NARRATIVE AND CONTEXTUAL FEATURES OF THE ARTISTIC LANGUAGE OF MODERN COLLAGE (ON THE EXAMPLE OF CITY IMAGES IN ARTWORKS OF 2010–2020)

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the narrative and contextual features of collage on the example of the artistic image of the city in the work of contemporary artists of Western Europe and the USA. The author focuses on the work of famous contemporary artists S. Gaillard, Z. Camille, E. Kelly, J. Wallace, J. Golding, for whom collage is an important aspect of the author's artistic language.The article argues that narrative (narrativeness) and contextual generalizations are an important part of the modern artistic language of collage. In the author's opinion, this is due to the compilation of collage, as well as its interspecific status. The author concludes that in contemporary art, collage relies on narrative and contextuality as specific means of interpreting artistic imagery. It is these means that allow for the construction of artistic expression using expressive means (color, formal, compositional, textural, etc.). Its characteristics are fragmentation, emphasis on figurative generalization, and extensive use of provocative and manipulative techniques (in particular, destruction, inversion, and recontextualization).The artists' appeal to the potential of the urban landscape and the imagery of the city in general requires special attention to the plot and thematic component of works of art. This is shown by the analysis of series and individual paintings by Cyprien Gaillard, Ian Wallace, Camille Zakharia, Ellsworth Kelly and other artists. The author emphasizes that in almost all cases studied, this requires attention to the narrative component of the thematic repertoire of artworks and the interpretation of contextual connections between objects, characters, and the expression of artistic ideas.