Polyanalogism Tatiana L.Sougakova
Polyanalogism - style of art with many visual analogies in the same image. This art term was introduced by Tatiana L.Sougakova in 2008 to describe non-representational style in art, that intentionally uses built in ambiguities that allow the viewer to interpret the image in many different ways. Her need to better explain things, or to come up with new terms and new words to describe existing or new events probably comes from many years of studying linguistics and working as a translator/interpreter.
Tatiana L. Sougakova Tree of life (acrylic)
The artist felt that there was a need for a new term in the modern art world, that describes something that some artists are naturally gravitating towards, so she suggested - POLYANALOGISM - many visual analogies intentionally embedded by the artists in their art. (from "poly" Latin root for "many", and "analogy" - "a comparison between two things")
Visual analogies in abstract art have been described before and experimented with. For example, Betty Edwards in her book Drawing on the Artist Within. Betty asked her students to draw pencil analogies of assigned feelings and thoughts like "Femininity" , "Depression" or "Peacefulness". Later she analyzed the drawings and found many similarities within the same topic, both in composition and use of lines and patterns. For example, while drawing peacefulness many students would use horizontal, wavy lines. Betty Edwards was able to prove the language of visual analogies and why many viewers are able to interpret abstract visual analogies in the same way.
But POLYANALOGISM is a term that describes not just abstracted or semi-abstracted visual analogies, it describes the intent of the artist to infuse the artwork with deliberate ambiguity or multiple visual references. Artworks in this style would intentionally build in several visual analogies open for the viewer to discover. Polyanalogism in an interactive style that poses some questions for the viewer. If the viewer wants to know an answer he/she just has to look at the painting a bit longer. The painting shown to the left by Tatiana L.Sougakova is called "A tree of life" is created to show similarities, visual analogies between many things, as well as draw on some philosophical symbolism.
The image is intended to look like several things at the same time:
- trees (the most obvious analogy)
- estuaries of rivers (blue tree)
- stylized fire flames (red tree)
- arteries and capillaries (red and blue trees)
It also makes visual reference to:
- energies of sunlight (yellow tree), water (blue tree), fire (large red tree)
- energies of opposites, that combine to build a whole
- biblical notion of tree of life
- fractal similarities of many forms in nature
This painting was painted to show similarities in patterns in nature, with the intent to lead the viewer towards the feeling of harmony and unity in the Universe.