2025 № 3 (54)

UDC 75.047; 76.01

BBC 85.19

DOI: 10.51678/2226-0072-2025-3-364-393

For cit.: Podlipentseva K.I. Liminality and Liminal Spaces in Contemporary Russian Visual Art: From Ritual Practices to Digital Reality. Hudozhestvennaya kul’tura [Art & Culture Studies], 2025, no. 3, pp. 364–393. https://doi.org/10.51678/2226-0072-2025-3-364-393. (In Russian)

Podlipentseva Kseniia I. 

Methodologist of the Scientific and Educational Department, The State Hermitage Museum, 2 Dvortsovaya Sq., St. Petersburg, 190000, Russia; PhD Student, Department of Russian Art, Faculty of Theory and History of Art, Ilya Repin St. Petersburg Academy of Arts (2021–2024)

https://orcid.org/0009-0000-0190-4894

ResearcherID: NBM-0765-2025 

podlipentceva@gmail.com 

Liminality and Liminal Spaces in Contemporary Russian Visual Art: From Ritual Practices to Digital Reality

Abstract. This study explores the phenomenon of liminality and liminal spaces in contemporary Russian visual art. Using an interdisciplinary approach and drawing on works on anthropology, philosophy, and psychology, we aim to define the common features of liminal spaces, their origin and roots, also addressing the question of whether liminal spaces can be created through artistic methods. We examine in detail the distinction between the terms ‘liminality’ and ‘liminal space’, proposing the following interpretation: liminality refers to a state of transition in the broadest sense, whereas a liminal space represents a specific aesthetic-psychological phenomenon and mode of perception, as well as certain visual patterns prevalent in mass culture and, notably, in contemporary art. Three subtypes of a liminal space are distinguished within contemporary Russian visual art: context-dependent places, ‘throughway’ spaces, and ‘portals’. Within the framework of our hypothesis, the first two subtypes in works of art are considered as an image of the liminal space, and the third one — as its direct creation. Thus, the topic of spatial relations between a work and the space of life is touched upon, as well as the question of the connections of modern art with ritualism as a method of influencing the surrounding reality. Without trying to give a definitive description of these relations, we, nevertheless, want to draw the attention of the scientific community to the extensive and fascinating chain of connections between art as an artistic act, art as a ritual, and art as a social action. The article also provides an analysis of selected works by contemporary artists, based on interviews, which allows us to introduce into academic discourse the names of artists whose work has not previously been the subject of scholarly research.

Keywords: liminality, liminal spaces, spatial issues, 21st-century art, contemporary visual art, urban environment in contemporary art, rituality in contemporary art, digital art 

Sources:

Podlipentseva K.I. Interv’yu s A. i V. Sarychevymi, gruppa “Malyshki 18:22”: 24.03.2024 [Interview with A. and V. Sarycheva, the Malyshki 18:22 Group: 24.03.2024]. Lichnyi arkhiv K.I. Podlipentsevoi [K.I. Podlipentseva Personal Archive], n. pag. (In Russian)

Podlipentseva K.I. Interv’yu s A. Gart: 16.05.2024 [Interview with A. Gart: 16.05.2024]. Lichnyi arkhiv K.I. Podlipentsevoi [K.I. Podlipentseva Personal Archive], n. pag. (In Russian)

Podlipentseva K.I. Interv’yu s E. Helki: 11.11.2024 [Interview with E. Helki: 11.11.2024]. Lichnyi arkhiv K.I. Podlipentsevoi [K.I. Podlipentseva Personal Archive], n. pag. (In Russian)

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Received 17.02.2025 

Accepted 24.05.2025