The Visual Space of a City: A Semiotic Approach

The article deals with the problem of visuality in the context of space from the point of view of visual semiotics. The choice of the problem determined the methodology, which is based on a semiotic approach. Visual semiotics uses induction as the main tool: analyzing individual elements of space, i.e. signs, it moves to the generalization of the results at the level of semiotics as a whole. The author believes that visual images captured in various architectural structures play an important role in shaping the social structure, the space of everyday communication, and the interaction practices of observing subjects. The purpose of the article is to characterize the basic principles of visual semiotics which reflect the theoretical understanding of urban architecture as a sign system. It is established that the main theoretical principles of visual semiotics in relation to space consist in the following provisions: first, visual artifacts which flood the city space are facts of communication, since they have a linguistic orientation and are perceived as signs. Secondly, the main property for a visual message is capacity – in a short period of time, the subject is able to perceive a much larger amount of information than from the text. And third, it is established that reading and generating new interpretations of urban space occur through everyday practices, during which the surrounding visual space is appropriated and personalized.