Semantic Models of Urban Space in the Paintings of Jemal Kukhalashvili

Abstract

The years between 1980-1990 is a transitional period in the history of Georgia. After the collapse of the Soviet Union the urban space significantly changed, affecting the social and cultural life of the city. The aim of the study is to observe the spatial semantic models of this period in their sociocultural context and analyze the changes in traditional urban spaces. The art of Jemal Kukhalashvili is relevant material for such a study due to its varied city image scenes and social sensibility. The models discussed - yard, café, celebration, and market - are common for the Tbilisi urban space. Each spatial model is analyzed according to its social role for urban development and its culturological importance is also given. We have studied the coherence of visual images with the semantics of the urban model in the paintings of Jemal Kukhalashvili. The semiotic method made it possible to obtain results on two different levels: a) a wide sociocultural level, b) the level of the artwork’s message and content. The study of traditional spatial semantic models and correlated visual images describes a picture of the level of urban space transformation, culturally valuable semantic models, and the impact of socio-political changes on them.