Kdy je obraz a co je umění. Metastruktura obrazivosti

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The publication introduces a “pragmatic” approach to visual arts and image creation, examining images as significant social processes rather than merely aesthetic objects. It argues that images are essential for inventing and testing new visual signs necessary for navigating evolving social contexts. This perspective presents visual art, its theory, history, and pedagogy as a coherent system with specific functionality and direction, challenging the notion that art's value lies solely in its lack of focus and its pursuit of aesthetic freedom, as suggested by the Kantian tradition. In this framework, it becomes crucial not only to learn how to use or critique visual signs but also to understand the entire process of their creation and socialization. The examination reveals connections related to Jan Mukařovský's concept of “structure,” proposing a structural view of art's development and its functional integration into society. It presents the image as an evolving structure of visual signs, indicating an increasing complexity of their interrelations, aiming for social cooperation and coordination through unique individual perceptions and cognitions. Keywords: visual art, image, structure, interaction, social cooperation and coordination.