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Papers by Andrew Simsky

Research paper thumbnail of Action-thoughts and the Genesis of Time in Linguistic Semiosis

Simsky, А., Kravchenko, A.V., Druzhinin, A.S. Action-thoughts and the genesis of time in linguistic semiosis, Slovo.ru: baltic accent, vol. 12, no. 2, p. 7—28. , 2021

The genesis of time is explained in the spirit of constructivism combined with the activity appro... more The genesis of time is explained in the spirit of constructivism combined with the activity approach to cognition. The cardinal temporal categories of present, past, and future are discussed in terms of action-thoughts understood as elementary units of activity whose structure is determined by linguistic semiosis. Husserl's tripartite model of the phenomenology of time (prime perception, retention, protention) is applied to the analysis of the subject's experience of his actions. It is demonstrated that, while our lived present is composed of the actually performed actions, our past and future are constructed by reflexive action-thoughts in the cognitive domain of language. It is emphasized that the construction of a temporal sequence that unites what is and what already or still is not, is possible only in linguistic semiosis. The analogy with Husserl's tripartite structure of the time-consciousness flow helps elucidate the triad 'present-past-future' as an instance of the epistemological trap of language: 'past' and 'future' are mental constructs that belong to the present just as any other act of thinking.

Research paper thumbnail of Why God was an iconoclast? The visual and the pictorial in Biblical hierotopy

Why God was an iconoclast? The visual and the pictorial in Biblical hierotopy / Journal of Visual Theology, 2021

This study's point of departure is a question: given that the Old Testament God so categorically ... more This study's point of departure is a question: given that the Old Testament God so categorically prohibits all images, why is His Word, i.e., the Bible, so full of visions and visual imagery? In this paper, the issue is discussed in terms of a distinction between the visual, broadly understood, and the pictorial, relating in a narrow sense to graphic artefacts. I argue that mental images are distinct from and, in a sense, superior to pictures. The latter are contrasted with an 'enhanced' visual imagery that includes sensory and motor images as well. Holistic units of these 'enhanced' visual memories are termed as 'image-experiences'. The first and most important quality of the 'enhanced vision' is its spatial character, which can even predetermine the emotional key of the response. This is particularly the case with 'limitless' natural spaces, such as the sea, the skies, or mountainous landscapes. The complex structure of the natural sublime and its affinity with divine imagery is discussed using the concrete example of the modern European aesthetics of mountains in its historical evolution. Then the paper turns to the hierotopic approach, according to which the spatial experience of religious imagery emerges from organized ensembles of sacred objects and symbolic pointers, conceptualised as spatial icons. Another important quality of the enhanced visual is in its organic link with movement and action. Imageexperiences are lived through rather than passively watched. Calvinist visual theology provides a remarkable example of an iconoclast ideology, which explicitly supports the 'enhanced visual' and shows a way to develop it into a form of understanding and transforming the world. The motional/actional aspects of the 'enhanced' visual are further discussed in terms of a hierarchical model of motion control proposed by Nikolai Bernstein in which two kinds of spaces are defined: first, space as a geometric medium of locomotion defined by delimiting surfaces and dynamic constraints; secondly, spaces of purposeful tool-mediated activity as collections of meaningful objects. Our human talent for identifying things by unclear or incomplete features is instrumental to our ability to recognize objects in drawings and photographs. The Bernsteinian system helps to explain why the perception of 2D images is dominated by object-oriented parsing. Hence, there is a danger that the response to pictures be reduced to subject-object interaction in which many important holistic qualities of the enhanced visual would be lost. Hierotopic creativitythe construction of sacred spaces-can be seen as a strategy to mitigate these dangers by integrating image-pictures into higher-level spatial constructs of enhanced visuality.

Research paper thumbnail of Icons of Sacred Matter: the Interpretation of Dutch Golden Age Painting in the Light of Protestant Hierotopy

A. Simsky. Icons of Sacred Matter: the Interpretation of Dutch Golden Age Painting in the Light of Protestant Hierotopy//Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Art Studies: Science, Experience, Education (ICASSEE 2018). Atlantis Press, 2018, p. 307-314, 2018

This paper employs the concept of Protestant Hierotopy to explore the spiritual roots of Dutch Go... more This paper employs the concept of Protestant Hierotopy to explore the spiritual roots of Dutch Golden Age Painting. Hierotopic methodology focuses on the creation of sacred spaces as a form of human creativity. Though the Reformation may have done away with ecclesiastical sacred spaces, it introduced a new kind of hierotopy in their place: a sacralization of the whole of Creation, with a focus on human environments. Protestant admiration for nature was imbued with religious feelings, while cleanliness and domesticity came to be seen as closely akin to holiness. In this paper I interpret Dutch Golden Age Painting as an iconography of this new form of sacrality. I argue that what we find in this art ought to be understood, not as a purely descriptive, objective realism conceived for its own sake, but rather as a passionate or even sacred naturalism motivated by admiration for God's marvelous creation and enhanced by a Protestant sense of co-working with the Creator.

Research paper thumbnail of The  Image-paradigm of Jerusalem in Christian Hierotopy

A. Simsky. The Image-paradigm of Jerusalem in Christian Hierotopy // Journal of Visual Semiotics. 2018. Issue 3 (17). P. 101-113, 2018

Image-paradigms are non-pictorial mental images of the sacred. They are engendered in the viewer'... more Image-paradigms are non-pictorial mental images of the sacred. They are engendered in the viewer's imagination by means of organized ensembles of iconic, symbolic and typological elements of sacred spaces and emerge from a manifold of interrelating associations. In this paper I elucidate this complex notion by studying the example of one image-paradigm of fundamental importance , namely, the Holy City of Jerusalem, which appears to the religious imagination as the synthesis of an idealized historical city-relic and its celestial counterpart – the Heavenly Jerusalem. This Jerusalem is both the 'navel' of the world and a place of God's immediate, living presence. The Church as a whole, as well as individual churches, are identified with Jerusalem, which reflects their primary function of serving as meeting places with God. While participating in the liturgy and integrating into the liturgical space, the faithful feel themselves to be in the midst of the Heavenly Jerusalem, a feeling which clearly cannot be reduced to or evoked by a simple two-dimensional picture. The image-paradigm works by means of a 'spatial icon', that is, a thoughtfully arranged spatial system of pointers, including architecture, an iconographic program , as well as the entire liturgical performance, including the very presence of the congregation absorbed in pious contemplation. An image-paradigm belongs to the religious tradition as a whole and takes shape in individual minds through a wide variety of religious experiences, including training, reading, prayer, liturgical life, mysticism, etc. In this paper, I begin with a brief review of iconographic strategies employed in conjuring the image-paradigm of the Holy City in Christian churches. In particular, the Celestial City can be represented in icons by means of earthly architecture including either recognizable motives of Constantinian Jerusalem or idealized and even fantastic patterns. Next, I move on to New Jerusalems, that is, Medieval reconstructions of the Christian Jerusalem, which were used as sites of virtual pilgrimage. Finally, I discuss possible links between Russian onion domes and the cupola of most prominent Jerusalem churches: the Holy Sepulcher and the Dome of the Rock. Particularly, I show how the famous cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed in Moscow was designed to represent Jerusalem as a city of multiple and diverse churches. In closing I turn to the Western tradition and provide a summary characterization of Gothic architectural icons of the Holy City and compare them to the Byzantine strategies.

Research paper thumbnail of The Discovery of Hierotopy

A. Simsky. The Discovery of Hierotopy // Visual Theology, 2020, No 1. P. 9-28, 2020

This paper outlines the genesis of hierotopy, a notion serving to conceptualize the creation of s... more This paper outlines the genesis of hierotopy, a notion serving to conceptualize the creation of sacred spaces as a particular form of human art. The concept encompasses the entirety of the multifarious components employed in Byzantine sacred spaces and analyzes the ways in which their cooperative interaction results in the formation of a 'spatial icon', or a kind of sacred ambiance. The very notion of a 'spatial icon' draws upon the central place of icons and iconicity in the Eastern Christian worldview. In Byzantium, icons were seen as windows opening out onto an otherworldly reality, or, rather, as doors opening up a two-way communication; in this way, the icon was understood as a means or a place, of immediate contact with the divine, or a sort of platonic chora, in which ideal divine forms assimilated material contours. Within the context of a sacred space, the icon appeared not only as a principal meaning-making agent, but also as a conceptual key for understanding the way in which other components, as well as the sacred space as a whole, effectively worked; each component was thus understood and experienced as being 'iconic', or icon-like, in the sense of providing other points (or, rather, spaces) of contact between the earthly and the divine. As this paper recounts, Alexei Lidov made his first steps towards forging the concept of hierotopy while studying the design, as well as the perception, of Byzantine iconographic programs; as his studies revealed, icons acted not simply as images, but also with the full deployment of their wonder-working potential evincing a powerful expression of religious meaning, particularly when purposefully employed together with wonder-working relics. Lidov's next step was to realize the fully performative nature of spatial icons by taking into account the crucial role played by the surrounding liturgical context, in which each beholder, or liturgical participant, played an active role in giving life to the spatial icon. Hierotopy was thus discovered (and formally defined) as a special form of art involving the performative creation of spatial icons. The paper also discusses the concept of 'image-paradigms' as multimodal units of meaning within sacred spaces, or as compound mental constructs combining together dogmatic ideas, imagery and holistic emotive components (so-called atmospheres).

Research paper thumbnail of Image-paradigms: the aesthetics of the invisible

A. Simsky. Image-paradigms: the aesthetics of the invisible // Icons of space. The advances in hierotopy. Ed. Je. Bogdanovic, London and New York: Routledge, p. 29-45, 2021

Hierotopy, spatial icon, and image-paradigm are three formative notions within the hierotopic dis... more Hierotopy, spatial icon, and image-paradigm are three formative notions within the hierotopic discourse. In this chapter, we shall focus on the image-paradigm, the most recent and, at the same time, the enigmatic member of this trio of hierotopic fundamentals. It was introduced by Alexei Lidov as an instrument to analyze the imagery of sacred spaces. Although the image-paradigm has already been used in a number of case studies, its definition and theory have received as of yet little attention. Its ontology, functioning, and aesthetical aspects remain to be clarified. In this chapter, I endeavor to shed some more light on this novel concept. However, before we give it our undivided attention, we shall first trace the historical course of hierotopic thought, which started with the conception of the spatial icon and concluded (at least at this moment of writing) with the image-paradigm.

https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-edit/10.4324/9781003154464-4/image-paradigms-andrew-simsky

https://www.routledge.com/Icons-of-Space-Advances-in-Hierotopy/Bogdanovic/p/book/9780367723491

Research paper thumbnail of Hiérotopie de l'obscurité

A. Simsky. Hiérotopie de l'obscurité. Journal of Visual Theology. , 2023

Although the role of light in the creation of sacred spaces is well known, the hierotopy of dark... more Although the role of light in the creation of sacred spaces is well known, the hierotopy
of darkness has never been, to our knowledge, a subject of a dedicated study. In this work, darkness is thematized as a constitutive element of sacred spaces. I argue that there is more to darkness than merely the absence of light. A dark ambience engenders its own spirituality characterized by serenity, quiet peace and focusing on one’s inner life. Moreover, darkness is imbued with its own sacred meanings intimately intertwined with the dramaturgy and meanings of light. As an example, we take Roman catacombs, a site of funerary rituals and a spatial icon of the underworld through which the Christian paradise was shining, with sporadically embedded small gold-glass tondo icons as points of connection between earth and heaven.

Research paper thumbnail of The Image-Paradigm of the Fire of God in the Bible and in the Christian Tradition

The image-paradigm of the Fire of God in the Bible and in the Christian tradition. In: Hierotopy of Light and Fire in the Culture of the Byzantine World, ed. Alexei Lidov, Moscow, Theoria, 2013, p. 45-81, Mar 1, 2013

The main themes of fire in the Bible can be united around the concept of the Fire of God. This is... more The main themes of fire in the Bible can be united around the concept of the Fire of God. This is in the first place the fire of Judgement which burns out sin, but spares the righteous. Fire is naturally associated with the Divine because it causes a similar attitude: love mixed with fear. The image-paradigm of the Fire of God pervades the Christian tradition. It is associated in particular with liturgical fire. According to Dionisius Areopagite, fire is a visible image of ineffable Divine qualities. It is not only “God’s servant” but also the symbol of his eternal life and of the deification of man. The Fire of God is experienced by mystics as the “fire of love” which destroys the “otherness” of the soul and unites it with God. In the Byzantine iconography of the Theotokos of the Burning Bush, the Incarnation is presented as a fiery theophany where the Virgin receives the Fire of God within her human nature. The image of fire also has an important liturgical aspect: the Holy Communion in the Eastern Church is understood as partaking of the Fire of God.

This is a 5-page English summary of a full paper published in Russian. The full paper contains a complete table of Biblical references to fire (around 400)

Research paper thumbnail of Holy Water, the Reformation and Protestant Hierotopy

Holy water, the Reformation and Protestant Hierotopy // Holy Water in the Hierotopy and Iconography of the Christian World / ed. Alexei Lidov, Moscow, Theoria, 2017, pp. 685-724, 2017

In this paper we will retrace the evolution of Christian belief about the sacred water, as well a... more In this paper we will retrace the evolution of Christian belief about the sacred water, as well as the evolution of attitudes toward water in general, with respect to the changing views on the material realm. We argue that the materiality of water provides a key to understanding the story of Christian holy water. This story will be retold through a few historical episodes of Western Christianity. Dramatic changes in the views on matter and materiality brought about by the Reformation will give us a chance to observe the above-stated correlation in the most explicit way. A stark opposition between the sacred and the profane, which was so characteristic of medieval religious thought, was epitomized in two kinds of water, holy and profane. Mundane water was associated with sin and temptation, while sanctified water transported the blessings and powers from the sacred spaces of churches to the humble dwellings of medieval peasants. After the Reformation, the view that the world was God’s blessed workshop began to take hold. Water, with its unique properties and its crucial role in the human world, came to be seen as His most admirable creation. In early modern times, when cleanliness came to be closely equated to godliness, water was destined to play a major role in the formation of a peculiar kind of hierotopy: a Protestant hierotopy of orderliness and cleanliness. This was a revolutionary vision of the sacred as well as of the material, where the sacraments were stripped of their divinity, but the ordinary and the daily acquired a new aura of sacrality.

The paper is bilingual: the text in Russian is followed by the English version

Research paper thumbnail of Mountains in the Culture of Early Modern Europe: From Protestant Hierotopy to Romanticism

A. Simsky. Mountains in the Culture of Early Modern Europe: From Protestant Hierotopy to Romanticism // The Hierotopy of Holy Mountains in Christian Culture, edited by Alexei Lidov, Moscow: Theoria, 2019, pp. 416-459, 2019

This study explores the genesis of the modern European fascination with mountains. The beauty of... more This study explores the genesis of the modern European fascination with mountains. The beauty of mountains is for us axiomatic and unquestionable, but in the past this was not always the case. In antiquity, as well as in the Middle Ages and in the Renaissance, mountains were deemed worthless, scary and even ugly. The admiration of mountains began with the Reformation and is linked to the ideas of Natural Theology, which called to admire all of God's creation. We compare Calvin's and Luther's approach to the origin and aesthetics of mountains. The further story of mountains is linked the formation of a notion of the "sublime" in the culture of Early Modern Europe. I show that the "sublime" has evolved from a predominantly religious feeling into an almost purely secular aesthetical experience with only traces of religious connotations and strongly related (rather than opposed in a burkian sense) to the idea of the beautiful.

The English version (abridged) begins in p. 455

Research paper thumbnail of The Esoteric Christianity and Artistic Language of Alexander Ivanov

A. Simsky. The Esoteric Christianity and Artistic Language of Alexander Ivanov // History of Art and Rejected Knowledge: From the Hermetic Tradition to the 21st Century. Proceedings ..., p. 206-217, 2018

Alexander Ivanov (1806–1858) was a Russian academic artist who spent the larger part of his caree... more Alexander Ivanov (1806–1858) was a Russian academic artist who spent the larger part of his career in Rome working on a large-scale canvas entitled “The appearance of the Messiah”. Before embarking on this endeavor, however, he first had to complete a smaller painting, a representation of “Noli me tangere” (1835), which was received with great acclaim in Saint Petersburg. During the last decade of his life he started a major project entirely of his own, namely a large set of sketches for murals which covered all the important episodes of the Gospel, together with theologically linked Old Testament stories. These sketches, which evinced a novel artistic language, are collectively referred to as the Biblical Studies. In this paper, I shall put forward an account of Ivanov’s spiritual journey, which led him to the creation of this vibrant epic, filled with light and magic.

Research paper thumbnail of "Мыследействие" как основа умственной работы

А. Д. Охоцимский. "Мыследействие" как основа умственной работы // Вопросы культурологии, 2018, №8, с. 28-40 (часть1); №9, 29-41 (часть 2), 2018

Профессиональная деятельность вполне развитого образованного человека, использующего по максимуму... more Профессиональная деятельность вполне развитого образованного человека, использующего по максимуму свой интеллект и знания на работе, остается, как правило, вне круга интересов современной философии сознания, которая анализирует главным образом элементарные мысли и действия. В данной работе предлагается единый подход к описанию как простейших, так и чрезвычайно сложных действий на основе синтетического концепта «мыследействие», объединяющего как ментальные, так и внешние аспекты действий. Генезис нового понятия рассматривается в свете холистических парадигм экстернализма и энактивизма.
Professional activity of a fully developed educated individual getting the most out of his knowledge and intellect at work has attracted as of yet little interest in modern cognitive science and philosophy of mind, whereas the main focus is on the analysis of elementary thoughts and actions. In this paper I propose a unified approach to both elementary and very complex actions based on a concept of “action-thoughts”, in which mental and physical aspects of actions are fused together. The genesis of this novel concept is presented in the light of holistic paradigms of externalism and enactivism.

Research paper thumbnail of Мыследействие как синергия и как иерархия

Охоцимский А. Д. Мыследействие как синергия и как иерархия // Фонарь Диогена: Человек в многообразии практик. Международный антропологический журнал. 2021. № 5–6. С. 197–242., 2021

При осмыслении мира аналитическим сознанием происходит дробление воспринимаемой реальности вдоль ... more При осмыслении мира аналитическим сознанием происходит дробление воспринимаемой реальности вдоль семантических границ языковых понятий, противоречащее стремлению человека к органичному и целостному мировосприятию. Один из путей преодоления этих разделений состоит в формировании новых синтетических понятий, отражающих глубинное сродство разделенных в языковом семиозисе категорий. Примером такого подхода является понятие мыследействия, понимаемое как синергия действия с его ментальными и психологическими аспектами. Мыследействия мобилизуют двигательный аппарат на достижение целей, используя органическую способность мозга к обобщению опыта действий в программы-репрезентации, не нуждающиеся в символических представлениях. В рамках деятельностного подхода в психологии мыследействие вводится как холистическая единица анализа индивидуальной деятельности, включая весь ее спектр от элементарных действий-движений до сложной умственной работы. Далее, концепт мыследействия обсуждается в свете радикального конструктивизма Пиаже – Глазерсфельда, а также применяется для интерпретации основных временных категорий прошлого, настоящего и будущего. Многоуровневая система построения движений Н. А. Бернштейна продолжается в иерархических системах мыследействий и далее – в управлении коллективными действиями на основе языка. С этой точки зрения социум представляется динамичной системой связей руководства – подчинения, в которых цель действия передается языковыми командами, образующими первый и основной канал перехода от знака к смыслу. Надстроенная таким образом иерархия движений связывает биологию и культуру в единую жизнеспособную структуру, дальнейшее развитие которой идет путем формирования высшего уровня практик, которые понимаются как холистические единицы анализа жизненного процесса в целом. Практики образуют над-языковый и над-понятийный уровень координации, который определяет характер представляющих и поддерживающих практики онтических деятельностных структур.

Research paper thumbnail of Мыследействия и генезис времени в языковом семиозисе

Охоцимский А.Д., Кравченко А.В., Дружинин А.С. Мыследействия и генезис времени в языковом семиозисе // Слово.ру: балтийский акцент. Т. 12, №2. С. 7—28., 2021

Генезис времени трактуется авторами в духе конструктивизма в сочетании с деятельностным подходом ... more Генезис времени трактуется авторами в духе конструктивизма в сочетании с деятельностным подходом к познанию. Базовые временны́е категории настоящего, прошлого и будущего рассматриваются как система мыследействий — элементарных
единиц деятельности, — структура которой обусловлена языковым семиозисом. Модель феноменологии времени Гуссерля применяется к анализу переживания субъектом собственных действий. Показано, что если переживаемое настоящее основано на совершаемых действиях, то прошлое и будущее конструируются рефлексивными мыследействиями в когнитивной сфере языка. Подчеркивается, что организация временнóго ряда, связывающего то, что есть, с тем, чего уже нет или еще нет, возможна лишь в языковом семиозисе. Аналогия с гуссерлевской трехчастной структурой потока сознания-времени помогает понять триаду «настоящее — прошлое — будущее» как пример эпистемологической ловушки языка: прошлое и будущее — это мысленные конструкты, так же принадлежащие настоящему, как и любые другие акты мысли.

Research paper thumbnail of Action-thoughts and the genesis of time in linguistic semiosis

Slovo.ru: Baltic Accent, 2021

The genesis of time is explained in the spirit of constructivism combined with the activity appro... more The genesis of time is explained in the spirit of constructivism combined with the activity approach to cognition. The cardinal temporal categories of present, past, and future are discussed in terms of action-thoughts — elementary units of activity whose structure is determined by linguistic semiosis. Husserl’s tripartite model of the phenomenology of time (prime perception, retention, protention) is applied to the analysis of the subject’s experience of his own actions. It is demonstrated that, while our lived present is composed of the actually performed actions, our past and future are constructed by reflexive action-thoughts in the cognitive domain of language. It is emphasized that the construction of a temporal sequence that unites what is and what already or still is not, is possible only in linguistic semiosis. The analogy with Husserl’s tripartite structure of the time-consciousness flow helps elucidate the triad ‘present-past-future’ as an instance of the epistemological trap of language: ‘past’ and ‘future’ are mental constructs that belong to the present just as any other act of thinking.

Research paper thumbnail of Пей и живи! Римские золотые донца и раннехристианская иеротопия

Охоцимский А. Д. Пей и живи! Римские золотые донца и раннехристианская иеротопия // Визуальная теология. 2022. Т. 4. № 1. С. 10–38. , 2022

Статья посвящена известному, но всё ещё малоизученному жанру христианского изобразительного иску... more Статья посвящена известному, но всё ещё малоизученному жанру христианского изобразительного искусства, расцвет которого приходится на вторую половину IV века. Изображения выцарапывались на золотой фольге и вплавлялись в днище стеклянных сосудов. Большинство золотых стёкол найдено в римских катакомбах в виде выломанных из сосудов «донцев», так что судить о назначении и форме сосудов можно лишь гипотетически. Статья начинается с сопоставления двух представленных в литературе теорий по данному вопросу: погребальной и подарочной. Согласно погребальной теории, сами донца и были конечным продуктом, предназначенным для закрепления на могиле как своего рода визуальные эпитафии. Согласно подарочной теории, сосуды заказывались в качестве ценных подарков по случаю важных событий, например, крещения. По совокупности известных фактов подарочная теория представляется в целом более обоснованной. Вопрос о возможных функциях сосудов с золотыми донцами обсуждается далее в рамках иеротопического подхода, согласно которому процесс
христианизации следует рассматривать как создание христианских сакральных пространств, в первую очередь семейного дома. Сакрализация дома путём его насыщения христианской символикой и протоиконическими изображениями находилась в тесной связи с переосмыслением традиционного семейного уклада в терминах новой веры и становлением христианского идеала семейной жизни. Семейные портреты, представленные на золотых стёклах, утверждают христианское понимание брака как нерасторжимого союза, заключённого на небесах. Другим важным сакральным пространством были сами катакомбы, в которых образ христианского рая «просвечивал» сквозь вечный мрак подземного царства мёртвых. В сакральном пространстве катакомб произошёл переход от культа мёртвых к культу святых. При запечатывании могилы золотым донцем с ликом мученика душа покойного поручалась заботам святого. Вытеснение семейных портретов в золотых стёклах ликами мучеников было не только этапом формирования культа святых, но и важным шагом на пути эволюции портретов в иконы.

Research paper thumbnail of Облака в иеротопии и живописи Востока и Запада

А. Д. Охоцимский. Облака в иеротопии и живописи Востока и Запада // Иеротопия Воздуха и Небес в культуре христианского мира. Ред. - сост. А. М. Лидов. М., "Индрик", с. 529-574, 2023

The purpose of this paper is to compare nebular imagery in sacred spaces of European, Byzantine a... more The purpose of this paper is to compare nebular imagery in sacred spaces of European, Byzantine and Chinese paintings. Building on the approach of H. Damisch as it is formulated in his seminal work “A Theory of /Cloud/”, pictorial clouds are considered as syntactical units in representational systems of Dutch landscapes of the Golden Age, the Baroque art of counter-Reformation, Byzantine iconography and the traditional Chinese landscapes. In all these examples pictorial clouds are introduced to merge the earthly and heavenly realms into a single representational construction. They form the boundary of earth and sky which becomes a metaphor for the divide between Earth and Heavens. In the Judeo-Christian paradigm, clouds accompany divine participation in human
affairs, hiding God himself, but clearly indicating his nature as a Sky Divinity. In Dutch landscapes, clouds form a dynamic veil, revealing invisible activities of heavenly forces. In Catholic art of the same period, clouds are separating explicitly depicted sacred spaces (such as in visions) from the earthly realm. In Eastern icons a cloud, taking the form of a mandorla, demarcates, but also covers, the areas of contact of the prophane and the divine in iconographic epiphanies. In famous celestial cupolas by Corregio, the Heaven opens itself for view as an allegorically represented vision. It is shown that such visions drew upon late Medieval
paraliturgical theatrical performances, so that the painting was, in fact, a second-order representation. In closing, in traditional Chinese landscapes, the connecting, rather than dividing, function of clouds prevails; skies and land merge, while the distinction of things is dissolved in a mist.
In summary, the study of how nebular imagery is used in the art of three civilizations helps to better understand their fundamental aesthetic principles: substantiation of imagination (Europe), architectonics of the inner world by the internalization of the Divine (Byzantium) and self-association with the rhythms of ever-changing universe (East).

Research paper thumbnail of Святая вода, Реформация и протестантская иеротопия

Святая вода, Реформация и протестантская иеротопия // Святая вода в иеротопии и иконографии христианского мира / ред.-сост. А. М. Лидов, М.: Феория, 2017, с. 685-724, May 4, 2017

В этой статье мы утверждаем, что история воды в христианстве отражает историю отношения к материа... more В этой статье мы утверждаем, что история воды в христианстве отражает историю отношения к материальному миру. Мы проследим этот параллелизм на основе несколько исторических эпизодов западного христианства, иллюстрирующих наш основной тезис: история сакральной воды есть история отношения к материи. Резкое изменение отношения к материальному, происшедшее на Западе в связи с Реформацией, позволит
выявить данный параллелизм особенно явно.

В результате Реформации начало формироваться новое мировоззрение, утверждавшее разумность и целесообразность устройства сотворенного мира, непрерывность процесса творения и роль в нем человека как со-творца. Вода, с её уникальными свойствами и жизненно важной ролью в человеческом мире, стала рассматриваться как восхитительное чудо творения. В начале европейского Нового Времени, святость стала сближаться с чистотой, и воде было суждено сыграть ключевую роль в процессе формирования своеобразной разновидности иеротопии: протестантской иеротопии чистоты и порядка. Это было совершенно новое видение как сакрального так и материального, в котором церковные таинства утратили свою божественность, а обыденное и повседневное приобрело новую ауру сакральности.

Research paper thumbnail of Протестантская иеротопия в голландской живописи Золотого века

А. Д. Охоцимский. Протестантская иеротопия в голландской живописи Золотого века / PRAXEMA Проблемы визуальной семиотики, 2017, №3, с. 10-32, 2017

Иеротопическая методология, разработанная А. М. Лидовым, рассматривает процессы сакрализации мест... more Иеротопическая методология, разработанная А. М. Лидовым, рассматривает процессы сакрализации мест и пространств как осознанную творческую деятельность. Реформация отменила традиционную сакральность церквей и святилищ, но открыла дорогу протестантской иеротопии: сакрализации материального мира в целом как Божьего Творения. Восхищение природой стало религиозным чувством, а домашнее и повседневное за-сияло аурой новой святости. Основной тезис данной работы: голландскую живопись Золотого Века можно интерпретировать как иконографию этой новой сакральности. Это искусство называют реалистическим, но его лучше назвать восторженным или даже сакральным натурализмом. В атмосфере восхищения материальным как Божьим Творением возникла эстетика зре-лищной «живописности», в которой классический эталон прекрасного утратил силу, а всё, созданное Творцом, оказалось достойным пристально-го внимания и любовного увековечения в живописи. Букеты и натюрморты стали иконами Божьего Творения, а мётлы и тапочки – символами нового культа чистоты. Скромные буржуазные интерьеры, украшенные нереально роскошными персидскими коврами и мраморными полами, предстали в образе храмов домашнего уюта. Обсуждается влияние естественного богословия XVII века, кальвинистских доктрин, неостоицизма, спинозизма и бэконианства на формирование в протестантской культуре обострённо-го внимания к видимому миру и сакрализации Творения, имевшей выра-женный пантеистический оттенок.

Research paper thumbnail of Иконы сакральной материи. Протестантская иеротопия и религиозно-философские принципы голландского реализма

А. Д. Охоцимский. Иконы сакральной материи. Протестантская иеротопия и религиозно-философские принципы голландского реализма // Художественная культура, 2019, №1, с. 70-91, 2019

Иеротопическая методология, разработанная первоначально в контексте византийских сакральных прост... more Иеротопическая методология, разработанная первоначально в контексте византийских сакральных пространств, применена в исследовании протестантской сакрализации материального мира. Барочный, «восторженный» натурализм голландской живописи Золотого века интерпретирован как иконография этой новой сакральности. В свете протестантской иеротопии, букеты, натюрморты и пейзажи становятся иконами Божьего Творения, а домашние интерьеры предстаютв образе храмов освященного домашнего уюта. Обсуждается влияние естественного богословия XVII века, кальвинистских доктрин, неостоицизма, спинозизма и бэконианства на формирование в протестантской культуре обостренного внимания к видимому миру и иконизации Творения, имевшей выраженный пантеистический оттенок.

Research paper thumbnail of Action-thoughts and the Genesis of Time in Linguistic Semiosis

Simsky, А., Kravchenko, A.V., Druzhinin, A.S. Action-thoughts and the genesis of time in linguistic semiosis, Slovo.ru: baltic accent, vol. 12, no. 2, p. 7—28. , 2021

The genesis of time is explained in the spirit of constructivism combined with the activity appro... more The genesis of time is explained in the spirit of constructivism combined with the activity approach to cognition. The cardinal temporal categories of present, past, and future are discussed in terms of action-thoughts understood as elementary units of activity whose structure is determined by linguistic semiosis. Husserl's tripartite model of the phenomenology of time (prime perception, retention, protention) is applied to the analysis of the subject's experience of his actions. It is demonstrated that, while our lived present is composed of the actually performed actions, our past and future are constructed by reflexive action-thoughts in the cognitive domain of language. It is emphasized that the construction of a temporal sequence that unites what is and what already or still is not, is possible only in linguistic semiosis. The analogy with Husserl's tripartite structure of the time-consciousness flow helps elucidate the triad 'present-past-future' as an instance of the epistemological trap of language: 'past' and 'future' are mental constructs that belong to the present just as any other act of thinking.

Research paper thumbnail of Why God was an iconoclast? The visual and the pictorial in Biblical hierotopy

Why God was an iconoclast? The visual and the pictorial in Biblical hierotopy / Journal of Visual Theology, 2021

This study's point of departure is a question: given that the Old Testament God so categorically ... more This study's point of departure is a question: given that the Old Testament God so categorically prohibits all images, why is His Word, i.e., the Bible, so full of visions and visual imagery? In this paper, the issue is discussed in terms of a distinction between the visual, broadly understood, and the pictorial, relating in a narrow sense to graphic artefacts. I argue that mental images are distinct from and, in a sense, superior to pictures. The latter are contrasted with an 'enhanced' visual imagery that includes sensory and motor images as well. Holistic units of these 'enhanced' visual memories are termed as 'image-experiences'. The first and most important quality of the 'enhanced vision' is its spatial character, which can even predetermine the emotional key of the response. This is particularly the case with 'limitless' natural spaces, such as the sea, the skies, or mountainous landscapes. The complex structure of the natural sublime and its affinity with divine imagery is discussed using the concrete example of the modern European aesthetics of mountains in its historical evolution. Then the paper turns to the hierotopic approach, according to which the spatial experience of religious imagery emerges from organized ensembles of sacred objects and symbolic pointers, conceptualised as spatial icons. Another important quality of the enhanced visual is in its organic link with movement and action. Imageexperiences are lived through rather than passively watched. Calvinist visual theology provides a remarkable example of an iconoclast ideology, which explicitly supports the 'enhanced visual' and shows a way to develop it into a form of understanding and transforming the world. The motional/actional aspects of the 'enhanced' visual are further discussed in terms of a hierarchical model of motion control proposed by Nikolai Bernstein in which two kinds of spaces are defined: first, space as a geometric medium of locomotion defined by delimiting surfaces and dynamic constraints; secondly, spaces of purposeful tool-mediated activity as collections of meaningful objects. Our human talent for identifying things by unclear or incomplete features is instrumental to our ability to recognize objects in drawings and photographs. The Bernsteinian system helps to explain why the perception of 2D images is dominated by object-oriented parsing. Hence, there is a danger that the response to pictures be reduced to subject-object interaction in which many important holistic qualities of the enhanced visual would be lost. Hierotopic creativitythe construction of sacred spaces-can be seen as a strategy to mitigate these dangers by integrating image-pictures into higher-level spatial constructs of enhanced visuality.

Research paper thumbnail of Icons of Sacred Matter: the Interpretation of Dutch Golden Age Painting in the Light of Protestant Hierotopy

A. Simsky. Icons of Sacred Matter: the Interpretation of Dutch Golden Age Painting in the Light of Protestant Hierotopy//Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Art Studies: Science, Experience, Education (ICASSEE 2018). Atlantis Press, 2018, p. 307-314, 2018

This paper employs the concept of Protestant Hierotopy to explore the spiritual roots of Dutch Go... more This paper employs the concept of Protestant Hierotopy to explore the spiritual roots of Dutch Golden Age Painting. Hierotopic methodology focuses on the creation of sacred spaces as a form of human creativity. Though the Reformation may have done away with ecclesiastical sacred spaces, it introduced a new kind of hierotopy in their place: a sacralization of the whole of Creation, with a focus on human environments. Protestant admiration for nature was imbued with religious feelings, while cleanliness and domesticity came to be seen as closely akin to holiness. In this paper I interpret Dutch Golden Age Painting as an iconography of this new form of sacrality. I argue that what we find in this art ought to be understood, not as a purely descriptive, objective realism conceived for its own sake, but rather as a passionate or even sacred naturalism motivated by admiration for God's marvelous creation and enhanced by a Protestant sense of co-working with the Creator.

Research paper thumbnail of The  Image-paradigm of Jerusalem in Christian Hierotopy

A. Simsky. The Image-paradigm of Jerusalem in Christian Hierotopy // Journal of Visual Semiotics. 2018. Issue 3 (17). P. 101-113, 2018

Image-paradigms are non-pictorial mental images of the sacred. They are engendered in the viewer'... more Image-paradigms are non-pictorial mental images of the sacred. They are engendered in the viewer's imagination by means of organized ensembles of iconic, symbolic and typological elements of sacred spaces and emerge from a manifold of interrelating associations. In this paper I elucidate this complex notion by studying the example of one image-paradigm of fundamental importance , namely, the Holy City of Jerusalem, which appears to the religious imagination as the synthesis of an idealized historical city-relic and its celestial counterpart – the Heavenly Jerusalem. This Jerusalem is both the 'navel' of the world and a place of God's immediate, living presence. The Church as a whole, as well as individual churches, are identified with Jerusalem, which reflects their primary function of serving as meeting places with God. While participating in the liturgy and integrating into the liturgical space, the faithful feel themselves to be in the midst of the Heavenly Jerusalem, a feeling which clearly cannot be reduced to or evoked by a simple two-dimensional picture. The image-paradigm works by means of a 'spatial icon', that is, a thoughtfully arranged spatial system of pointers, including architecture, an iconographic program , as well as the entire liturgical performance, including the very presence of the congregation absorbed in pious contemplation. An image-paradigm belongs to the religious tradition as a whole and takes shape in individual minds through a wide variety of religious experiences, including training, reading, prayer, liturgical life, mysticism, etc. In this paper, I begin with a brief review of iconographic strategies employed in conjuring the image-paradigm of the Holy City in Christian churches. In particular, the Celestial City can be represented in icons by means of earthly architecture including either recognizable motives of Constantinian Jerusalem or idealized and even fantastic patterns. Next, I move on to New Jerusalems, that is, Medieval reconstructions of the Christian Jerusalem, which were used as sites of virtual pilgrimage. Finally, I discuss possible links between Russian onion domes and the cupola of most prominent Jerusalem churches: the Holy Sepulcher and the Dome of the Rock. Particularly, I show how the famous cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed in Moscow was designed to represent Jerusalem as a city of multiple and diverse churches. In closing I turn to the Western tradition and provide a summary characterization of Gothic architectural icons of the Holy City and compare them to the Byzantine strategies.

Research paper thumbnail of The Discovery of Hierotopy

A. Simsky. The Discovery of Hierotopy // Visual Theology, 2020, No 1. P. 9-28, 2020

This paper outlines the genesis of hierotopy, a notion serving to conceptualize the creation of s... more This paper outlines the genesis of hierotopy, a notion serving to conceptualize the creation of sacred spaces as a particular form of human art. The concept encompasses the entirety of the multifarious components employed in Byzantine sacred spaces and analyzes the ways in which their cooperative interaction results in the formation of a 'spatial icon', or a kind of sacred ambiance. The very notion of a 'spatial icon' draws upon the central place of icons and iconicity in the Eastern Christian worldview. In Byzantium, icons were seen as windows opening out onto an otherworldly reality, or, rather, as doors opening up a two-way communication; in this way, the icon was understood as a means or a place, of immediate contact with the divine, or a sort of platonic chora, in which ideal divine forms assimilated material contours. Within the context of a sacred space, the icon appeared not only as a principal meaning-making agent, but also as a conceptual key for understanding the way in which other components, as well as the sacred space as a whole, effectively worked; each component was thus understood and experienced as being 'iconic', or icon-like, in the sense of providing other points (or, rather, spaces) of contact between the earthly and the divine. As this paper recounts, Alexei Lidov made his first steps towards forging the concept of hierotopy while studying the design, as well as the perception, of Byzantine iconographic programs; as his studies revealed, icons acted not simply as images, but also with the full deployment of their wonder-working potential evincing a powerful expression of religious meaning, particularly when purposefully employed together with wonder-working relics. Lidov's next step was to realize the fully performative nature of spatial icons by taking into account the crucial role played by the surrounding liturgical context, in which each beholder, or liturgical participant, played an active role in giving life to the spatial icon. Hierotopy was thus discovered (and formally defined) as a special form of art involving the performative creation of spatial icons. The paper also discusses the concept of 'image-paradigms' as multimodal units of meaning within sacred spaces, or as compound mental constructs combining together dogmatic ideas, imagery and holistic emotive components (so-called atmospheres).

Research paper thumbnail of Image-paradigms: the aesthetics of the invisible

A. Simsky. Image-paradigms: the aesthetics of the invisible // Icons of space. The advances in hierotopy. Ed. Je. Bogdanovic, London and New York: Routledge, p. 29-45, 2021

Hierotopy, spatial icon, and image-paradigm are three formative notions within the hierotopic dis... more Hierotopy, spatial icon, and image-paradigm are three formative notions within the hierotopic discourse. In this chapter, we shall focus on the image-paradigm, the most recent and, at the same time, the enigmatic member of this trio of hierotopic fundamentals. It was introduced by Alexei Lidov as an instrument to analyze the imagery of sacred spaces. Although the image-paradigm has already been used in a number of case studies, its definition and theory have received as of yet little attention. Its ontology, functioning, and aesthetical aspects remain to be clarified. In this chapter, I endeavor to shed some more light on this novel concept. However, before we give it our undivided attention, we shall first trace the historical course of hierotopic thought, which started with the conception of the spatial icon and concluded (at least at this moment of writing) with the image-paradigm.

https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-edit/10.4324/9781003154464-4/image-paradigms-andrew-simsky

https://www.routledge.com/Icons-of-Space-Advances-in-Hierotopy/Bogdanovic/p/book/9780367723491

Research paper thumbnail of Hiérotopie de l'obscurité

A. Simsky. Hiérotopie de l'obscurité. Journal of Visual Theology. , 2023

Although the role of light in the creation of sacred spaces is well known, the hierotopy of dark... more Although the role of light in the creation of sacred spaces is well known, the hierotopy
of darkness has never been, to our knowledge, a subject of a dedicated study. In this work, darkness is thematized as a constitutive element of sacred spaces. I argue that there is more to darkness than merely the absence of light. A dark ambience engenders its own spirituality characterized by serenity, quiet peace and focusing on one’s inner life. Moreover, darkness is imbued with its own sacred meanings intimately intertwined with the dramaturgy and meanings of light. As an example, we take Roman catacombs, a site of funerary rituals and a spatial icon of the underworld through which the Christian paradise was shining, with sporadically embedded small gold-glass tondo icons as points of connection between earth and heaven.

Research paper thumbnail of The Image-Paradigm of the Fire of God in the Bible and in the Christian Tradition

The image-paradigm of the Fire of God in the Bible and in the Christian tradition. In: Hierotopy of Light and Fire in the Culture of the Byzantine World, ed. Alexei Lidov, Moscow, Theoria, 2013, p. 45-81, Mar 1, 2013

The main themes of fire in the Bible can be united around the concept of the Fire of God. This is... more The main themes of fire in the Bible can be united around the concept of the Fire of God. This is in the first place the fire of Judgement which burns out sin, but spares the righteous. Fire is naturally associated with the Divine because it causes a similar attitude: love mixed with fear. The image-paradigm of the Fire of God pervades the Christian tradition. It is associated in particular with liturgical fire. According to Dionisius Areopagite, fire is a visible image of ineffable Divine qualities. It is not only “God’s servant” but also the symbol of his eternal life and of the deification of man. The Fire of God is experienced by mystics as the “fire of love” which destroys the “otherness” of the soul and unites it with God. In the Byzantine iconography of the Theotokos of the Burning Bush, the Incarnation is presented as a fiery theophany where the Virgin receives the Fire of God within her human nature. The image of fire also has an important liturgical aspect: the Holy Communion in the Eastern Church is understood as partaking of the Fire of God.

This is a 5-page English summary of a full paper published in Russian. The full paper contains a complete table of Biblical references to fire (around 400)

Research paper thumbnail of Holy Water, the Reformation and Protestant Hierotopy

Holy water, the Reformation and Protestant Hierotopy // Holy Water in the Hierotopy and Iconography of the Christian World / ed. Alexei Lidov, Moscow, Theoria, 2017, pp. 685-724, 2017

In this paper we will retrace the evolution of Christian belief about the sacred water, as well a... more In this paper we will retrace the evolution of Christian belief about the sacred water, as well as the evolution of attitudes toward water in general, with respect to the changing views on the material realm. We argue that the materiality of water provides a key to understanding the story of Christian holy water. This story will be retold through a few historical episodes of Western Christianity. Dramatic changes in the views on matter and materiality brought about by the Reformation will give us a chance to observe the above-stated correlation in the most explicit way. A stark opposition between the sacred and the profane, which was so characteristic of medieval religious thought, was epitomized in two kinds of water, holy and profane. Mundane water was associated with sin and temptation, while sanctified water transported the blessings and powers from the sacred spaces of churches to the humble dwellings of medieval peasants. After the Reformation, the view that the world was God’s blessed workshop began to take hold. Water, with its unique properties and its crucial role in the human world, came to be seen as His most admirable creation. In early modern times, when cleanliness came to be closely equated to godliness, water was destined to play a major role in the formation of a peculiar kind of hierotopy: a Protestant hierotopy of orderliness and cleanliness. This was a revolutionary vision of the sacred as well as of the material, where the sacraments were stripped of their divinity, but the ordinary and the daily acquired a new aura of sacrality.

The paper is bilingual: the text in Russian is followed by the English version

Research paper thumbnail of Mountains in the Culture of Early Modern Europe: From Protestant Hierotopy to Romanticism

A. Simsky. Mountains in the Culture of Early Modern Europe: From Protestant Hierotopy to Romanticism // The Hierotopy of Holy Mountains in Christian Culture, edited by Alexei Lidov, Moscow: Theoria, 2019, pp. 416-459, 2019

This study explores the genesis of the modern European fascination with mountains. The beauty of... more This study explores the genesis of the modern European fascination with mountains. The beauty of mountains is for us axiomatic and unquestionable, but in the past this was not always the case. In antiquity, as well as in the Middle Ages and in the Renaissance, mountains were deemed worthless, scary and even ugly. The admiration of mountains began with the Reformation and is linked to the ideas of Natural Theology, which called to admire all of God's creation. We compare Calvin's and Luther's approach to the origin and aesthetics of mountains. The further story of mountains is linked the formation of a notion of the "sublime" in the culture of Early Modern Europe. I show that the "sublime" has evolved from a predominantly religious feeling into an almost purely secular aesthetical experience with only traces of religious connotations and strongly related (rather than opposed in a burkian sense) to the idea of the beautiful.

The English version (abridged) begins in p. 455

Research paper thumbnail of The Esoteric Christianity and Artistic Language of Alexander Ivanov

A. Simsky. The Esoteric Christianity and Artistic Language of Alexander Ivanov // History of Art and Rejected Knowledge: From the Hermetic Tradition to the 21st Century. Proceedings ..., p. 206-217, 2018

Alexander Ivanov (1806–1858) was a Russian academic artist who spent the larger part of his caree... more Alexander Ivanov (1806–1858) was a Russian academic artist who spent the larger part of his career in Rome working on a large-scale canvas entitled “The appearance of the Messiah”. Before embarking on this endeavor, however, he first had to complete a smaller painting, a representation of “Noli me tangere” (1835), which was received with great acclaim in Saint Petersburg. During the last decade of his life he started a major project entirely of his own, namely a large set of sketches for murals which covered all the important episodes of the Gospel, together with theologically linked Old Testament stories. These sketches, which evinced a novel artistic language, are collectively referred to as the Biblical Studies. In this paper, I shall put forward an account of Ivanov’s spiritual journey, which led him to the creation of this vibrant epic, filled with light and magic.

Research paper thumbnail of "Мыследействие" как основа умственной работы

А. Д. Охоцимский. "Мыследействие" как основа умственной работы // Вопросы культурологии, 2018, №8, с. 28-40 (часть1); №9, 29-41 (часть 2), 2018

Профессиональная деятельность вполне развитого образованного человека, использующего по максимуму... more Профессиональная деятельность вполне развитого образованного человека, использующего по максимуму свой интеллект и знания на работе, остается, как правило, вне круга интересов современной философии сознания, которая анализирует главным образом элементарные мысли и действия. В данной работе предлагается единый подход к описанию как простейших, так и чрезвычайно сложных действий на основе синтетического концепта «мыследействие», объединяющего как ментальные, так и внешние аспекты действий. Генезис нового понятия рассматривается в свете холистических парадигм экстернализма и энактивизма.
Professional activity of a fully developed educated individual getting the most out of his knowledge and intellect at work has attracted as of yet little interest in modern cognitive science and philosophy of mind, whereas the main focus is on the analysis of elementary thoughts and actions. In this paper I propose a unified approach to both elementary and very complex actions based on a concept of “action-thoughts”, in which mental and physical aspects of actions are fused together. The genesis of this novel concept is presented in the light of holistic paradigms of externalism and enactivism.

Research paper thumbnail of Мыследействие как синергия и как иерархия

Охоцимский А. Д. Мыследействие как синергия и как иерархия // Фонарь Диогена: Человек в многообразии практик. Международный антропологический журнал. 2021. № 5–6. С. 197–242., 2021

При осмыслении мира аналитическим сознанием происходит дробление воспринимаемой реальности вдоль ... more При осмыслении мира аналитическим сознанием происходит дробление воспринимаемой реальности вдоль семантических границ языковых понятий, противоречащее стремлению человека к органичному и целостному мировосприятию. Один из путей преодоления этих разделений состоит в формировании новых синтетических понятий, отражающих глубинное сродство разделенных в языковом семиозисе категорий. Примером такого подхода является понятие мыследействия, понимаемое как синергия действия с его ментальными и психологическими аспектами. Мыследействия мобилизуют двигательный аппарат на достижение целей, используя органическую способность мозга к обобщению опыта действий в программы-репрезентации, не нуждающиеся в символических представлениях. В рамках деятельностного подхода в психологии мыследействие вводится как холистическая единица анализа индивидуальной деятельности, включая весь ее спектр от элементарных действий-движений до сложной умственной работы. Далее, концепт мыследействия обсуждается в свете радикального конструктивизма Пиаже – Глазерсфельда, а также применяется для интерпретации основных временных категорий прошлого, настоящего и будущего. Многоуровневая система построения движений Н. А. Бернштейна продолжается в иерархических системах мыследействий и далее – в управлении коллективными действиями на основе языка. С этой точки зрения социум представляется динамичной системой связей руководства – подчинения, в которых цель действия передается языковыми командами, образующими первый и основной канал перехода от знака к смыслу. Надстроенная таким образом иерархия движений связывает биологию и культуру в единую жизнеспособную структуру, дальнейшее развитие которой идет путем формирования высшего уровня практик, которые понимаются как холистические единицы анализа жизненного процесса в целом. Практики образуют над-языковый и над-понятийный уровень координации, который определяет характер представляющих и поддерживающих практики онтических деятельностных структур.

Research paper thumbnail of Мыследействия и генезис времени в языковом семиозисе

Охоцимский А.Д., Кравченко А.В., Дружинин А.С. Мыследействия и генезис времени в языковом семиозисе // Слово.ру: балтийский акцент. Т. 12, №2. С. 7—28., 2021

Генезис времени трактуется авторами в духе конструктивизма в сочетании с деятельностным подходом ... more Генезис времени трактуется авторами в духе конструктивизма в сочетании с деятельностным подходом к познанию. Базовые временны́е категории настоящего, прошлого и будущего рассматриваются как система мыследействий — элементарных
единиц деятельности, — структура которой обусловлена языковым семиозисом. Модель феноменологии времени Гуссерля применяется к анализу переживания субъектом собственных действий. Показано, что если переживаемое настоящее основано на совершаемых действиях, то прошлое и будущее конструируются рефлексивными мыследействиями в когнитивной сфере языка. Подчеркивается, что организация временнóго ряда, связывающего то, что есть, с тем, чего уже нет или еще нет, возможна лишь в языковом семиозисе. Аналогия с гуссерлевской трехчастной структурой потока сознания-времени помогает понять триаду «настоящее — прошлое — будущее» как пример эпистемологической ловушки языка: прошлое и будущее — это мысленные конструкты, так же принадлежащие настоящему, как и любые другие акты мысли.

Research paper thumbnail of Action-thoughts and the genesis of time in linguistic semiosis

Slovo.ru: Baltic Accent, 2021

The genesis of time is explained in the spirit of constructivism combined with the activity appro... more The genesis of time is explained in the spirit of constructivism combined with the activity approach to cognition. The cardinal temporal categories of present, past, and future are discussed in terms of action-thoughts — elementary units of activity whose structure is determined by linguistic semiosis. Husserl’s tripartite model of the phenomenology of time (prime perception, retention, protention) is applied to the analysis of the subject’s experience of his own actions. It is demonstrated that, while our lived present is composed of the actually performed actions, our past and future are constructed by reflexive action-thoughts in the cognitive domain of language. It is emphasized that the construction of a temporal sequence that unites what is and what already or still is not, is possible only in linguistic semiosis. The analogy with Husserl’s tripartite structure of the time-consciousness flow helps elucidate the triad ‘present-past-future’ as an instance of the epistemological trap of language: ‘past’ and ‘future’ are mental constructs that belong to the present just as any other act of thinking.

Research paper thumbnail of Пей и живи! Римские золотые донца и раннехристианская иеротопия

Охоцимский А. Д. Пей и живи! Римские золотые донца и раннехристианская иеротопия // Визуальная теология. 2022. Т. 4. № 1. С. 10–38. , 2022

Статья посвящена известному, но всё ещё малоизученному жанру христианского изобразительного иску... more Статья посвящена известному, но всё ещё малоизученному жанру христианского изобразительного искусства, расцвет которого приходится на вторую половину IV века. Изображения выцарапывались на золотой фольге и вплавлялись в днище стеклянных сосудов. Большинство золотых стёкол найдено в римских катакомбах в виде выломанных из сосудов «донцев», так что судить о назначении и форме сосудов можно лишь гипотетически. Статья начинается с сопоставления двух представленных в литературе теорий по данному вопросу: погребальной и подарочной. Согласно погребальной теории, сами донца и были конечным продуктом, предназначенным для закрепления на могиле как своего рода визуальные эпитафии. Согласно подарочной теории, сосуды заказывались в качестве ценных подарков по случаю важных событий, например, крещения. По совокупности известных фактов подарочная теория представляется в целом более обоснованной. Вопрос о возможных функциях сосудов с золотыми донцами обсуждается далее в рамках иеротопического подхода, согласно которому процесс
христианизации следует рассматривать как создание христианских сакральных пространств, в первую очередь семейного дома. Сакрализация дома путём его насыщения христианской символикой и протоиконическими изображениями находилась в тесной связи с переосмыслением традиционного семейного уклада в терминах новой веры и становлением христианского идеала семейной жизни. Семейные портреты, представленные на золотых стёклах, утверждают христианское понимание брака как нерасторжимого союза, заключённого на небесах. Другим важным сакральным пространством были сами катакомбы, в которых образ христианского рая «просвечивал» сквозь вечный мрак подземного царства мёртвых. В сакральном пространстве катакомб произошёл переход от культа мёртвых к культу святых. При запечатывании могилы золотым донцем с ликом мученика душа покойного поручалась заботам святого. Вытеснение семейных портретов в золотых стёклах ликами мучеников было не только этапом формирования культа святых, но и важным шагом на пути эволюции портретов в иконы.

Research paper thumbnail of Облака в иеротопии и живописи Востока и Запада

А. Д. Охоцимский. Облака в иеротопии и живописи Востока и Запада // Иеротопия Воздуха и Небес в культуре христианского мира. Ред. - сост. А. М. Лидов. М., "Индрик", с. 529-574, 2023

The purpose of this paper is to compare nebular imagery in sacred spaces of European, Byzantine a... more The purpose of this paper is to compare nebular imagery in sacred spaces of European, Byzantine and Chinese paintings. Building on the approach of H. Damisch as it is formulated in his seminal work “A Theory of /Cloud/”, pictorial clouds are considered as syntactical units in representational systems of Dutch landscapes of the Golden Age, the Baroque art of counter-Reformation, Byzantine iconography and the traditional Chinese landscapes. In all these examples pictorial clouds are introduced to merge the earthly and heavenly realms into a single representational construction. They form the boundary of earth and sky which becomes a metaphor for the divide between Earth and Heavens. In the Judeo-Christian paradigm, clouds accompany divine participation in human
affairs, hiding God himself, but clearly indicating his nature as a Sky Divinity. In Dutch landscapes, clouds form a dynamic veil, revealing invisible activities of heavenly forces. In Catholic art of the same period, clouds are separating explicitly depicted sacred spaces (such as in visions) from the earthly realm. In Eastern icons a cloud, taking the form of a mandorla, demarcates, but also covers, the areas of contact of the prophane and the divine in iconographic epiphanies. In famous celestial cupolas by Corregio, the Heaven opens itself for view as an allegorically represented vision. It is shown that such visions drew upon late Medieval
paraliturgical theatrical performances, so that the painting was, in fact, a second-order representation. In closing, in traditional Chinese landscapes, the connecting, rather than dividing, function of clouds prevails; skies and land merge, while the distinction of things is dissolved in a mist.
In summary, the study of how nebular imagery is used in the art of three civilizations helps to better understand their fundamental aesthetic principles: substantiation of imagination (Europe), architectonics of the inner world by the internalization of the Divine (Byzantium) and self-association with the rhythms of ever-changing universe (East).

Research paper thumbnail of Святая вода, Реформация и протестантская иеротопия

Святая вода, Реформация и протестантская иеротопия // Святая вода в иеротопии и иконографии христианского мира / ред.-сост. А. М. Лидов, М.: Феория, 2017, с. 685-724, May 4, 2017

В этой статье мы утверждаем, что история воды в христианстве отражает историю отношения к материа... more В этой статье мы утверждаем, что история воды в христианстве отражает историю отношения к материальному миру. Мы проследим этот параллелизм на основе несколько исторических эпизодов западного христианства, иллюстрирующих наш основной тезис: история сакральной воды есть история отношения к материи. Резкое изменение отношения к материальному, происшедшее на Западе в связи с Реформацией, позволит
выявить данный параллелизм особенно явно.

В результате Реформации начало формироваться новое мировоззрение, утверждавшее разумность и целесообразность устройства сотворенного мира, непрерывность процесса творения и роль в нем человека как со-творца. Вода, с её уникальными свойствами и жизненно важной ролью в человеческом мире, стала рассматриваться как восхитительное чудо творения. В начале европейского Нового Времени, святость стала сближаться с чистотой, и воде было суждено сыграть ключевую роль в процессе формирования своеобразной разновидности иеротопии: протестантской иеротопии чистоты и порядка. Это было совершенно новое видение как сакрального так и материального, в котором церковные таинства утратили свою божественность, а обыденное и повседневное приобрело новую ауру сакральности.

Research paper thumbnail of Протестантская иеротопия в голландской живописи Золотого века

А. Д. Охоцимский. Протестантская иеротопия в голландской живописи Золотого века / PRAXEMA Проблемы визуальной семиотики, 2017, №3, с. 10-32, 2017

Иеротопическая методология, разработанная А. М. Лидовым, рассматривает процессы сакрализации мест... more Иеротопическая методология, разработанная А. М. Лидовым, рассматривает процессы сакрализации мест и пространств как осознанную творческую деятельность. Реформация отменила традиционную сакральность церквей и святилищ, но открыла дорогу протестантской иеротопии: сакрализации материального мира в целом как Божьего Творения. Восхищение природой стало религиозным чувством, а домашнее и повседневное за-сияло аурой новой святости. Основной тезис данной работы: голландскую живопись Золотого Века можно интерпретировать как иконографию этой новой сакральности. Это искусство называют реалистическим, но его лучше назвать восторженным или даже сакральным натурализмом. В атмосфере восхищения материальным как Божьим Творением возникла эстетика зре-лищной «живописности», в которой классический эталон прекрасного утратил силу, а всё, созданное Творцом, оказалось достойным пристально-го внимания и любовного увековечения в живописи. Букеты и натюрморты стали иконами Божьего Творения, а мётлы и тапочки – символами нового культа чистоты. Скромные буржуазные интерьеры, украшенные нереально роскошными персидскими коврами и мраморными полами, предстали в образе храмов домашнего уюта. Обсуждается влияние естественного богословия XVII века, кальвинистских доктрин, неостоицизма, спинозизма и бэконианства на формирование в протестантской культуре обострённо-го внимания к видимому миру и сакрализации Творения, имевшей выра-женный пантеистический оттенок.

Research paper thumbnail of Иконы сакральной материи. Протестантская иеротопия и религиозно-философские принципы голландского реализма

А. Д. Охоцимский. Иконы сакральной материи. Протестантская иеротопия и религиозно-философские принципы голландского реализма // Художественная культура, 2019, №1, с. 70-91, 2019

Иеротопическая методология, разработанная первоначально в контексте византийских сакральных прост... more Иеротопическая методология, разработанная первоначально в контексте византийских сакральных пространств, применена в исследовании протестантской сакрализации материального мира. Барочный, «восторженный» натурализм голландской живописи Золотого века интерпретирован как иконография этой новой сакральности. В свете протестантской иеротопии, букеты, натюрморты и пейзажи становятся иконами Божьего Творения, а домашние интерьеры предстаютв образе храмов освященного домашнего уюта. Обсуждается влияние естественного богословия XVII века, кальвинистских доктрин, неостоицизма, спинозизма и бэконианства на формирование в протестантской культуре обостренного внимания к видимому миру и иконизации Творения, имевшей выраженный пантеистический оттенок.

Research paper thumbnail of Air and Heavens in  the Hierotopy and Iconography of the Christian World

The program of the International Symposium organized by the Russian Academy of Arts. The symposiu... more The program of the International Symposium organized by the Russian Academy of Arts. The symposium tackles the subject of Air and Heavens and the role of this phenomenon in the making of sacred spaces, mostly in the medieval tradition with a special focus on the Byzantine world. The project and symposium are the next step in a continuing research program dedicated to the making of sacred spaces as a distinct form of artistic and spiritual creativity called ‘hierotopy’. Recently, a new sub-series has appeared, dedicated to the elements
of the universe: Hierotopy of Light and Fire in Byzantium and Medieval Russia (Moscow 2013); The Holy Water in the Hierotopy and Iconography of the Christian World (Moscow 2017); The Hierotopy of Holy Mountains in Christian Culture ( Moscow 2019). The present project about Air finishes this series dedicated to four elements.

Research paper thumbnail of Hierotopy between Art History and Religious Studies. Compendium of Abstracts

A. Lidov, N. Isar, R. Demchuk, B. Leal, S. Olianina, O. Osadcha, A. Simsky. Hierotopy between Art History and Religious Studies. Abstracts of EASR-2017 conference, Hierotopy section, 2017

This is a compendium of abstracts submitted for the annual conference of the European Association... more This is a compendium of abstracts submitted for the annual conference of the European Association for the Study or Religion, EASR-2017, Leuven, Belgium, September 2017.

Hierotopy is the creation of sacred spaces viewed as a special form of human creativity and also a related area of research where specific examples of such creativity are studied. This concept was first formulated some fifteen years ago by Alexei Lidov in the context of Byzantine studies and has grown into a fully developed academic field spanning the disciplines of art history, study of religion and cultural anthropology. Hierotopy accounts for the variety of ways in which versatile media work together to form and organise a sacred space as a unified whole and to communicate its spiritual message.

Authors: A. Lidov, N. Isar, R. Demchuk, B. Leal, S. Olianina, O. Osadcha, A. Simsky

Research paper thumbnail of Hierotopy of Darkness

Hierotopy of Darkness. 24th International Congress of Byzantine Studies. Venice and Padova, 22-27 August 2022., 2022

Although the role of light in the creation of sacred spaces is well known, the hierotopy of darkn... more Although the role of light in the creation of sacred spaces is well known, the hierotopy of darkness has never been, to our knowledge, a subject of a dedicated study. In this report, darkness is thematized as a constitutive element of sacred spaces. I argue that there is more to darkness than merely the absence of light. A dark ambience engenders its own spirituality with its sacred meanings intimately intertwined with the dramaturgy and meanings of light. As an example, we take Roman catacombs, a site of funerary rituals and a spatial icon of the underworld through which the Christian paradise was shining, with sporadically embedded small gold-glass tondo icons as points of connection between earth and heaven.

Research paper thumbnail of Constructing Temporality: From Activity Theory to the Semiotics of Present, Past and Future

Constructing Temporality: From Activity Theory to the Semiotics of Present, Past and Future. IACS 2022 conference, 18.06.2022. Leuven/Aachen, 2022

Ecolinguistics of temporality, grounded in the basic layers of human sense-making, challenges New... more Ecolinguistics of temporality, grounded in the basic layers of human sense-making, challenges Newtonian absolute time model which dominates today’s folk psychology of time. Husserl’s famous phenomenology of the ‘extended now’ has done a lot to explain our experience of time, but it still deals with the perception of external events abstracted from their real-life context and is limited to passively observing subjects. Although a number of authors already explored action-based approaches to temporality, the discovery of the roots of the human sense of time in active and embodied involvement with the world has just started.
In this research we focus on basic concepts of present, past and future. We interpret these fundamental categories in terms of action-thoughts, understood as elementary units of activity as well as of actional thinking and imagination. Action-thoughts conceptualize the fundamental unity of thinking and activity postulated by the champions of action-based approach in psychology, from Vygotsky and Rubinstein to today’s enactivism. Action-thoughts both bring forth and represent actions and are also evoked in their covert rehearsal. The action-thought is an instrumentum studorium, which enables us to view from common perspective the phenomenology of the present as well as the enactment of past and future.
We argue that the temporal reality of an acting agent is sustained by the experiential flow of ‘absorbed activity’. An action being an indivisible unit of activity is thus also a unit of ‘actional’ time. A flow of time is thus constructed of and through actions. This experiential time is determined by the rhythm of activity, whereas ‘objective’ time measurements appear as external constraints (such as deadlines) and can even be viewed as foreign intrusions.
Both past and future are consciously and reflectively constructed in the plane of the lived present and make sense only in this plane. Past is re-presented by action-thoughts which abstract some part of our present and re-focus our attention on its experience. Future is also an action-thought, and it takes this abstraction even further to the new levels of reflection, so that it becomes yet a new modulation of our experience of the present. This experience changes the way we live and act and it modulates our cognitive living. If past builds up on attentional re-focalizations, future is constructed through focalizations of another kind, allowing for an increased sense of relevance and actuality. In fact, both past and future are merely abstractions from the present.
It is emphasized that the construction of temporal sequences is possible only in linguistic semiosis, and the triad ‘present-past-future’ is an instance of the ‘epistemological trap of language’: past and future are mental constructs that belong to the present just as any other act of thinking.

References
1. Bedny, G., Karwowski, A. A. (2007). Systemic-structural theory of activity. Boca Raton, FL: Taylor & Francis
2. Melser, D. (2004). The act of thinking. Cambridge, MA & London, England: MIT Press
3. Jeannerod, M. (1999). To act or not to act: Perspectives on the representation of actions. The 25th Bartlett lecture. The Quarterly Journal Of Experimental Psychology, 52A (1), 1-29
4. Simsky, A. (2018) Action-thoughts as a foundation of mental work. Voprosy Kulturologii, 8, 28-40 (part 1); 9, 29-41 (part 2), in Russian
5. Simsky, A. (2021) Action-thought as a Synergy and Hierarchy. Diogenes’ Lantern. The Human Being in Diversity of Practice. International Anthropological Journal, No 5-6, p. 202-242.
6. Simsky, A., Kravchenko, A. V., Druzhinin, A. S. (2021) Action-thoughts and the Genesis of Time in Linguistic Semiosis. Slovo.ru. baltic accent, Vol. 12, No. 2, p. 7-28.
7. Thompson, E. (2007) Mind in life. Biology, phenomenology and the sciences of mind. Cambridge, MA & London, England: Harvard University Press

Research paper thumbnail of Римские золотые донца и раннехристианская иеротопия

Римские золотые донца и раннехристианская иеротопия. Доклад на симпозиуме "Визуальная теология. Темы и горизонты", 2021

Roman Gold-glass Vessel Bases and Early Christian Hierotopy (conference presentation in Russian) ... more Roman Gold-glass Vessel Bases and Early Christian Hierotopy (conference presentation in Russian)

After a general introduction into Roman ancient gold glasses, the paper focuses on the spousal portraits. It is argued that the gold-glass iconography elated family life and its religious value. I am indebted to M. D. Ellison who shared with me some of his research on this subject. I endeavor to sketch the contours of early Christian hierotopy as it emerges from the compendium of gold-glass iconography and other available, albeit fragmentary, contemporary sources.

Research paper thumbnail of Action-thoughts and the origin of meaning

A. Simsky. Action-thoughts and the origin of meaning. European Cognitive Science Conference, Bochum, Sep2-4, 2019., 2019

Most people believe that they think in terms of their native languages. In this report I will arg... more Most people believe that they think in terms of their native languages. In this report I will argue that, in fact, we think in terms of actions, with speech being just one type of action. Moreover, I will show how actions tend to form hierarchical language-like systems, of which language itself is just one example. Actions are elementary units of our activity, and they are as natural to the human brain as numeric data are to computers. Nevertheless, the role of actions as a foundation of thinking has not yet been fully appreciated. As such, I put forward the concept of action-thoughts, defined as actions taken together with all the mental processes that drive them. The acquisition of language can be modelled as a process of chaining action-thoughts together and thus forming representations of verbs. Many first-order concepts and categories are action-defined, such that their meanings can be derived from the goals of the actions related to them. Mental actions tend to aggregate into language-like structures with their own syntax. Chess players, for example, think in terms of moves in the same way that engineers think in terms of mathematical formulas, and programmers, in terms of algorithms. In cases such as these, verbal markers function as pointers referring to complex procedures grounded in shared knowledge. In closing, mental and physical professional activities are discussed in light of the concept of 'work civilization'.

Research paper thumbnail of Образы облаков в иеротопии и живописи Востока и Запада

А. Д. Охоцимский. Образы облаков в иеротопии и живописи Востока и Запада // Воздух и небеса в иеротопии и иконографии христианского мира. Материалы международного симпозиума. ред.-сост. А.М.Лидов, М.: 2019, с. 137-142, 2019

Исследование посвящено сопоставлению небулярных образов в сакральных пространствах западноевропей... more Исследование посвящено сопоставлению небулярных образов в
сакральных пространствах западноевропейской, византийской и
восточной живописи. Невзирая на кажущуюся тривиальность,
образы облаков выразительны, проблематичны и во многом зага-
дочны. Заметим, что обилие облаков в западноевропейской ико-
нографии неба удивительно контрастирует с почти полным их отсутствием в иконах византийского мира. Почему так? Неужели
византийцы забыли о ветхозаветном образе Божией Славы в виде
светящегося облака? А почему на европейских пейзажах облака
находятся там, где им положено, т. е. на небе, отделенном от зем-
ли линией горизонта, а на китайских — они стелятся дымкой по
горным вершинам, закрывая их от взора? Поиск ответов на эти и
многие другие вопросы, возникающие в дискурсе предлагаемого
сопоставления, позволит не только лучше понять роль и место
облачной образности, но и прочувствовать различия мировиде-
ния, духовности и эстетики трех цивилизаций.

Research paper thumbnail of Action-thoughts and the Generation of Meaning

A. Simsky. Action-thoughts and the Generation of Meaning // presented at the annual Conference of the South Carolina Society for Philosophy, 8-9 March 2019, 2019

Most people believe that they think in terms of their native languages. In this report I will arg... more Most people believe that they think in terms of their native languages. In this report I will argue that, in fact, we think in terms of actions, with speech being just one type of action. Moreover, I will show how actions have a tendency to form hierarchical, language-like systems, of which language itself is just one example.

Research paper thumbnail of Sign, Allegory, Symbol, Metaphor: definitions and distinctions

This is a presentation for a seminar. Only signifier-images are considered. Metaphor is covered s... more This is a presentation for a seminar. Only signifier-images are considered. Metaphor is covered superficially just to show its distinction from the first three forms of "expression".

Research paper thumbnail of Священные руины или xрамы Божьего Творения?  Горы в протестантской иеротопии

А. Д. Охоцимский. Священные руины или xрамы Божьего Творения? Горы в протестантской иеротопии / Представлено на конференции " Святые горы в иеротопии и иконографии христианского мира. Симпозиум / 13-15 сентября 2017 г. в Российской Академии Художеств (Москва) ", 2017

В данной работе мы проследим эволюцию отношения к горам в русле магистрального направления развит... more В данной работе мы проследим эволюцию отношения к горам в русле магистрального направления развития протестантского мировоззрения: религиозного восхищения природой как Божьим Творением. Для пост-Реформации была характерна сакрализация материального мира и природы, которую мы назвали в наших предыдущих работах протестантской иеротопией. Новое отношение к горам было одним из аспектов протестантской иеротопии. К природе в целом стали относиться с большим оптимизмом. В природном увидели божественное. «Падший мир» традиционного христианства предстал гигантским храмом Божьего творения, в котором горы были чем-то вроде алтаря в силу своей естественной близости к небесам. Если в начале развития этого процесса восхищение Творением сосредоточивалось на малом и интимно близком человеку (к примеру, на цветах), то в дальнейшем оно распространилось и на гигантское, что способствовало оформлению в европейском сознании концепции величественного (sublime). Мы увидим, что Реформация ввела тему гор в философские и богословские дискуссии, создав идейные предпосылки для последующей романтической экзальтации вызываемых ими чувств восторга и потрясения.

Research paper thumbnail of Протестантская иеротопия и религиозно-философские корни голландского реализма

Конференция "Искусствознание: наука, опыт, просвещение", 2018

Иеротопическая методология, разработанная первоначально в контексте византийских сакральных прост... more Иеротопическая методология, разработанная первоначально в контексте византийских сакральных пространств, применена в исследовании протестантской сакрализации материального мира. Барочный, «восторженный» натурализм голландской живописи Золотого века интерпретирован как иконография этой новой сакральности. В свете протестантской иеротопии, букеты, натюрморты и пейзажи становятся иконами Божьего Творения, а домашние интерьеры предстают в образе храмов освященного домашнего уюта. Обсуждается влияние естественного богословия XVII века, кальвинистских доктрин, неостоицизма, спинозизма и бэконианства на формирование в протестантской культуре обострённого внимания к видимому миру и иконизации Творения, имевшей выраженный пантеистический оттенок.

Research paper thumbnail of Святая вода и Реформация

Святая вода и Реформация // Живоносный источник. Вода в иеротопии и иконографии христианского мира. Сборник материалов симопзиума, ред.-сост. А. М. Лидов, М: Филигрань, 2014, с.185-189, 2014

Основной посыл данного исследования: история воды в христианстве отражает историю отношения к мат... more Основной посыл данного исследования: история воды в христианстве отражает историю отношения к материальному миру. Мы проследим этот параллелизм на основе несколько исторических эпизодов западного христианства, иллюстрирующих наш основной тезис: история сакральной воды есть история отношения к материи. Резкое изменение отношения к материальному, происшедшее на Западе в связи с Реформацией, позволит
выявить данный параллелизм особенно явно.

Здесь вниманию читателей предлагаются тезисы доклада. Полная статья была опубликована в 2017 г. и приведена в разделе "статьи"

Research paper thumbnail of Эзотерическое христианство Александра Иванова

Презентация на 2ом сарабьяновском конгрессе искусствоведов, Москва, 6-7 октября 2016

Alexander Ivanov (1806-1858) was a Russian academic artist who spent the larger part of his caree... more Alexander Ivanov (1806-1858) was a Russian academic artist who spent the larger part of his career in Rome working on a large-scale canvas entitled “The appearance of the Messiah”. Before embarking on this endeavor, however, he first had to complete a smaller painting, a representation of ”Noli me tangere” , which was received with great acclaim in Saint Petersburg. During the last decade of his life he started a major project entirely of his own, namely a large set of sketches for murals which covered all the important episodes of the Gospel, together with theologically linked Old Testament stories. These sketches, which evinced a novel artistic language, are collectively referred to as the Biblical Studies. In this paper, I shall put forward an account of Ivanov’s spiritual journey, which led him to the creation of this vibrant epic, filled with light and magic.
A more detailed text in Russian is available:
https://lib.rmvoz.ru/bigzal/spiritual_Alexander_Ivanov
Also the paper is published and posted at this server

Research paper thumbnail of Образ-парадигма Святого Града в христианской иеротопии

А. Д. Охоцимский. Образ-парадигма Святого Града в христианской иеротопии. Доклад на конференции "Визуальная антропология — 2018. Современный город: конструирование общественных пространств". Томск, 2018, 2018

Образы-парадигмы – это не-иллюстративные образы сакрального. При конструировании сакральных прост... more Образы-парадигмы – это не-иллюстративные образы сакрального. При конструировании сакральных пространств они работают как ментальные модели. При восприятии, они актуализируются как эмерджентные образы, опирающиеся на организованную совокупность материальных, образных и смысловых компонентов сакральных пространств. Образ-парадигма нигде не изображен, но присутствует как видение, ментальный образ, возникая из множества согласованных символических ассоциаций. В этом докладе я постараюсь разъяснить это нетривиальное понятие на примере образа Св. Града.

Research paper thumbnail of Образы-парадигмы  и иеротопические смыслы религиозного

А. Д. Охоцимский. Образы-парадигмы и иеротопические смыслы религиозного. Академическое исследование и концептуализация религии в XXI веке: традиции и новые вызовы. Материалы III конгресса российских исследователей религии 7-9 октября 2016г. / Владимир, ВлГУ, 2016, том 6 с. 161-171, Aug 25, 2016

«Образ-парадигма» – одно из основных понятий иеротопии. Оно играет ключевую роль при анализе созд... more «Образ-парадигма» – одно из основных понятий иеротопии. Оно играет ключевую роль при анализе создания и восприятия сакральных пространств. Образ-парадигма – это образ-замысел сакрального пространства, его идейно-образное ядро. Пример: Небесный Иерусалим – это один из основных образов-парадигм христианского храма. Онтологически, образы-парадигмы относятся к категории религиозных «образов-концептов», в которых образно-чувственное тесно переплетается с идейно-догматическим в единую мысленную конструкцию. Это – образы-видения, опирающиеся на литературный материал, молитвенный и литургический опыт, мистические переживания.
Функционируя в качестве образов-парадигм сакральных пространств, эти образы становятся семантическим кодом особого рода, ключевыми смыслами сакрального пространства, доступными целевым адресатам. Вдохновляя создателей сакральных пространств, они реализуются в иеротопических проектах и резонируют в подготовленном сознании верующих. Будучи принципиально неиллюстративными, они возникают из всей совокупности образно-символических элементов сакральной среды. Несводимые к простым символам, они складываются из многих символических связей, составляющих сакральную среду, подобно тому, как музыкальное произведение складывается из нот, а картина из мазков. Они генерируются организованным ансамблем образно-символьных компонент сакрального пространства. Рожденные в лоне религиозного опыта, они актуализируются в смыслах иеротопических проектов и становятся общим достоянием в процессе невидимого образо-творчества, охватывающего религиозную культуру в целом.

Research paper thumbnail of Image-paradigms in Hierotopy: Sacred Spaces as Communicating Media

Andrew Simsky. Image-paradigms in Hierotopy: Sacred Spaces as Communicating Media / Annual conference of the European Association of the Study of Religion, EASR-2017, 18-21 September, Leuven, 2017

The concept of the image-paradigm was introduced by Lidov as an instrument to analyze the imagery... more The concept of the image-paradigm was introduced by Lidov as an instrument to analyze the imagery of sacred spaces. It was successfully used in a number of case studies, but its theoretical aspects received little attention. In particular, its ontological and functional aspects remain to be clarified. In this report, I lay down some general groundwork to help better understand this novel concept.

Research paper thumbnail of La philosophie des rêves

A sub-class of conscious dream-visions is specified. This is a type of dreams which was meant by ... more A sub-class of conscious dream-visions is specified. This is a type of dreams which was meant by M. L. King when he said 'I have a dream'. These dream-visions generate a world of a 'personal' wish-reality possibly combined with imagined sensual experiences. The paper affirms the importance of this type of mental activity and discusses its role and place in the human universe. The text only in French (the Russian text is also available on this server).

Research paper thumbnail of Философия мечты

Сформулированы основные характеристики мечты как формы самоутверждения личности. This text is als... more Сформулированы основные характеристики мечты как формы самоутверждения личности. This text is also available in French

Research paper thumbnail of L'eau bénite et la Réforme protestante

Cet essay est une traduction abrégée d'une publication bilingue Russe/Anglais sous le titre "Holy... more Cet essay est une traduction abrégée d'une publication bilingue Russe/Anglais sous le titre "Holy water, Reformation and Protestant Hierotopy" / Святая вода, Реформация и протестантская иеротопия (короткая версия: "Святая вода и Реформация""

Research paper thumbnail of Le thème du feu dans la philosophie grecque présocratique

The concept of fire as an all-pervasive omynipresent "living element" was a key idea to the pre-s... more The concept of fire as an all-pervasive omynipresent "living element" was a key idea to the pre-socratic hylozoism. The paper discusses the role and the facets of this concept in the teachings of several pre-socratics. The influence on the Christian tradition is briefly discussed in the closing. Text in French (original text in Russian, see previous paper).

Research paper thumbnail of Тема огня в греческой философии досократовского периода

Концепция огня как всепроникающей одушевляющей и животворящей стихии играла ключевую роль в досок... more Концепция огня как всепроникающей одушевляющей и животворящей стихии играла ключевую роль в досократовской натурфилософии. В статье обсуждаются аспекты и место этой концепции в учениях досократиков. В заключение кратко обсуждается дальнейшая эволюция этой концепции и её влияние на образ необжигающего огня в христианстве. This text is also available in French

Research paper thumbnail of Об иконографии "Иисус на троне"

Изложение основных аспектов иконографии "Иисус на престоле" для широкого круга читателей. Основно... more Изложение основных аспектов иконографии "Иисус на престоле" для широкого круга читателей. Основной тезис: трон Иисуса появился не в подражание императорским портретам, а как утверждение его божественности (см. Matthews "The clash of gods").

Main aspects of the "Jesus on the throne" iconograpy are formulated for non-professional readers in the form of discussion based on the book of Matthews "The clash of gods" and on his view that first images of Jesus on the throne where statements of his divinity rather than copies of imperial portraits.

Research paper thumbnail of The Faculty of Action (preprint)

The Faculty of Action (preprint), 2019

The human faculty of action, understood as a physical and mental capacity to perform conscious ac... more The human faculty of action, understood as a physical and mental capacity to perform conscious actions and participate in collective activity, is formulated and analyzed in this paper within the framework of activity theory and is complemented with neurobiological evidence. The paper starts out from the observation that the innate abilities underpinning the faculty of action were originally developed in the course of biocultural evolution. In agreement with the foundational ideas of activity theory, the main instrument of analysis of the faculty of action is defined in this work as an 'action-thought', an elementary unit of activity and actional thinking. Action-thoughts both guide and represent actions and are also employed in their mental rehearsal as well as in decision-making. The faculty of actions appears at the highest level in the hierarchy of motion control as originally outlined by N. A. Bernstein. This hierarchy, the paper argues, must be amended and completed with the addition of one further level of external action control, which characterizes the individual's ability to act collectively by means of commanding/obeying. In closing, the primary role of actions in languaging is discussed, as well as the action-based generation of meaning and language acquisition.

Research paper thumbnail of Action-thoughts: concept and conception

Action-thoughts: concept and conception (pre-print), 2018

The professional activity of fully developed, educated individuals, who get the most out of their... more The professional activity of fully developed, educated individuals, who get the most out of their knowledge and intellect at work, has attracted as of yet little interest in modern cognitive science and the philosophy of mind, though both focus on the analysis of elementary thoughts and actions. In this paper I propose a unified approach to both elementary and complex actions which is based on a concept of "action-thoughts", in which the mental and physical aspects of actions are fused together. The genesis of this concept is presented in the framework of holistic paradigms of externalism and enaction.

Research paper thumbnail of The Re-interpretation of Dutch Golden Age Painting in the Light of Protestant Hierotopy (preprint)

to be published online by Atlantis press

This paper employs the concept of Protestant hierotopy to explore the spiritual roots of Dutch Go... more This paper employs the concept of Protestant hierotopy to explore the spiritual roots of Dutch Golden Age Painting. Hierotopic methodology focuses on the creation of sacred spaces as a form of human creativity. Though the Reformation may have done away with ecclesiastical sacred spaces, it introduced a new kind of hierotopy in their place: a sacralization of the whole of Creation, with a focus on human environments. Protestant admiration for nature was imbued with religious feelings, while cleanliness and domesticity came to be seen as closely akin to holiness. In this paper I interpret Dutch Golden Age Painting as an iconography of this new form of sacrality. I argue that what we find in this art ought to be understood, not as a purely descriptive, objective realism conceived for its own sake, but rather as a passionate or even sacred naturalism motivated by admiration for God's marvelous creation and enhanced by a Protestant sense of co-working with the Creator.

Russian colleages can see a presentation "Протестантская иеротопия и религиозно-философские корни голландского реализма"

Research paper thumbnail of "Мыследействия" как основа умственной работы (рукопись)

Вопросы культурологии, 2018, №8, с. 28-40; №9, с. 29-41

Профессиональная активность вполне развитого образованного человека, использующего по максимуму с... more Профессиональная активность вполне развитого образованного человека, использующего по максимуму свой интеллект и знания в профессиональной сфере, остается, как правило, вне круга интересов современной философии сознания, которая анализирует главным образом элементарные мысли и действия. В данной работе предлагается единый подход к описанию как простейших, так и чрезвычайно сложных действий на основе синтетического концепта «мыследействие», объединяющего как ментальные, так и внешние аспекты действий. Генезис нового понятия рассматривается в свете холистических парадигм экстернализма и энактивизма.

Опубликованную статью см. в разделе "Papers"

Research paper thumbnail of Icons of Space. Advances in Hierotopy (Routledge 2021; paper edition 2023; open access 2024)

Icons of Space brings together prominent scholars of Byzantine religion, art, and architecture to... more Icons of Space brings together prominent scholars of Byzantine religion, art, and architecture to honor renowned art historian Alexei Lidov. Lidov developed hierotopy, an innovative approach for studying the creation of sacred spaces. Sixteen chapters in this volume present icons of space by posing questions about multi-layered iconic ideas and the lived experiences of the creators and beholders of iconic spaces. Thus, this book contributes to image theory and theories of architecture and sacred space. Simultaneously, it moves beyond colonial studies that predominantly focus on religion and politics as expressions of privileged knowledge and power. This book will appeal to those interested in hierotopy and arts.

ISBN 9780367723491
OPEN ACCESS https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003154464