VISUAL WORLDS OF Y. LYSYK

Contemplating the works of monumental art that surround us in everyday life, you always see the numerous sculptural decorations of Lviv houses, carefully look at the wall paintings of temples, catch the glare of coloured stained glass windows. And the city itself, which has not been subjected to crushing destruction, not only has a considerable number of monumental architectural objects but also acts as a large complex representing the philosophy of different historical periods of society's existence. We see all this almost daily. However, visiting the theatre is always an extraordinary event. You will be especially lucky if the performance is accompanied by scenography developed by the artist Yevhen Lysyk. His style reflects the ideas of the fashion trend of the second half of the twentieth century – postmodernism, which rejected the ideas of rationality and progress and professed to blur the boundaries of artistic genres and interpretive thinking. It erased the boundaries between mass and elite cultures, between the author and the viewer, and plunged into the world of sensations, game and irony. The style of monumental paintings and scenography performed by Y. Lysyk never conveys anything literally. These are the worlds of philosophical worldview, which was reflected in the metaphorical, symbolic, deep-meaning and hyperbolized transmission of images. The main idea is always hidden and does not open immediately. By watching the performance and immersing oneself in it, the viewer emotionally experiences the stories of the characters not only through the performance of the actors but also receiving a visual sensory impulse from the artistic design of the stage. So, a conceptual principle of Y. Lysyk is an idea that art does not reproduce reality, but expresses its essence. The design of the scene should evoke emotions, and should not be taken literally, so visual images through transformation (mimesis) always express a deep philosophical thought. The prototype of scenographic works is often nature, illustrating Leonardo da Vinci's statement that art is a mirror of nature. Y. Lysyk's works are characterized by his attitude to the depicted, a deeply emotional, passionate, and personal attitude. The main idea of the play is expressed by revealing the meanings that are hidden in the visual worlds of Yevhen Lysyk, which is complemented by the libretto and the actors' performance.