THE METAMORPHIC ESSENCE OF THE ICONOLOGY OF THE UNDERGROUND CHURCH (WESTERN REGIONS OF UKRAINE, 1946–1990): A STYLISTIC DIMENSION

Abstract

The article outlines the essential nature of the iconographic and stylistic features of the artistic activity of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church during its underground existence under the domination of the totalitarian regime in the second half of the 20th century. The article examines the ideological causes and artistic-image consequences of the formation of a special transformed canon of sacred imagery, defining its role in the semantic and symbolic series of church iconographic attributes. New theoretical approaches are proposed to determine the place of cultural dimensions of the metamorphoses of the pictorial and symbolic canon in the modern art historical coordinate system. The purpose of the research is to clearly, in detail, and objectively outline the nature of the iconographic transformation of sacred art in the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church during its underground period. It seeks to find grounds for applying the proposed theoretical approaches to a broad range of metamorphoses of the artistic pictorial canon. The methodology. A combined synergetic-semiotic method is used to identify the stylistic features of the transformed iconography. To outline the nature and character of the changes in the pictorial canon of iconography, visual anthropology methods are employed, combined with comparative-historical and hermeneutic methods. The inductive-deductive method is used to generalize theoretical propositions within the artistic-image paradigm of sacred church painting. The scientific novelty. For the first time, iconographic changes are analyzed in comparison with theoretical models that reveal historical and ideological factors. The role and significance of artistic metamorphoses are redefined, highlighting aspects of national identity and their interpretative potential. Conclusions. The essential nature of the transformed iconography, in the context of illegitimate institutional existence (as seen in the temporary ban of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church by the totalitarian regime between 1946–1990), is dogmatically-aesthetic with socio-national attributes and a transnational character.