METHODS AND MEANS OF CREATING FOUR-DIMENSIONAL SPACETIME IN LANDSCAPES BY VICTOR BILYK

Abstract

Abstract. The purpose of the article is to identify the means used by the Ukrainian painter Viktor Kyrylovych Bilyk (also known as Victor Belik; 1937–1992) to create the illusion of four-dimensionality on twodimensional plane. Research methods. The author utilises general research methods of deduction (the use of theoretical studies to determine practical tools) and induction (for the generalization of individual results), as well as the formal analysis method to examine the artworks. Results. The illusion of movement and time is one of the features that characterize V. Bilyk's style and manner, and the artist put great importance on this. However, none of the researchers of his work focused on this aspect. We explored various methods for creating such an illusion in landscapes, which enabled the artist to convey the four-dimensionality of space and thus reproduce the world of nature as a holistic, vibrant and being in motion. In the study, we investigated two levels of creation of four-dimensional space in V. Bilyk's landscapes: formal and contextual. Conclusions. On the formal level, the artist creates optical illusions of motion using means of composition, such as golden proportion and diagonals, special rhythmical organization of space, color scheme, texture of brushstrokes. Also, the illusion of time duration is based on the trajectory of eye's movement of while the viewer is staring at the artwork, which creates an inner movement into the depth of the picture. For this purpose, perspective and construction of a golden spiral are us ed. The contextual level is created using objects located at different points of space or historical time. Understanding possible space coordinates of each object in one case or historical time coordinates – in the other case – creates an interval between them that is perceived by the viewer’s brain as the flow of time. The effect of this method, though, is possible only under condition of viewer’s awareness of these objects properties and their time coordinates. The results can be used as a complement to the history of Ukrainian art of the twentieth century, as well as illustrative material for studying formal analysis of paintings.