etc.), genetic mutations and evolution, sensorial (not only visual) illusions and hallucinations, the Theory of Games, the referentiality in semantics and in semiotics, gnoseologic, logic, heuristic, etic, aesthetic aspects of truthfulness. This work has no pretension to be a treatise, but it tries to shed light on what brings together so different aspects, in critical, epistemological and methodological ways. We will indicate historical (of very different periods) and authorial references of presented argumentations, thanks to drawing from several fields of knowledge and to comparing them: philosophy, figurative arts, life sciences, semiotics, literature, cinematography… All these argumentations will allow us to conclude that lie cannot be the enemy to be loathed. It must not be disapproved in a prejudicial way, but it deserves listening, attention and… esteem!... This should dispel or re-define the sense, the meaning and the function of (presumed) truth. It, both revealed and demonstrated, is often assumed as dogmatically absolute and (guiltily) it is interpreted as myth or it is mystified].

Metamorphosis of a butterfly: Neo-liberal subjectivation and queer autonomy in Xiyadie's papercutting art

Abstract Celebrated as 'China's Tom of Finland', Xiyadie is probably one of the best-known queer artists living in China today. His identity as a gay man from rural China and his method of using the Chinese folk art of papercutting for queer artistic expression make him a unique figure in contemporary Chinese art. As the first academic article on the artist and his works, this article examines Xiyadie's transformation of identity in life and his representation of queer experiences through the art of papercutting. Using a critical biographical approach, in tandem with an analysis of his representative artworks, I examine the transformation of Xiyadie's identity from a folk artist to a queer artist. In doing so, I delineate the transformation and reification of human subjectivity and creativity under transnational capitalism. Meanwhile, I also seek possible means of desubjectivation and human agency under neo-liberal capitalism by considering the role of art in this picture. This article situates Xiyadie's life and artworks in a postsocialist context where class politics gave way to identity politics in cultural production. It calls for a reinvigoration of Marxist and socialist perspectives for a nuanced critical understanding of contemporary art production and social identities.

Erotical Signs in The Poetry of Ismail Kadare

The motive of love, not only Kadare's poetry, but generally throughout the contemporary Albanian and world poetry, is one of the fundamental, general and extremely universal motifs. Such a motive has also prompted the poet Kadare to write poems that propose the aesthetics of one of the most general motives of man - the motive of love. The first and the first love in the verses of Kadare is described and emerges as a part of human life and as such comes out of special dimensions. Kadare, being a good builder of a full and complete poetry, would say, even if his poetry, if we can say erotic, we have a remarkable use of such signs, although in general the poetry of love does not occupy any remarkable place in Kadare's poetry, naturally in comparison to the poetry of other motifs, though it is quite manifested.&#x0D; But, however, love in Kadare's poetry marks, among other things, a particular poetic word in general, and even in this regard, it is also a multiple pluralist expression, using words, expressions and figures unused by others, also giving different words and meanings, from everyday life, to various functions, marking high aesthetic and literary uplift, but also figurative. He is a good builder of various artistic figures, an innovator of creating new words and expressions, and a sublimant of the ideas he poses and realizes in his poetry.&#x0D; Although it is a whole set of signs that Kadare uses in his poems, which are motivated by the feeling of love, we will in this case stop the signs he uses most, as well as those signs which make a special significance for his poetry. On this occasion, we will dwell on the signs, coinciding with the poetry, which appears as a poem of love, and which in Kadare occupies a place, though not deserved, we would say, like love, moon, flower, bride , the heart, the lips, the eyes, the cheeks, the throat, the heart, the soul. There are also a number of other signs that reinforce and sublimate the poetic ideas of Kadare's love motifs, but we believe that these are the signs that strengthen our conviction of the artistic achievement of his poetry as well as those that make up innovation in Albanian poetry generally, whether in terms of poetry, or in terms of the breadth of poetic figuration.&#x0D; Key words: Poetry, Kadare, Love, Signs, Figure, Poet, Structure, Verse, Aspect, Erosion, Devotion, Sublimation, Heart, Eyes, Soul, Flower, Wax.

Joaquín Torres García y Jorge Oteiza: La actualidad de los proyectos modernistas desde las orillas transatlánticas

Este artículo problematiza el reciente interés global en los proyectos modernistas periféricos a propósito de dos figuras cuyas trayectorias se interrelacionan en la segunda mitad de la década de 1930: Joaquín Torres García (1874-1949) y Jorge Oteiza (1908-2003). Las obras de ambos han sido últimamente expuestas dentro del circuito artístico global y es la intención de este artículo problematizar dichas apuestas tomando como punto de partida la influencia que Torres García tuvo en Oteiza. Para ello se analiza la actualidad que para Andreas Huyssen tiene el concepto de “modernismo” y se valora la advertencia que postulaba Jürgen Habermas a comienzos de los ochenta; a saber, que la modernidad es “un proyecto incompleto”. El propósito es visibilizar la “orilla” de los principales discursos sobre la circulación y exposición de los modernismos periféricos en el circuito artístico global, entendiendo por “orilla” los lugares que escapan la lógica imperial de acumulación tardo-capitalista.