Limits of the verbal language rejection: the multiplicity of discourses (on the example of the exhibition "The Tongue of Men")

The thesis analyzes the semiotic approach to representation and visual art on the example of the exhibition “The Tongue of Men”. When referring to contemporary curatorial practice since the 1990s, exhibition researchers note the emergence of curatorial discourse, which is expressed in consideration of the creation of an exhibition from the point of view of the dialogical and discursive approach. Many curators note the desire for close cooperation with artists both during the organization of exhibitions and during the creation of works. Does such an exhibition become a movement “towards the heterosphere”, or does the result turn out to be a random mixing of art and the contradictions of knowledge that the viewer cannot interpret? This thesis is framed around the hypothesis that visual art is an independent non-verbal language and has its own sign system, requiring its own interpretation. It analyzes the polydiscursiveness of the “statements” of curators and artists in the common exhibition activity to combine the optics of each exhibition participant in a single study. The object of study of this thesis is the multiplicity of discourses and their representation within the framework of the exhibition “The Tongue of Men”. The subject of the study is the limits of the verbal language and text rejection among the exhibition participants, as well as the representation of contradictory and unrelated discourses in the works of artists and the statements of curators within the framework of the exhibition “The Tongue of Men”. The analysis of the penetration of verbal language into non-verbal and their synthesis, as well as the search of analogies of verbal language in the visual, suggests the possibility of minimizing the presence of text and its alternatives in exhibition activities, as well as optimizing communication between curators and artists and their cooperation. The thesis consists of an introduction, a theoretical report, a project report, a conclusion and an appendix.