Female Portrayal in Disclosure of the Emotional Spectrum of Wartime Experiences

Abstract

Purpose of the article. The purpose of the research is to reveal the artistic and psychological patterns that are inherent in female portrayals in visual communications nowadays, to compare the differences between visual feminine images in peacetime and wartime. Research methodology. Among the scientific methods of research, the following methods were used in this work: the methods of empirical research, namely analysis and synthesis, the historical method and the method of structural-semiotic analysis. Scientific novelty. The scientific novelty of this article lies in the identification of typological features of the feminine image in modern Ukrainian graphic design, the identification of visual trends in the representation of various images of women during the period of active military conflict. Conclusions. Feminine portrayal in various examples of visual communications can differ significantly, in recent years it is characterized by the presence of deviations from the idealized image, which corresponds to the minimization of the stereotypical female gender role. In today’s manifestations of communicative design, a woman gains the freedom to make her own choices, what life guidelines to follow, how to look and how to reveal her feminine beginning. On the examples of Ukrainian realities, in contrast to the socio-cultural variability of female images in peacetime, archetypal female images are revealed in the information field of the visual mode during the period of military operations. For modern Ukrainian graphic design of the war period, the symbiosis of national-ethnic identifiers as additional attributes to feminine figures is innovative, that is harmoniously combined with the postmodern international style of graphic performance. However, as shown by the socio-cultural trends in countries where there was a military conflict, gender equality may be violated in the post-war period, so there is a risk of a return to gender stereotypes, which may also manifest in the field of visual communications.

Keywords

• female portrayal
• female image
• feminine archetypes
• visual communications
• graphic design
• wartime