Visual Symbols Research Articles

Silent Protesters or Acceptors? The Reaction of the Russian-speakers to the Removal of the Soviet Monuments in Latvia and Estonia after Russia’s Full-scale Invasion of Ukraine*

For a long time the approach of the both two Baltic states to the Soviet heritage was formed by: (1) international and bilateral agreements which obliged states to protect monuments and memorial sites of the Soviet Army as well as (2) numerous Russian-speaking community for whom the Soviet statues constitute its cultural identity. The situation has significantly changed due to Russia’s aggressive policy against Ukraine, when the authorities made several attempts to remove the Soviet monuments. This brought some controversies and objections among the Russian-speaking communities in Latvia and Estonia. The paper focuses on the transformation of the national historical narrative toward the Soviet monuments and the processes of the adapting of the Russian-speaking community to the official memory discourse. More specifically, the aim is to explore the ways in which the Russian-speaking residents reacted to the removal of the Soviet monuments. The concept of resistance was applied in order to explore and synthesize the outcomes of the interviews carried out among Russian-speaking communities in Latvia and Estonia. It is argued here that the reconstruction of the public space by shifting the most visual symbol of the victory of the Red Army in the WWII has not induced hot feelings among the Russian-speaking society, and thus, it has not motivated community to take part in the open protest against the removal. Most of the minority representatives stayed passive and silent adapting to the new reality.

Multimodal representations of LOVE and PASSION in Lithuanian graphic novel “Gertruda. Graphic diary of generation Y”, by G. JORD

ABSTRACT In this research we aim to analyse the multimodal representations of the concepts of LOVE and PASSION in Lithuanian graphic novel ‘Gertrūda’, by Gerda Jord. The multimodal approach, that combines textual, visual, and semiotic analysis is applied in the research. In the work of these researchers, the analysis of the conceptualisation of emotions is based on the explorations by cognitive linguistics. The analysis of the multimodal nature of graphic novels particularly as it relates to the portrayal of complex emotions such as LOVE and PASSION, remains relatively undeveloped. The research revealed that the source domains for LOVE expose concepts of CLOSENESS, UNITY, MORAL VIRTUE and for PASSION source domains encompass PRESSURE IN THE CONTAINER, CREATIVITY, PHYSICAL POWER, and HEAT of the SUN. The investigation scrutinises the intertextual, visual, and narrative elements present in ‘Gertruda.’ We explore how the characters’ interactions, visual symbolism, and narrative structure contribute to the representation of LOVE and PASSION within the context of a post-Soviet Lithuanian society. Additionally, we consider the socio-cultural and historical backdrop of Lithuania to provide a holistic understanding of how these emotions are intricately woven into the narrative fabric of the graphic novel.

Islamic Influence and Dogon Cultural Synthesis: Redefining Cultural Dynamics in Mali

Purpose of the Study: This study aims to re-evaluate the commonly held perception that Islamization leads to the destruction of traditional African cultural symbols and practices. Focusing on the Dogon people of Mali, the research seeks to understand how Islam interacts with and influences their traditional visual culture. Methodology: This study utilizes a combination of observational and ethnographic methods to analyze visual cultural elements in Dogon Country, including sculptures, door locks, traditional buildings, and Dogon mosques, based on extensive fieldwork conducted from 2015 to 2023. Main Findings: Contrary to the notion that Islam erases indigenous visual culture, the study finds a unique form of interaction between Islam and traditional Dogon visual symbols. The Dogon people have retained their beliefs in “jinna” and continue their ritualistic practices. Notably, the influence of Islam has led to the creation of Dogon mosques, which are new architectural forms that incorporate traditional Dogon decorative motifs associated with idol or fetish worship. Applications of This Study: The findings offer significant insights for cultural preservation efforts in Mali and similar contexts. By demonstrating the capacity for harmonious coexistence of Islamic and traditional cultural elements, this research provides a framework for understanding and preserving the rich cultural heritage of the Dogon people. Novelty/Originality of This Study: This study offers a unique insight into the symbiotic relationship between Islamic and traditional Dogon cultures, challenging the common narrative of cultural erasure and highlighting the possibilities of cultural adaptation and synthesis in Africa.

The body as a canvas: Memory, tattoos and the Holocaust

This article explores the decision amongst the children and grandchildren of Auschwitz survivors to replicate the concentration camp number of their survivor family member on their own body. The article sheds new light on the complex intergenerational legacy of the Holocaust and on memorial practices. By focusing on the tattoo as a form of memorial practice, the article captures the intersections between the contemporary trend of tattooing and the concentration camp number as the visual symbol of the crimes of the Nazis. Drawing on data from qualitative interviews with 13 descendants of Holocaust survivors, the article considers motivations for getting the tattoo, conversations with the survivor parent or grandparent about the tattoo (if they were still alive), as well as the design and placement on the body. The decision to replicate the number was a statement about family relationships and was often a way of expressing love, legacy and continuity and pride. Some descendants who replicated the number, which had dehumanised and stigmatised their ancestor, saw it as a way of reclaiming. The tattoo also had a dialogical function, keeping family stories and histories alive as we enter the post-witness era. The sociological analysis is this article shows how personal lives are shaped by memories, as well as secrets and silences, and how they connect with history, relationships and identity. This article contributes to our understanding of the legacy of the Holocaust on families and family relationships and the corporeal impacts across generations.

WURRANDERRA’S SYMBOLS: AN EXPLORATION AND CONTEXTUALISATION OF THE THURK PETROGLYPH SITE (KINGSTON-ON-MURRAY) ON THE MURRAY RIVER, SOUTH AUSTRALIA

This article describes and contextualises the rock art at the Thurk Petroglyph Site on the Murray River in South Australia using multiple methods. The Thurk Aboriginal engravings comprise at least 524 motifs made up predominantly of geometric line elements as well as a small number of other ‘simple’ geometric motifs, two ‘bird tracks’, one figurative design (a ‘fish’) and a possible anthropomorphous figure. This paper provides the first synthesis of rock art sites/complexes and motifs from other sites on the Murray River as well as visual symbols recorded from senior Aboriginal ‘knowledge carriers’. These syntheses allow us to consider the relationship of Thurk to other cultural places and to highlight and honour the traditional knowledges and beliefs which underpin the rock art. Thurk’s placement within the riverscape, its unique geological canvas, lack of observable ‘domestic’ archaeological evidence combined with it being the likely upstream extent of Murray River rock art in South Australia contribute additional dimensions to its cultural significance. That Thurk’s rock art, and the broader site, have been desecrated by gratuitous graffiti, vandalism and infrastructure brings into sharp focus Australia’s poor record of heritage protection and provides a challenge to current and future generations of non-Aboriginal people to remedy this past.

The Poetic Fables and Realistic Dilemmas of Disney's Live action Film “Mulan”

This article takes the 2020 Disney live action film “Mulan” as a case study to analyze the exploration of women in Niki Caro's works. On the one hand, this film uses unique visual symbols and emotional expressions to compose a poetic fable about women's awakening. On the other hand, it is difficult to break free from the "male standard" in the text and the "compromiseism" in business. With the help of this chain from various angles, one can glimpse the contradictory situation of female film creation at present.

Constructing an ideal home: Affective atmosphere creation as a public participation strategy for urban village renovation

The public participation process in the renovation of urban villages should not only ensure procedural justice but also guide the affective integration of residents. This paper explores the public's perception of the participation space and the process of affective construction based on a visual study of the Luofeng village renovation in Guangzhou. The aim is to elucidate how the space can be employed to create an affective atmosphere as a strategy for the renovation. The study reveals that participants focused on visual symbols carrying the narrative of daily life, evoking a positive emotional response to these elements. The public participation space successfully establishes a homey atmosphere and achieves the affective reproduction of residents through the creation of its physical environment, residents' embodied practices within it, and negotiated interactions among different subjects. Drawing on the case study, we advocate for the public participation process in urban village renovation to consider residents' embodied affective experiences. It provides a practical model that surpasses mere representation, with the intention of offering a reference for sustainable urban renewal.

Study on the Symbolic Construction of Female Stereotypes in TV Advertisements

Since television advertisements entered the field of mass communication in the 20th century, the presentation of female images in advertisements has been influenced by gender stereotypes for a long time. Despite the recent increase in female subjectivity, the values behind them still face the problem of “breaking without standing.” This study suggests that the impact of stereotypes on the portrayal of women in television advertisements from the early 20th century to the present is mainly due to their goal of promoting consumption and not making necessary adjustments to their values. This study found that using visual and auditory symbols deepens the impact of gender stereotypes on television advertising communication, and consumerist values influence current advertising communication.

Brothers/soldiers: trauma and wartime Ahwaz in the art of Sadegh Tirafkan

ABSTRACT This essay explores the significance of a series of posthumously discovered, staged, colour photographs of twin boys holding rifles, as well as a short screenplay entitled ‘Tulips Bloom’, that the internationally-recognized artist Sadegh Tirafkan (1965–2013) created as a youth in Ahwaz, Iran, in 1982. Taking into consideration the context of the Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988) and the related culture of martyrdom that so strongly affected the region and the artist's imagination reveals a subtext of trauma that may – the author proposes – explain the prominence of visual motifs, symbols and themes that recur throughout the artist's subsequent 30-year career. The author relies upon visual analysis of the artist's photographic art, published interviews, comparative visual analysis involving Iranian visual culture from the era (Balaghi; Chelkowski and Dabashi; Saramifar; Varzi); art history (Daneshvari; Foster; Keshmirshekan; Nazari; Porter); and theories of trauma from psychology (Herman), literary theory (Caruth) and sociology (Alexander; Erikson), in order to provide a new understanding of the artist's work throughout his career, from 1982 to 2013, and how the Iran-Iraq War shaped notions of Iranian post-Revolutionary identity in terms of military sacrifice and death.

Speech Network Analysis and Spoken English Teaching for 6G Wireless Transmission Technology

Abstract Recent years have seen intensive research and widespread application of 6G wireless transmission technology, providing a technical bridge for the application of speech network analysis to spoken English teaching. Thus, this paper suggests a method for improving 6G technology. This paper primarily focuses on the following areas: First, to prevent overfitting, the dropout technique under 6G is added to the model, and the speech feature extracted from the data by the coding network is directly utilized. We then utilize the feature for either reconstruction or classification purposes. Initially, we perform unsupervised reconstruction using unlabeled data, and once we obtain the network parameters, we use the labeled data for classification. The next step involves feeding both data simultaneously into the model to calculate the error. Finally, we use gradient descent to minimize the error and optimize the parameters until the model converges. This model can convert sound-related symbols or information into visual symbols, and it can also convert speech into text. Comparative analysis shows that the improved method in this paper is far better than other methods in terms of noise reduction, and the signal-to-noise ratio of this paper is 3.76 dB higher than that of the LMS algorithm and 1.36 dB higher than that of the spectral subtraction method, which can stimulate the students’ interest in learning spoken English and increase the student’s interest in learning by 13.64% as a whole. It can be summarized through the comparison that this paper’s improved method increases the clarity of speech network analysis, which helps students teach spoken English.

ЖИВОТНЫЕ КРАЙНЕГО СЕВЕРА В РАБОТАХ ХУДОЖНИКА А.А. БОРИСОВА

The subject matter of the study is images of animals in the works of the Russian artist A.A. Borisov, compared with the written observations of that author. In the field of painting, his landscapes made in the open air at low temperatures, sketches of the life of the Nenets, images of sanctuaries and northern settlements brought from expeditions (1894–1901) gained world recognition. In the context of those works, one can identify a special artistic vision of the animals of the Arctic. It’s the point of view of an academic painter-researcher belonging to the Christian denomination, i.e. an outside observer from a different culture, seeking to give a figurative and understandable language for describing the Russian North. The article analyzes the images and descriptions of a deer, a dog and a polar bear, presented in the artist’s work, and matches them with the folklore tradition of the Nenets. As an interested traveler, A.A. Borisov demonstrates an alternative view, opposite to the popular opinion of his time about the Nenets as a ‘wild’ and ‘stupid’ people. The artist presents his approach to depicting the unique nomadic northern culture. Animals, on the one hand, are verbally described in a utilitarian, beneficial, rational focus, however, on the other hand, the visual material reflects an attentive, sensitive attitude towards them as part of the harsh, mysterious, but in its own way beautiful northern nature, an integral part of Nenets everyday life. Images of animals in the context of the formation of the Russian program for the development of the northern territories at the beginning of the 20th century, in addition to factual description, serve as marking them as an asset to our world and a visual symbol.

Fostering team dynamics in university sport science student: a low-constraint social identity intervention

Traditionally, improving group dynamic has relied on cohesion and team building (TB) interventions. However, the time-intensive nature of TB interventions poses challenges for their implementation and effectiveness. Acknowledging the significance of the Social Identity Approach (SIA) in shaping group dynamic, this study aims to propose an enlightened TB intervention tailored for task-oriented groups. A total of 741 sports science students (Mage = 19.65; SD = 1.43; female = 187) participated in a 45-minutes intervention, based on an experimental scenario involving inter-group competition, forming 19 teams with stakes for the winners and losers. The identity group underwent a three-step intervention, including defining team boundaries, discussing team desirability and values, and creating a visual team identity symbol. The control group received a theoretical course on social identity theories. Results demonstrated a significant improvement in group belonging, ingroup ties, and cognitive centrality compared to the control group. The findings support the interest of a social identity approach for teams with demanding schedules to initiate preliminary work targeting optimal Group dynamic.

Research on Visual Symbol Design of Ancient Locks Based on Peircean Semiotics—Taking the Broad Lock as an Example

Research on Visual Symbol Design of Ancient Locks Based on Peircean Semiotics—Taking the Broad Lock as an Example

СОВЕТСКИЙ ХУДОЖЕСТВЕННЫЙ КИНЕМАТОГРАФ 1960-Х ГГ. КАК ИСТОЧНИК ПО ИЗУЧЕНИЮ ИСТОРИИ ИНДУСТРИАЛЬНОГО СТРОИТЕЛЬСТВА

The article considers as historical sources Soviet feature films of the 1960s – “As Long as Man Lives” (1963), “On Tomorrow’s Street” (1965). It deals with some aspects of the filmmaking, thereby treating feature films as full-fledged historical source for studying not only the history of cinema, but also the history of science and technology. To reconstruct the plan and the actual process of filming, the authors used the documents of fund No. 2944 from the Russian State Archives of Literature and Art (fund of the State Committee of the USSR Council of Ministers for Cinematography {Goskino SSSR} of the period from 1963 to 1992. The archival materials helped to vividly show how the USSR Goskino initiated and controlled the process of creating feature films. The most informative in that respect were the production reports and the correspondence with the management of film studios and art councils, etc. Methodologically, the article is based on the concept of the cinema-photo-phono-documents elaborated by V.M. Magidov. According to the above concept, Soviet feature films are considered to be an integral part of the cinema-photo-phono-document identity, in which the cinema, through visualization, content of the film frame and the montage specifics brings to the screen items of machinery, objects of industrial production and attributes of industrial development. By transferring the visual symbols into the field of historical research, there appears the need to interpret the director’s decisions and assess the authenticity of the depicted events.

A SEMIOTIC APPROACH TO URBAN AREA: ODUNPAZARI HISTORICAL AREA CASE, ESKISEHİR

Through the use of visual symbols and design elements, architecture has many abstract meanings and integrated communicative elements. It relates to cultural systems such as shared values, scientific developments, moral codes, religions, and economic situations. Without a doubt, globalization has caused countries to resemble each other, and that makes local cultures more attractive. This has led to the tendency of local governments to create a new urban identity for economic development. This study examines the "Historic Odunpazari Houses Conservation and Development Project” area in Odunpazarı Locale, as a place with deep indicators of different urban images. The area is built on a hillside in the South of Eskisehir, Turkey, which symbolizes the Ottoman period's urban life. The semiotic approach is used to determine connotative meanings of buildings in historical area. Results show that renovated buildings are highly connotative structures. These kinds of buildings contain more metaphors than the original ones.

Audience-oriented Aesthetic and Creative Research on Animated Films Based on Visual Communication Design

Abstract Animation movie conveys the connotation of animation to the audience through visual symbols, and the audience-oriented animation movie improves the aesthetic ability and diversifies the creative design. This paper starts with the analysis of visual communication design technology in animated films, analyzes the principle of visual communication design of animated images, and realizes the production of animated films by using multi-visual 3D animation modeling and texture rendering technology. The Sobel edge operator is introduced to optimize the image edge data of animated movies, so as to improve the image quality of animated movies. The development trend of visual communication design is discussed, and the aesthetic characteristics of visual communication design for animated films and the mutual influence between them are analyzed. In order to explore the aesthetic expression and creative design methods of animated films, quantitative analysis of data was conducted using current animated film works. The results show that the bit code rate in the full intra-frame coding mode of optimized production of animated images using visual communication technology is −1.87%, the highest quality factor is around 0.95, and the variation of smoothness is kept between 80% and 90%. Audience-oriented visual communication design of animated films should be based on the utility of information conveyance and rhythmic rhyme design and prompt the creative design of animated films through association, whimsy, metaphor, style and other ways.

O filozofii formalnej Miguela Ángela Asturiasa

This paper analyses the linguistic structure, creative modes of expression and stylistic properties of Miguel Ángel Asturias’s Legends of Guatemala (Leyendas de Guatemala, 1930). Furthermore, it attempts to classify Asturias’s prose fiction, which is often multifaceted, by defining the unique character of its complex linguistic mechanisms that create his debut short-story collection. All texts in Legends contain references not only to events of the Mayan cosmogony, mythological tropes and motifs (that have been developed and put into a new context), but also to their mimetic relationship with the ritual language used in the Popol Vuh. The word order variations and certain combinations of vowels and consonants, as well as the specific syntactic parallelisms and enumerations (stylistic and lexical “props”) imitate formulaic phrases which are important elements in oral style. Pre-Columbian themes – especially those chosen by the Guatemalan writer for the narrative content of his works – are full of visual symbols with rich folk meanings; the melodic sound of Asturias’s narration (and its internal rhythm) seems attuned to the worldview belonging to both particular and universal human communities.

Генезис образов посева и жатвы в батальном тексте рубежа XVIII-XIX века

<p>The article deals with visual metaphors representing military events by analogy with labor actions related to the cultivation of the land and the harvest. The purpose of the study is to identify the literary genesis, semantic component and artistic potential of the images of the battle field and the battle in the battle text of the turn of the 18<sup>th</sup>-19<sup>th</sup> century. The material for the study was the works from the «Collection of Poems relating to the unforgettable year 1812», the poetic imagery of which is studied in comparison with biblical metaphors, the tradition of the Old Russian military narrative, classical batalistics. It is determined that, like the Old Russian military story, landscape details are included in the course of military events in the works from the «Collection...», that is why natural images form a significant layer of metaphorics of battle works, endow the poetic text with additional meanings through visual symbolism. It is proved that the visual metaphor with the core «field» and the images associated with it function in the «Collection...» as symbols and emblems associated with the expression of the opposition of war and peace, a visible representation of the victory won. The most frequent plant images in the battle text are fields symbolically associated with life, and gardens allegorically representing the world as paradise. The novelty of the research is seen in the expansion of ideas about the poetics of the visual in Russian literature by considering the mechanisms of visualization of the artistic image in the battle text of the early 19<sup>th</sup> century.</p>

EUROCENTRISM IN THE HUNT FOR THE ASSASSINATION OF J.W.W. BIRCH IN PASIR SALAK, PERAK BY ILLUSTRATED LONDON NEWS IN 1876: A VISUAL ANALYSIS

This study aims to observe the role of Eurocentrism in the visual reporting of the assassination of JWW Birch, reported by The Illustrated London News in 1876. This study aims to discuss the contents of the visual report in the hunt for JWW Birch’s assassination and the Malay resistance against the British colonial powers in Pasir Salak, Perak. The relevant visuals produced and reported by the newspaper served to report to the British public and the British royal family. Previous studies have shown that the focus on Eurocentrism in visual reports produced by Western newspapers in the 19th century does not receive enough attention among researchers, even though it can provide new interpretations of the historical events of Malaya through the visuals produced. This study utilises iconography analysis to interpret visual symbolism in the hunt for the assassination of J.W.W. Birch in Pasir Salak, Perak by The Illustrated London News. The essay explores the contextualization, historical significance, and cultural meaning of these visuals, aiming to deepen understanding of using iconography in historical artistic mediums.This study is relevant and possesses its own interest regarding the discussion on Eurocentrism in Malaya. It provides a different approach as the concept of Eurocentrism is discussed via visuals reported by a newspaper controlled by the British compared to other studies that solely focused on Eurocentrism in Malaya via written reports and records. The results found that Eurocentrism in the visual reports produced by the newspaper aims to preserve the British image that was ruined and jeopardised due to Birch’s assassination. However, their plan did not go as expected due to the availability of visual reports that displayed the British military attack on Pasir Salak, Perak by other newspapers. This resulted from their own doing, where they did not control their visuals from being produced by other media

The Visualization of Spirits in The Digital World as Creative Commodities in Indonesia

This study analyzes the visualization process of spirits in the supernatural world that are seen by humans in the physical world through digital contents as creative commodities. Spirit content is still promising as a creative commodity in Indonesia. This content has a lot of curious fans because it can be facilitated visually. The content, which is believed to have different worlds, is able to unite the physical world and the energy world. The energy world includes the digital world and the supernatural world. Thus, the differences between the worlds are interesting to analyze for creative process development. This study uses the qualitative method, the virtual theory from Rob Shield used to map the position of spirits, humans, and platforms. The communication theory is used to see the visual transfer process to society, and Sasmita explores the signs that appear in the content. The findings indicate that representing intangible entities through locally relevant visual symbols proved beneficial for content creators, enabling the production of innovative content that enhances audience interaction. This was achieved by conveying messages to the audience through the construction of symbols and leveraging visual perception.
 Keywords: creative commodities; digital world; spirits content; visual process.