Should visual art needs to be explained

Abstract

The article is devoted to the controversial issue of the need to explain visual arts. This problem has been actualized with the development of the potential of visual art, which has expanded from the possibility of creating an artistic image of a certain idea to creating both the image and the idea itself. In the process of formation of contemporary visual art, two directions of development crystallized: the search for beauty (aesthetic category) and the search for perfection (abstract category). At the same time, the division between art forms in terms of the possibility of addressing abstract or aesthetic issues was leveled. It is established that a work of art becomes an expression of perfection only when the author or viewer reads a certain idea, narrative, or myth in it, through the prism of which it is possible to evaluate the form of the work. We believe that this endowment of a work with a certain abstract meaning is possible only through explanation. The article identifies a variety of forms of explanation used by Ukrainian artists. It is shown that the explanation may be absent or concentrated only in the title of the work. The explanation can be given only in the form of a conversation. It can be expressed in a concept or in a manifesto. The artist can refer to widely known contemporary or historical contexts. They can use an intermediary (for example, a curator) for explanation, or appeal to a certain philosophical concept, or develop their own theoretical model. The article outlines the historical development of the problem of explaining art through the prism of myth or narrative. Thus, it is possible to explain premodern art through the prism of a common myth or narrative as a set of mythical, social, and cultural history. It is stated that the acceleration of the development of narrative since modern times has opened up the possibility for the artist to directly influence its formation by promoting his own ideas. The peculiarities of the development of the art theory of the Ukrainian avant-garde, whose ideas had a significant impact on the development of world art and culture, are characterized. The influence of cultural isolation and totalitarian ideology of the Soviet period of Ukraine’s history is highlighted. The special conditions and challenges of the return of Ukrainian art to the world cultural space are elucidated. The state of development of contemporary Ukrainian research on the theory of visual arts and the role of Ukrainian artists who, since the independence of Ukraine, have begun to use the possibilities of the media to present their own ideas are considered.