«Webs of Letters» : Graphic and Visual Aspects of the Word as Expressively Significant in the Context of Cubo Futurism

Abstract

This article describes a poetry tendency that emerged in the context of Russian Futurism (the Hylea group), namely, the inclusion of epiphenomenal, graphic and visual aspects of the word in the structure of the verbal sign. The expansion of the sign is explained by two approaches to the study of the Avant-garde: a semiotic-oriented approach (E. Farino, V. Feshchenko, O. Koval, M. Grygar) and a pragmatic-oriented approach (M. Shapir, D. Joffe). In these approaches, we discuss the re-creation of a verbal sign by decomposing it into distinctive features and changing these features, which leads to a change in the signified in communication: the transfer of a creative gesture, rather than an intentional meaning. A creative gesture as a pragmatic moment of a work of art engages the recipient into communication and invites them to first react to the action, and then share the acting the gesture out in a situation of co-creation. This thesis is illustrated by the analysis of meta-reflective texts of avant-gardists: D. Burliuk and A. Kruchenykh. The author shows how both Avant-garde artists trace the link between the signified and the creative act and reflect on the changing nature of the signifier.