Modes of visualization of urban art: street art vs public art

Urban art and related terms - public art and street art - are considered in the context of the fundamental importance of the physical, architectural and urban environment in which the artist's work is located. The purpose of the article is to identify the specifics of the modes of visualization of urban art as features of communication between the original event (object, phenomenon), the creator / visualizer of the image and the recipient of the visual image. The use of a set of art history methods allowed us to investigate the patterns of the emergence of art objects in the urban environment, taking into account the conditions of their visualization, to which the author refers the degree of freedom of content; the degree of conditionality of the work by the context of the urban environment; the potential duration of the existence of an art object in public space; its monologue / dialogicity; the degree of emotional impact. The conclusion is made about the asymmetry of visualization of two art practices - street and public art, and the reasons for this asymmetry are considered. It is noted that public art provides better conditions for the placement of the artist's work and a longer duration of the “ life” of the art object, it is more noticeable, more attractive to casual observers whose understanding of the context is superficial. The disadvantages of the visualization mode of public art include restrictions on creative freedom, weak attachment to the context and possibilities of the game with unique characteristics of the working environment and surfaces, the smoothness of the adjusted monologue, the predictability of reactions, which reduces the emotional response of the prepared viewer. Due to these limitations, the visualization mode of street art, as a more sincere, honest and relevant art, has a greater degree of “street trust”. The problem that arises at the level of theory is noted: being, like any manifestation of pop culture, more visible and ubiquitous, public art replaces the concept of “street art”, creating terminological confusion. In practice, public art festivals are called street art festivals, and all Russian legislative initiatives to support street art actually lead to the legitimization of monumental advertising and propaganda while simultaneously displacing unauthorized street work.