SEMIOTICS OF VISUAL ART: THE THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL ASPECTS

Abstract

The article highlights the peculiarities of semiotic analysis of visual art. Such debatable problems of the semiotics of visual arts as the specifics of the iconic sign, the ontological status of the image and the sign-symbolic structure of artistic representation are analyzed. The purpose of the paper is to highlight the theoretical and methodological aspect of the semiotic analysis of visual art. The research methodology is based on the synthesis of semiotic analysis, philosophical hermeneutics and phenomenology. Structural approach, methods of terminological explication, comparison and generalization were also used. Scientific novelty. The main elements of the semiotic structure of visual arts are defined and analyzed. The explanation of the concepts of “iconic sign”, “representation”, “image” is deepened. Features and problems of semiotic analysis of visual art are highlighted. The expediency of combining the semiotic method with phenomenological and hermeneutic approaches is substantiated. Conclusions. A work of fine art is not only a semiotic-communicative, but also an ontological phenomenon, in which the images of existence acquire a meaningful and visible manifestation. An artistic image does not duplicate and reflect life’s reality, but depicts it, spiritually transforming it into artistic images. The semiosis of visual art should be understood on the basis of its ontological structure, based on such key concepts as “sign”, “image”, “symbol”, “picture”, “representation”. The nature of aesthetic representation is immanent in the sign-symbolic structure of the artistic image. That is why it is advisable to combine the semiotic method with phenomenological and hermeneutic approaches in visual art research. Analysis of the methodological potential of such a synthesis and the possibilities of its application in visual studies, in particular in the theory of visual arts and visual cultural studies, may become a promising direction for further research.