RETROSPECTIVE OF THE ARTISTIC-FIGURATIVE ICONOGRAPHIC CANON OF THE WESTERN REGIONS OF UKRAINE IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE 20TH CENTURY: CULTURAL ANALYSIS

Abstract

B a c k g r o u n d . This study analyzes and reinterprets the characteristic symbolic, attributive, ideological, and narrative features of the iconographic canon of the underground church within the cultural framework of artistic-figurative and semantic retrospective. Amid the dynamic changes in the dominant trends of postmodernism and the growing need to revisit and reconsider certain outdated aesthetic postulates within the contemporary artistic paradigm, the complex issues subject matter and challenges of a retrospective approach to the artistic-figurative transformation of the iconographic canon, prevalent in the western regions of Ukraine, are gaining particular relevance. This cultural analysis enables the comprehensive systematization and unification of the symbolic, sacred, attributive, and narrative aspects of the valuable spiritual heritage from the period of the Greek Catholic Church's underground existence.

M e t h o d s . The study employed methods of axiomatic analysis and synthesis, comparison, generalization, formalization, as well as the author's conditional retrospective approach.

R e s u l t s . The iconology of new aesthetic forms differs from that of traditional, established ones. Its approaches are complex, and its techniques are revolutionary. The role of ideological, symbolic, and narrative motifs in contemporary style is important, as it refines the criteria for belonging to universal identification. The conflict in interpreting canonical-stylistic relations is resolved through a reassessment of artistic and philosophical values. The main advantage lies in the revelation of canonical-stylistic relations, while the main drawback is the lack of a clear explanation of style aesthetics within the framework of cultural coordinates.  The spirituality of postmodernism reveals itself through retrospection and is characterized by an essential nature and an abstract-autonomous character. It is possible to form a holistic and unbiased understanding of the stylistic nature of the artistic image, sacred idea, and symbolism of the postmodern era. The key to its chthonic foundations lies in references to primary images.

C o n c l u s i o n s . For further explorations of the hermeneutics of sacred art, it is essential to approach narrativity without treating sacred value as a criterion of canonicity or considering Christian narratives as a form of canonical imperative. The proposed theoretical framework of the "retrospective of meanings" minimizes risks, preserves the logic of adequacy and objectivity. The characteristic features of the iconographic canon of the western regions of Ukraine (in the second half of the twentieth century) belong to this renewed retrospective and are interpreted through the lens of new postmodern aesthetics.