The Tall Building and Urban Space

If public spaces in the urban environment are seen as extensions of one’s home, then what role do tall buildings play in this setting? In terms of space, they can have various roles. They are visible from afar and often act as landmarks, but at the same time they give one a possibility to see the urban whole in its entirety, from above. One of most iconic images of modern urban planning and modern urban space – Le Corbusier’s plan for Paris – is shown from such a vantage point, depicting an urban area dotted with individual buildings set within a continuous spatial field. This modern space has often been described as open and homogeneous. The simplified general interpretation has further been complemented by the concept of heterogeneous space, paving the way for a more diverse spatial theory. Heterogeneous space has brought much needed complexity to interpretations of architectural space. Modernist space is revisited in this article, explored through two particular cases. In addition to Le Corbusier, the study includes the work of another architect and urban planner of the early 20th century, Eliel Saarinen. The role of tall buildings in the designs and writings of the two architects is compared, with a specific focus on the spatial implications of these buildings in the cityscape. The comparison illustrates the fact that modern architects were not unanimous in their visions of urban space, although they shared the knowledge of a contemporary spatial theory.

Distant reading 940,000 online circulations of 26 iconic photographs

How do digital media impact the meaning of iconic photographs? Recent studies have suggested that online circulation, especially in a memeified form, might lead to the erosion, fracturing, or collapsing of the original contextual meaning of iconic pictures. Introducing a distant reading methodology to the study of iconic photographs, we apply the Google Cloud Vision Application Programming Interface (GCV API) to retrieve 940,000 online circulations of 26 iconic images between 1995 and 2020. We use document embeddings, a Natural Language Processing technique, to map in what contexts iconic photographs are circulated online. The article demonstrates that constantly changing configurations of contextual imagetexts, self-referential image-texts, and non-referential image/texts shape the online live of iconic photographs: ebbs and flows of slowly disappearing, suddenly resurfacing, and newly found meanings. While iconic photographs might not need captions to speak, this article argues that a large-scale analysis of texts can help us better grasp what they say.

Nature and image: a city in the art of Chernivtsi of the 20th – the beginning of the 21st century

The purpose of this article is to consider the peculiarities of the reflection of the city – its architecture and inhabitants – in the works of Chernivtsi artists of the 20th and early 21st century, to analyze the differences between their views on the reproduction of urban motifs. The methodology consists in the application of the historical-chronological method, art analysis, and generalization, comparative and systematic approach. The scientific novelty lies in the introduction into scientific circulation of works by artists of the specified time, in understanding the evolution in the reflection of the city in the works of authors with various artistic orientations. Conclusions. In the paintings and graphics of the 20th – 21st centuries, several options for solving urban landscapes can be defined, among which the most common is a careful reflection of existing architectural monuments. In the 19th century in European art, in particular in Impressionist painting, the desire to convey not only the appearance but above all the spirit of the city became noticeable, depicting the townspeople, emphasizing the bustle or poetry of squares and streets. At the turn of the 20th-21st centuries the artists are no longer limited to the usual fixation of what is seen, but try to create a conceptual image of the city, to tell a story through iconic images and symbols, reveal their own position in particular and to preserve the authenticity of an object or the city in general. Such a variety of approaches for creating an urban landscape is partly due to differences in preferences formed during studies in art institutions and is also characteristic for the art of Chernivtsi – a city where people of many nationalities with different cultural traditions have lived side by side for centuries. Ultimately, the artists who worked here in the 20th century were often graduates not only of Ukrainian schools or universities, but also of well-known European institutions, including Vienna, Munich, Florentine, Berlin, Kraków, or Bucharest academies. While in the second half of the 19th – early 20th century the city often appears as the sum of certain architectural structures in the works of artists of Bukovina and visiting masters (F. Emery, R. Bernt, J. Shubirs), in the second half of the 19th – first third of the 20th century the artists mostly try to recreate the dynamics of urban life instead, sometimes depicted with a touch of irony, using the grotesque in the image of the inhabitants (lithography and watercolors by F.-K. Knapp, O. Laske and G. Löwendal). Subsequently, we meet emphasized mood images, in which the author's subjective perception of a particular motive, which he seeks to reproduce in a work full of emotions, is important (L. Kopelman, G. Gorbaty). A peculiar historical retrospection is present in the exquisite graphics of O. Kryvoruchko and in the distilled-finished sheets of O. Lyubkivsky, and the lyrical watercolors and sketches of N. Yarmolchuk represent the non-festive side of the city center. In O. Litvinov's paintings Chernivtsi surprises with desolation and restraint, and in M. Rybachuk's paintings it is distinguished by an unexpected riot of colors. Therefore, each of the artists creates his own image of Chernivtsi, which landscapes often become only a stimulus for the author's imagination, allowing him to depict a completely individual sense of space and life of the city.

State Management of National Resources at the Conceptual Level - Images and Meanings of State Symbols

This article is a further continuation of the work on the review of the basics of state management of national resources (state and use), in relation to its system - forming function-state policy and political symbols (the conceptual level of management). From the system positions of the general theory of classification and systematization, the functions of state management of national resources are considered and the role and place of each of them in a single universal management circuit is determined. The role and place of political symbols (a sub-function of the conceptual-strategic level) are considered on the basis of the proposed invariant structure of the typical contour of state management of the state of national resources (operational-tactical level). From the modern state symbols of the Russian Federation, the iconic image two - headed eagle is selected and its prototypes and the origins of their origin, which are located in ancient times, are considered. To consider the evolution of the iconic images of state symbols of modern Russia, it is proposed to systematize and analyze them at different historical stages, to this end, systematize and analyze the following Old Testament images of power (state symbols) of various countries of the world: non-predatory bird, bird of prey, griffin, two-headed eagle, systematize and analyze the sacred images of power double-headed eagle and griffin in the symbolism of the countries of the world with the identification of their sacred meanings-binary (binary). Conclusions are drawn about the common origins of the origin and distribution of these Old Testament images of state symbols in the countries of the Indo-European community, the systematization and analysis of the Old Testament images of power (state symbols) of various countries of the world: non-predatory bird, bird of prey, griffon, double - headed eagle allows us to trace the evolution of the origin and formation of the main state symbol of Russia double-headed eagle, at the heart of the Old Testament images of power griffin and double-headed eagle in the symbolism of the countries of the world lie the sacred meanings of the universal and fundamental principle of reality (world, reality, being) - the duality (duality) of opposite, proportionate and balanced entities.

The Cultural Schemas in the Meranaw Folktales: A Cultural Study

The rich potential of folktales as a resource on matters of great cultural significance is revealed in this inquiry. In this study, the twenty (20) Meranaw stories (tutul) was scrutinized and evaluated with the critical lens focused this time on the area of cultural conceptualizations. To determine the cultural conceptualizations constructed in folktales, the analytical tool of Cultural Linguistics was used, specifically, the cultural schemas. Findings pertaining to cultural conceptualizations realized through folktales are the following: the Event schemas of courtship and marriage, honoring of the bride/wife (kapelawi/kalawi), thanksgiving (kakhandori), seasonal festivities (kalilang/kariyala), the Eid prayer (khutbah), and other social gatherings or communal celebrations (pakaradiyaan) are portrayed in the folktales; Role schemas which are not only about achieved and modified social roles or positions in a cultural group, it also includes an expected set of behavior associated with the roles. The role of a Sultan in his kingdom is depicted in the folktales; Closely related to role schemas are image schemas which provide a structure for certain conceptualizations. The latter is often readily imagined as iconic images, or popular conceptions of a person, for example, a datu is popularly imagined as a man of noble birth or a scion of the royal clan; Proposition schemas as models of thought and behavior are represented in the folktales by the order and customary law or norms of conduct (taritib ago igma). The two are the threads that establish and maintain relations in the fabric of Meranaw society. Strict adherence to taritib ago igma ensures harmony and order in society; Finally, emotion schemas contains affects and evaluations activated through association with other schemas. Presumably a very important emotion is Meranaw culture is the sense of shame or loss of face. Meranaw are a people who take pride in their lineage traced through the family tree (salsila).

Instrumentalizing and Visualizing the Cosmic First Light

What material and visual means have astrophysicists and cosmologists developed to explain the composition and history of our universe? The emergence of high-precision, big-data, born-digital cosmology in the late-20th century depended upon detecting, interrogating, and making visible the universe’s very first light—the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation. This article analyses how, between 1974 and 2013, physicists and space scientists grappled with building interlinked instruments that could engage with the material effects of light to visualize, map, and interpret these invisible primordial messages. Astrophysicists, instrument-builders, and engineers used data collected from instruments on NASA’s COBE and WMAP and ESA’s Planck space probes to produce iconic images mapping the universe’s embryonic structure, theoretically-anchored precision visualizations modeling the evolution of cosmic structure from the big bang to today. This paper argues that creative aesthetic concerns appeared at all stages in these missions, from instrument design to image production to public outreach.

METHODS AND TECHNIQUES OF MYTHOLOGIZATION IN S. RUSHDIE’S NOVEL ‘THE GROUND BENEATH HER FEET’

The study is devoted to the analysis of methods and techniques of mythologization in the novel The Ground Beneath Her Feet written by the British author of Indian origin S. Rushdie. The paper explores the narrative organization of the novel, in which images and motifs of ancient mythology are used as a special code for artistic interpretation of European culture of the second half of the 20th century. The article examines the artistic reality of the novel, which combines the modern history of rock culture and classical mythology of Ancient Greece. S. Rushdie addresses problems related to the nature of creativity using as the main plot-forming motifs such mythologemes as the love story of Orpheus and Eurydice, the myth of alldevouring Tartarus, twin myths. The study shows that a typical technique for creating expressive threedimensional multivocal images in Rushdie's novel is a combination of real facts from the world of rock culture and mythological allusions, intertwining, overlapping and collision of various motifs and plots of Greek mythology, which, taken all together, generates the original artistic reality. The article analyzes how the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice acquires a cultural dimension in the novel and what techniques are used by the author to activate the extensive cultural memory of the Orphic myth. The concentration and interpretation of iconic images and motifs of ancient mythology are used in the novel for artistic analysis of the state of culture in the second half of the 20th century and of its attempts to counter the catastrophic tendencies of destruction and death of the modern civilization.

SEEC: Photography at the speed of light

SEEC photography is a project at the intersection of art and science. It uses modern technology to record the motion of light, to see ‘c’, which is the universal physical constant for the speed of light and the inspiration for the project name ‘SEEC’. In order to familiarize the general public with this physical phenomenon, SEEC records light moving across familiar objects, with visual scenes paying homage to iconic images from the history of photography. Exposure times shorter than 0.3 nanoseconds allow us to capture light (Greek: ‘phos’) in the process of writing (Greek: ‘graphein’) an image.

Making Space

In this interview, artist and scholar Deborah Willis describes the work of excavating and organizing the history of Black photography. Willis’s groundbreaking scholarship helped to formally establish an archive of Black visual practice before libraries and cultural institutions began to purposely catalogue such materials. Across projects, she has engaged questions of beauty, citizenship, Black culture, and family history from the nineteenth century to the present by closely examining the camera practices of legendary photographers and the cultural contexts surrounding iconic images. In this interview, Willis describes her research as a student relying on periodical records as well as on the support of Black artists such as Roy DeCarava, Carrie Mae Weems, Gordon Parks, and James VanDerZee. This conversation with the author intertwines Willis’s personal history and the history of creating a visual archive to offer a look back and a look forward at the practice of Black photography.