Symbolic Content Research Articles

The morphology of the material world and the «plan of chamber propaganda» in the products of theLeningrad art industry factory of the 1940s–1960s

The morphology of the space of the material world of Soviet culture of the 1950s and 1960s and the products of the Leningrad art industry enterprises is presented in this paper. The material world is a collection of everyday objects of utilitarian purpose with symbolic content. They are perceived as cultural signs. The three factors influencing the structure of the material world are ideological, technological and stylistic. The first one is connected with the system of ideological coordinates. The second one is related to the general trends in the development of industrial society. The third factor is related to the development of visual dominants of the living environment. At the internal level, three components (content, technology and aesthetics) form the components of the morphology of the new materiality. The literal purpose of a particular object of the material world determines the external structure. This is a set of artistic, artistic-utilitarian and utilitarian objects. Each level is considered on the example of works of art industry enterprises. These are the following enterprises: the Leningrad Lomonosov Porcelain Factory and the Leningrad Porcelain Factory (artistic things), the Leningrad Enamel Factory (artistic and utilitarian things), the Komsomolskaya Pravda Factory and the First Tableware Factory (utilitarian things). The space of presentation of the concept of chamber propaganda is the translation of significant ideas, images, plots in mass–produced works of mass demand, which are based on an element of art. The maximum inclusion of objects in the space of the ordinary was ensured by the production scale of the enterprises of the art industry. A high level of presentation of significant ideas and plots was guaranteed by the professional development of technical aesthetics of objects.

Живописные мотивы Арнольда Бёклина в поэзии русского модернизма

The work of the Swiss artist Arnold Böklin (1827–1901) is a bright page of European culture. His painting “Island of the Dead” for several decades in the early 20th century was a favorite canvas of the Russian intelligentsia. The article attempts to consider the evolution of the perception of Böklin’s painting in the era of Russian Art Nouveau in poetry, criticism and public consciousness. The main material of the study is the lyrics of K. Fofanov, A. Fedorov, N. Klyuev, I. Bunin, Andrei Bely, I. Ehrenburg, Sasha Cherny, I. Savin and A. Tarkovsky. Fofanov and Klyuev saw in the painting of the artist a deep reflection of their thoughts about the succession of birth and death in the life of each person and in the fate of all mankind. Fedorov turns to the images of Böklin to create his own version of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Bunin was attracted by the lyrics of nature, mood landscapes expressing the eternal beauty of the universe. Andrei Bely was interested in Böklin’s experiments in pictorial mythopoetics related to his own searches. In the poetry of I. Savin and Tarkovsky’s “Island of the Dead” changes its symbolic content: from a symbol of the greatness of death, it becomes a sad monument to Russian pre-revolutionary life, washed away by a wave of historical cataclysms.

Mythopoetics of Literature: a Symbolic Language of British and American Fantasy and Science Fiction

The paper deals with the study of peculiarities of mythopoetics inclusion in British and American literatures. In particular, it highlights the specificity of the way English-speaking writers refer to such mythopoetic images as tree, raven and dragon. The study is done on the works by famous fantasy and sci-fi writers: John Ronald Reuell Tolkien, Roger Zelazny, Jack Vance and George Martin. A wide range of writings in various genres of literature brings certain difficulties connected with the selection of the study material. The criteria applied to fictional texts selected for the undertaken research are as follows: the degree of influence of a particular writer, the significance of mythologemes under consideration in terms of a particular text, and their level of reinterpretation in the writings of selected novelists. The novelty of a given research is connected with considering selected mythopoetic images in the context of particular examples of British and American fantasy and science fiction never regarded together before. The research findings highlight two leading directions of English-language literatures references to the world mythopoetic heritage of ancient times. Firstly, we see the way such mythologemes as tree, raven and dragon are interwoven in the fictional discourse to create a medieval atmosphere; secondly, writers incorporate archetypical images into their texts as elements of their own myth. The second direction seems to be more promising for it results in new interpretations of classical images rather than their exploitation in new texts, thus encouraging the expansion of their symbolic content.

ЕВОЛЮЦІЯ ЗОБРАЖЕНЬ І СИМВОЛІЗМУ ХРЕСТА В ХРИСТИЯНСТВІ

The article examines the general formation aspects of the cross image and its place in the Christian mythology through the evolution of its attributes and symbolism from the point of view of various movements and denominations since the ancient times the Christianity up to the present day. The author tries to establish the relationship between the semiotic content of the cross' superficial elements and the doctrinal features of the denominations that these elements reflect. In particular, the article provides a historical analysis of the most common forms of the cross, in order to determine the most authentic form from the evangelical point of view. In addition to analyzing the evolution of the external attributes, the author considers the changes in the spiritual and symbolic content of the cross at the universal level, and emphasizes the difference between the concepts of the "cross" and the "crucifix" at the semantic level. The author shares the opinion that the crucifix is not a type of the cross, but it is rather one of its elements that does not depend on the cross' form or shape. It is rather one of the supplementary attributes, in addition to the shape, that indicate the belonging of the image to a particular denomination of the Christianity, and therefore have a deep symbolic content. The article also argues that the primary meaning of the cross, the embodiment of the spiritual redemption for all the humanity through the physical suffering of Jesus Christ, remains an invariant despite the attributive or conceptual changes of its various forms. At the same time, the author refers to the scientific articles of diverse foreign authors, as well as to the comprehensive works of a number of prominent Ukrainian and foreign researchers in this field, in particular, Lubsky V. I., Schaff P., Barroso P. and others. However, the most important role in building the author's argumentation was played by researching and analysing the primary sources, i. e. the New and the Old Testaments.

Эстологическое исследование государственной символики Монголии

The genesis of the formation and the current constitutional and legal status of the state symbols of Mongolia is considered. The material is built on the basis of the use of the latest author’s methodology and scientific research technology (esthological research of the constitutional law of Mongolia). Empirical materials and authentic documents (sources of law, acts of interpretation of law, acts of implementation and application of law) of Mongolia are introduced into scientific circulation. Conclusive constitutional and legal norms are subject to esthological research, which, according to the author, have significant signs of legal and linguistic uncertainty. Based on the study of the patterns of existence of interests in constitutional law and the interests of constitutional and legal regulation in Mongolia, conclusions are synthesized about the meaning and content of state symbols, its legal and technical features. As a result of the study, the presence of a phenomenology of interests of constitutional and legal regulation is revealed. The hypothesis is confirmed that the interests of legal regulation differ from the political interests of subjects of constitutional law.

КОМПЛЕКСНЫЙ АНАЛИЗ СОДЕРЖАНИЯ ИМИДЖА РЕГИОНАЛЬНОГО РУКОВОДИТЕЛЯ (ПО МАТЕРИАЛАМ ОФИЦИАЛЬНОГО САЙТА ПРАВИТЕЛЬСТВА НИЖЕГОРОДСКОЙ ОБЛАСТИ)

The author studies the image of a regional leader in the communicative field of the Internet space. The objectives of the study are to establish thematic intentions in the symbolic content of the leader image, to display the ways of their implementation, as well as to identify the features of communication with other representatives of authorities and society. Based on the theory of the information society, the author analyzes the content of news messages posted on the official website of the Government of the Nizhny Novgorod Region for the period from November 27, 2021, to June 9, 2022, containing a mention of the head of the region. The study uses a set of applied methods, including quantitative content-analysis, network data analysis and linguistic analysis. The results of the study are visualized in the form of tag clouds and a thematic graph. The results show that the idea of goal achievement is the key one presented in the image of a political leader. The main topics of the image content were the interaction between authorities of various levels, economic development and construction, crisis management in the region, launching new projects and breakthrough decisions, and lastly close interaction between Russian regions and the center.

On the cultural-symbolic nature of sports: politico-philosophical aspect Irina I. Myurberg

The purpose of the study is to revise sports as a phenomenon of European culture, placed in the context of modern socio-political pictures of the world. The relevance and novelty of the goal is ensured by phenomenological approach to the subject of research, supplemented with the historical analysis of the main tasks - those associated with the purpose of revealing cultural and symbolic content of such a concept as “competitive sports”. The research is centered on the task of situating modern approaches with those which associate the phenomenon of sports within F. Nietzsche’s philosophical message. Philosophically topical here are cultural and symbolic meanings (those manifesting themselves in “big-time sports”) surviving as political and normative hallmarks; they empower theory to search for interdisciplinary continuity between the analysis of the socio-political evolution of the changing European world and studies dealing with durable cultural and symbolic meanings.

Anthropology in colors: from icon to Painting

Within the framework of this study, the transformation of anthropomorphic images in Medieval and Renaissance painting is analyzed. The visual art of this period is considered as a specific space of "conversation about man", which existed in parallel with discourses about God-man and Man-god. As a means of communication between man and God, the icon, using anthropomorphism in the image of the archetype, represented to the medieval man a certain path and a guide to his own salvation. Along with individual anthropomorphic and naturalistic features, areal ones were also used in iconography, for example, reverse perspective, halo, "twisting of figures" and a number of others that set the symbolic content of the religious image. В В According to the author, the transformation of the icon into a painting in the XIII-XIV centuries was associated not only with the technical development of fine art (the widespread use of direct perspective, the use of camera obscura and oil paints), but also with significant changes that occurred in the intellectual space of Europe. The narcissistic turn in Renaissance art, expressed in the dissolution of the boundaries between the human and the divine, the maximum naturalization of religious content, as well as in the development of self-portraits, is, first of all, a turn from the discourse about God-man to the discourse about Man-God. Relying on philosophical sources, two independent positions (Ficino and da Vinci) on the nature of metamorphosis and the place of pictorial images in the description and definition of man are considered.

Performance stylistics of piano program pieces by Chinese composers (Wang Jianzhong “Red lilies bloomed on the mountain”)

Background. The article examines the piano piece «Red Lilies Bloomed on the Mountain» by the Chinese composer Wang Jiangzhong. The general characteristics of the genre of the program piece, the imagery, symbolism or folklore of the names of piano works are considered, which help to specify the figurative content with the help of verbal decoding, bringing the performer and the listener closer to the figurative and emotional essence of Chinese national instrumental creativity. Objectives. In order to identify the universal mechanism of piano interpretation of program pieces by Chinese composers, the specific features and specificity of Chinese national artistic thinking are analyzed, which is reflected in the performing style, which includes the understanding of the figurative sphere, issues of a technological nature, and the stylistic authenticity of the performance. Methods. The research methodology requires a systematic musicological approach to the study of the selected musical material, which, in turn, led to the use of such methods as: historical-typological, musical-aesthetic, genre-stylistic, interpretological, comparative. Results. If the pianist fully understands the character of the piece and the main ideas of Chinese philosophy, then this knowledge will tend to direct the performance of any piece to the creative process. The psychological aspect of performance requirements consists of two aspects: – determination and confidence of mood, firmness in one’s convictions and ideals, which are reflected in the music of the play thanks to certain musical techniques and compositional techniques; – the natural mobility and lightness of the melody, the overall consistency of its sound, as well as the harmonious combination of such musical characteristics as the smoothness and contrast of the sound. The requirements for the aesthetic component of the work are aimed mainly at researching the national uniqueness of the work, reflecting its beauty and symbolic content, as well as at a detailed analysis of the synthesis of national and Western musical traditions. Existing attempts at music notation in san-ban rhythms should be classified as the most general instructions for performers, especially those who do not have sufficient experience in the field of musical self-expression in the traditions of Chinese music. Conclusions. The performer must also focus on such aspects as: awareness of various philosophical ideas that directly affect both the symbolic content and imagery of Chinese music itself, and the creative process associated with its reproduction and performance on stage; the importance of understanding the title of the work, its historical and cultural context; the need for an accurate sense of latitudinal relationships in the theme and texture of the work, feeling the sound ideal of authentic sounding with the inner ear.

Folkloryzm w oporze społecznym: studium przypadku Białorusi 2020–2021

The article presents an analysis of selected examples of the use of traditions in Belarusian protests of 2020–2021 caused by the presidential election in August 2020. The arrangement of protest messages with elements of folklore and folk culture is a part of the phenomenon of folklorism. Folklorism based on the deliberate use of the content and forms of folklore extracted from the natural environment or folklore documentation and placed in current life situations. Traditional, deeply symbolic content, rooted in the people’s world picture in order to show civic resistance was relocated to the urban ground and actualized according to the current socio-political situation. The use of traditional rituals was changed into the form of performative actions, demonstrating the protest based on traditional symbols. The return to tradition contributed to the unity of protesters. It was affected on the construction of ethno-cultural identity of the protest based on elements of Belarusian folk culture. These elements of the tradition were meant to symbolically resolve national tasks important for the protest.

СИМВОЛЬНІ ЗНАЧЕННЯ КОМПОНЕНТІВ-ОСТЕОНІМІВ У СТРУКТУРІ ДІАЛЕКТНИХ ФРАЗЕОЛОГІЗМІВ (НА МАТЕРІАЛІ ГОВІРКИ СЕЛА РУСЬКІ КОМАРІВЦІ УЖГОРОДСЬКОГО РАЙОНУ ЗАКАРПАТСЬКОЇ ОБЛАСТІ)

The article is devoted to the study of the symbolic meanings and ethnocultural content of phraseological units with osteonym components, which serve as a means of studying the national specificity of the phraseological composition of the language. It was found that the repertoire of osteonyms in the dialect of Ruski Komarivtsi village in the Uzhhorod District of the Transcarpathian Region is characterized by the presence of typical units for determining the skeletal system of causes, phraseological productivity is demonstrated by such traditional names as кус′т′á, кýстка, кýсточка, ребрό, хреибéт, плеичé. Osteonyms as components of phrasemes traditionally have a negative symbolic load: bones, as the basis of the human body, are associated in speech with, first of all, the basic and defining form of human existence, are perceived as an indicator-measure of physical condition, speech abilities, realize a symbolic load associated with by death; the symbolic functions of the rib osteonym are also characterized by a negative evaluation; the spine is a qualifier of a person's physical condition, it is associated with hard work, suffering, although at the same time it can symbolize a person's negative qualities; osteonymic components the shoulder and back characterize a person's physical, spiritual and even intellectual potential, serve as a representative of its emotional state, negative manifestations in relationships with others, etc. It was found that the ethno-cultural specificity of somatic phrasemes is manifested not only through the peculiarities of the symbolic content, but also through the structural composition of the phrasemes, the appearance of additional meanings or semantic modifications. It was concluded that symbolic osteonyms in the structure of phraseological units of dialect are representatives of ethno-cultural information and traditionally have a negative symbolic load.

Орнамент и содержание: сюжет и смысл «Поцелуя» Густава Климта

The article examines the most famous work of the Austrian artist Gustav Klimt — The Kiss. It analyses the insufficiency of the existing, most common both in academic and popular culture interpretations of this painting as an abstract image of lovers, a kind of “yin and yang” or the struggle and unity of the male and female opposites. For the first time in Russian research, evidence of a specific plot of The Kiss is provided. Based on the artist’s career, then-contemporary literature, the context of the creation of the painting, and its figurative and symbolic content, the plot of the painting is identified as the meeting of Ariadne and Dionysus on the island of Naxos. This, in turn, reveals the semantic content of The Kiss not as an abstract “icon of love” or the image of gender relations, as universally perceived, but broadly — as a symbol of the fullness of life in general, correlating, on the one hand, with the programs of R. Wagner and F. Nietzsche, and on the other hand, with the aspiration of Art Nouveau to the ultimate modernity. As a whole, The Kiss reconciles the conditional avant-garde of modernity with strict academicism, being a capacious and emotionally charged variation on a classic theme, performed in the current artistic language. At the same time, in the context of the artist’s own path, The Kiss, due to the reversal of the plot about Theseus and the Minotaur, which was put on the poster of the first Secession exhibition, becomes a sign of overcoming the crisis of 1905 associated with the failure of the artist’s Faculty paintings and the break with the Secession.

Synchronism of Symbolic Manifestations in Traditional Religions

The article provides a theoretical analysis of the religious and philosophical essence and the evolution of the development of the content of the main symbols of world religions that have become traditional. Through this analysis, the goal was to identify the ideological and practical features of traditional religions, as well as the continuity and synchronism of symbolic manifestations in them. A religious symbol is a special form of expression, explanation of the idea, content, and practical nature of religion. It can have both a secret and allegorical meaning, while simultaneously expressing a specific object. Therefore, when studying the history of religions, religious beliefs and religious practices, special attention should be paid to their symbols. Given the relevance of this problem, the authors of the article using the comparative historical method compare the development and transformation of the symbols of world religions in different periods of time. The continuity of symbolic manifestations in traditional religions is clearly reflected in the content of the ideology of religions and in terms of the performance of religious rituals and ceremonies. At the same time, all traditional religions call humanity to peace, mutual love, kindness, and religious tolerance. In the course of the analysis of the ethical and eschatological categories of these religions, the semantic and content similarities of sacred concepts, religious rituals and ceremonies performed for the purpose of worship were revealed.  Key words: Traditional religions, religious faith, religious symbol, religious ceremonies, religious experience

IMAGES OF CHRIST AND THE VIRGIN MARY IN THE POETRY OF HRYHORII SKOVORODA AND WIRA WOWK

The paper analyzes the images of Jesus Christ and the Mother of God in the poetry by Hryhorii Skovoroda and Wira Wowk. Until now, this topic has not been the object of scholarly research although the creativity of writers has many common features: aphoristic style, philosophical mood, and biblical figurative elements. The purpose of the paper is to characterize the specifics of interpreting the images of Christ and the Mother of God in the authors’ poetry. The analysis is based on the collections “The Garden of Divine Songs” by H. Skovoroda and “The Rosary for Christ”, “The Rosary for the Mother of God” by Wira Wowk.
 Peculiar in the reception of the figure of Christ in the poetry of both authors is its outer featurelessness and deep semantic content. H. Skovoroda used the concepts of ʻlifeʼ, ʻjoyʼ, ʻpure heartʼ and the biblical symbols of fire, stone, word, and grain; Wira Wowk preferred the symbols of word, light, heart, and ear of corn. Each author is characterized by the original interpretation of the biblical image of the Savior. He is embodied in the figures of a guest, an astronomer, a doctor hurt for human faults (poetry by H. Skovoroda) and a doctor, a heavenly gardener, a helmsman on Cheremosh (poetry by Wira Wowk).
 The image of the Virgin in H. Skovoroda’s work is less pronounced than the image of Jesus and is revealed only in three poems, while Wira Wowk dedicated three separate collections to the Virgin Mary. There are different symbolic hypostases of the Mother of God in the poems by H. Skovoroda, which have been singled out. Wira Wowkʼs interpretation of this image is characterized by such features as iconographic specification, biblical dynamics of unfolding, and symbolic content (images of the Winged Mother of God, the Mother Princess, Lilia, Oranta). The image of Mother Mary is common to both authors (Mary, Mother of Jesus — in Skovoroda’s poems and Mother of humanity, the world, and Ukraine — in Wira Wowk’s ones).
 Special attention has been paid to the biblical prototext in the poetic works by H. Skovoroda and Wira Wowk, important in the interpretation of the figures of Christ and the Mother of God, as well as to the moral and axiological depth of these images and their conceptual significance.

Theta-phase connectivity between medial prefrontal and posterior areas underlies novel instructions implementation.

Implementing novel instructions is a complex and uniquely human cognitive ability, which requires the rapid and flexible conversion of symbolic content into a format that enables the execution of the instructed behavior. Preparing to implement novel instructions, as opposed to their mere maintenance, involves the activation of the instructed motor plans, and the binding of the action information to the specific context in which this should be executed. Recent evidence and prominent computational models suggest that this efficient configuration of the system might involve a central role of frontal theta oscillations in establishing top-down long-range synchronization between distant and task-relevant brain areas. In the present EEG study (human subjects, 30 females, 4 males), we demonstrate that proactively preparing for the implementation of novels instructions, as opposed to their maintenance, involves a strengthened degree of connectivity in the theta frequency range between medial prefrontal and motor/visual areas. Moreover, we replicated previous results showing oscillatory features associated specifically with implementation demands, and extended on them demonstrating the role of theta oscillations in mediating the effect of task demands on behavioral performance. Taken together, these findings support our hypothesis that the modulation of connectivity patterns between frontal and task-relevant posterior brain areas is a core factor in the emergence of a behavior-guiding format from novel instructions.

Bonding over a death: signalling in the funeral episode of Ibn Faḍlān’s Risala

Many of the rites described by Ibn Faḍlān in his account of a Rūs funeral remain obscure. Rather than attempting to further puzzle out the symbolic content of these funerary practices, this article uses signalling theory to examine their role in group dynamics. Signalling theory examines the honesty of communications between individuals, focusing especially on how costly acts can represent the fitness and cooperative qualities of the communicator. Applying this theory to Ibn Faḍlān’s descriptions can help elucidate the funeral’s impact on in‐group and out‐group observers, the transmission of associated counter‐intuitive beliefs and, more broadly, group fitness and prosociality.

Categorical Confusion: Ideological Labels in China

The idea of a left-right ideological dimension helps citizens and parties organize their thinking about politics. While the left-right dimension is traditionally organized around questions of inequality and change in democracies, its meaning under authoritarian rule remains uncertain. This paper uses two national surveys to investigate the policy, partisan, and symbolic content of the left-right dimension in China. The analysis of these surveys reveals that while many Chinese citizens are willing to locate themselves on the left-right scale, their placements are distorted by a variety of perceptual bias known as differential item functioning. The labels of left and right do not carry a consistent programmatic meaning, and the partisan and symbolic content of these ideological labels is limited. One implication of the absence of a shared ideological understanding is that it prevents Chinese citizens from developing the type of vocabulary necessary for exercising political agency.

Sakralne i ludyczne symbole szczygła w języku i kulturze

SACRED AND LUDIC SYMBOLS OF A GOLDFINCH IN LANGUAGE AND CULTURE The article is dedicated to symbolic representations of szczygieł (a goldfinch) in Polish language and culture, taking into account the European cultural background. The author presents the process of symbolization of the sacred and ludic profile of a goldfinch as a representative of avifauna based on linguistic data (etymology, phrasematics), text data (literature and folklore), as well as on iconography. References to Western European painting made it possible for the author to present the multiple layers of a goldfinch symbolism and related differences in the way of imaging, developing connotations and conceptualization of symbolic contents. The sacred imagery was dominated by Biblical associations, while in ludic images there was a tendency to present birds as autotelic beings without strictly religious connotations.

Restorative Retelling for Processing Psychedelic Experiences: Rationale and Case Study of Complicated Grief.

RationaleMany psychedelic experiences are meaningful, but ineffable. Engaging in meaning-making regarding emerging symbolic content and changing previous schemas have been proposed as mechanisms of change in psychedelic therapy.ObjectiveFirstly, we suggest the implementation of a Restorative Retelling (RR) technique to process and integrate the psychedelic experience into autobiographical memory, in a way that fosters meaning-making. We also show how ayahuasca has the potential to evoke key psychological content in survivors, during the process of grief adjustment following the death of a loved one.MethodsThe rationale for the implementation of RR to process psychedelic experiences and a case study of a woman suffering from Complicated Grief (CG) after her mother’s suicide are presented.ResultsEvaluations conducted before the ayahuasca experience and after RR suggest the effectiveness of ayahuasca and RR in reducing symptoms of CG and psychopathology.ConclusionThis case report illustrates an effective adaptation of the RR technique for processing the psychedelic experience. The significance of the study and its limitations are discussed.

The Evolution of Friedrich Overbeck's Monumental Painting

The subject of the study is monumental murals, as well as cardboard and sketches by the German artist, one of the founders of the "Union of St. Luke", Friedrich Overbeck (Johann Friedrich Overbeck; 1789-1869), in comparison with his easel works and frescoes by masters of his circle. The object of research is the specifics and evolution of the artist's approach to monumental painting. The purpose of this work is to identify the features of Friedrich Overbeck's fresco painting, and also to analyze the evolution of the manner of his work on monumental cycles. Stylistic, iconographic, historical and cultural analysis is used as the methodological basis of the study. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the fact that despite the fact that Overbeck's activity became one of the important phenomena of European artistic life in the first half of the XIX century, the problem of the formation and development of his approach to fresco painting was practically not touched upon in Russian and Western historiography. This study traced the gradual transition in Overbeck's work from simple illustrative compositions to complex multi-level programs in their meaning. The main specificity of Overbeck's monumental cycles relative to other Nazarenes is the complication of the symbolic content of the works, primarily based on the use of "typological symbolism".