SCHEMATIC INTERPRETATION OF UKRAINIAN ETHNO-MOTIFS IN CONTEMPORARY STREET ART

Abstract

The article examines the specific features of interpreting Ukrainian ethno-national motifs in contemporary street art as an important factor of visual identification of the nation within public space. The focus is placed on the problem of schematic and formalized treatment of ethnic motifs, which becomes especially relevant in the context of war, intensive cultural transformations, and globalization processes. The study traces the evolution of references to national imagery in Ukrainian visual art of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries – from the avantgarde experiments of the early twentieth century to contemporary murals and street art practices that shape a new visual language of the urban environment. Theoretical approaches to the concept of “ethnicity” in the works of leading international and Ukrainian scholars are analyzed, and the role of artistic, “plastic” language as a means of preserving and transmitting cultural memory is outlined. Particular attention is paid to the use of ethnosymbolism, ornamental motifs, and color codes (blue–yellow and red–black) in contemporary street art as sign systems functioning within the urban space. Based on historical-cultural, iconographic, and semiotic analyses of selected Ukrainian and international street art examples, the research identifies both the positive potential of street art in representing national identity and the risks of devaluation of ethno-symbols resulting from their mass, superficial, or amateur use. It is argued that the formal replication of established images and colors leads to a reduction of their semantic depth and a loss of cultural integrity. The article substantiates the necessity of a conscious, professional, and contextually grounded application of Ukrainian ethno-national motifs in public space, which enables a balance between tradition and contemporary artistic practices.