Visual Communication in the Urban Space of Novosibirsk: Differentiation and Perception

Abstract

This research focuses on the numerous manifestations of visual informal communication in the urban public space. Such manifestations are among the most important symptoms of modern development. The study of objects of visual communication can give knowledge that clarifies points of contact and, conversely, discrepancies in perception that can cause conflicts. The author’s aim was to identify and describe the types of objects of visual communication and the peculiarities of their perception by residents on the example of Novosibirsk, Russia. To achieve this aim, the author used several sources of information: interviews with street artists and residents with the help of visual materials, and a large archive of the photos of the objects. To distinguish the types of objects, the author used Harold Lasswell’s communication model as presented by Arthur Berger as a basis. She modified the model according to the features of informal visual communication and the criteria that differentiate objects. The criteria were: message source, author, message, medium, channel, audience, and perception. As a result, the author determined the following types of objects of visual communication: inscriptions and signs, graffiti, street art, public art, HCS (housing and communal services) art, buffs. Perception as a process is not detached from the creation of an object. It is perception that can separate ordinary inscriptions on fences from street art because, even judging by the name, the main criterion for the selection of inscriptions and signs is its means. But some inscriptions surprise, catch attention, and change the choreography of movements, and it is this effect that creates street art. Graffiti are distinguished by a specific means—the font—and by the principles of location in space. Public art is distinguished by the presence of a customer, and its means are almost similar to those of street art. HCS art is a specific category distinguished primarily by the means, the channel, and the author. Buffs are an unexpected discovery, postulating the bilateral nature of informal public communication, characterized primarily by the means. So, one of the key criteria for classifying the types of objects is the means, or the way of coding, which can influence human perception. Types of objects largely determine perception, but even if all the signs of the object can be attributed to one or another type, this does not determine perception. Aesthetics, location, meaning are the main characteristics of the object, which were decisive for respondents’ perception. Respondents’ personal characteristics certainly had an impact on perception, but this was clearly manifested only in the case of HCS art.

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