Spatial icon

The concept of the spatial icon, introduced by Alexei Lidov,[1] plays a central role in hierotopy and is used to describe the perception of sacred spaces. Spatial icons are image-visions, that are evoked, for example, in the space of a temple or sanctuary. The spatial icon encompasses a broad range of components involved in the formation and definition of sacred spaces.[2] It is a consciously created spatial image that transcends the material objects involved in its formation. A variety of plastic elements, including everything from buildings to decoration, and from murals to liturgical artifacts, work together to form a spatial icon. Sacred relics and iconic images often play an integral role in the creation of a comprehensive spatial image.[3][4][5] Various dynamic and performative media also play a significant role, such as rituals and song,[6] as well as the artistic manipulation of natural light,[7][8][9] lighting[10] and sounds, and also elements dealing with odor and touch.[11] From this point of view, Medieval churches can be seen as spatial icons in which divine image-visions, such as Paradise or Heavenly Jerusalem, were incarnated in the sacred space by means of the various media employed without being directly depicted.[12][13][14] The temples and sanctuaries of various religions were originally conceived, designed and created as spatial icons.[15] In the Christian tradition in particular, impressive examples of spatial icons are to be found in re-creations of the Holy Land, or "New Jerusalems".[16][17] In many cases, spatial icons were the work of specific authors; their art could be compared with that of contemporary film directors, for in both cases, there is the coordinated effort of various artists and specialists in shaping a single, comprehensive vision.[18]

Performativity, as well as various dynamic elements, is a significant feature of spatial icons.[19] Unlike a statue or building, they are constantly in motion, changing with the movement and activity of ritual and celebration, as well as with the alteration of light, odor and the movements of those participating and inhabiting them. The Tuesday performance surrounding the Hodegetria icon in Constantinople[20] and the Donkey walk taking place in Medieval Moscow[21] are classical examples of iconic performativity in the Eastern Christian tradition. In both cases, the city itself was temporarily transformed into the matrix of a spatial icon; the participants involved in these rituals were thus veritable co-creators of the sacred space along with the artists, priests and celebrants responsible for leading it. Another example of this performative element at work in spatial icons can be found in the ritual creation and destruction of the sand mandala in the Buddhist tradition.

Notes
  1. A. Lidov. "Hodegetria of Constantinople" in the encyclopedia Miraculous icons in the Eastern Christian culture, Moscow, 1992.
  2. A. Lidov. "Spatial Icons. The Miraculous Performance with the Hodegetria of Constantinople" in Hierotopy. Creation of Sacred Spaces in Byzantium and Medieval Russia, ed. A. Lidov, Moscow: Progress-tradition, 2006, pp. 325-372.
  3. J. Bogdanovich. "The Performativity of Shrines in a Byzantine Church: The Shrines of St. Demetrios" in Spatial icons. Performativity in Byzantium and Medieval Russia, ed. A. Lidov, Moscow: Indrik, 2011. pp. 275-316.
  4. V. Sarabianov. "Relics and Images of Saints in the Sacred Space of St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev" in Spatial icons. Performativity in Byzantium and Medieval Russia, ed. A. Lidov, Moscow: Indrik, 2011. pp. 364-392.
  5. A. Akiyama. "Interrelationships of Relics and Images in Buddhist and Christian Traditions: Comparative and Performative Aspects" in Spatial icons. Performativity in Byzantium and Medieval Russia, ed. A. Lidov, Moscow: Indrik, 2011. pp. 643-662.
  6. L. Evseeva, L. Kondrashkova. "Creating the Iconic Space: Text, Singing and Image in the Sixteenth Century Festive Liturgy" in Spatial icons. Performativity in Byzantium and Medieval Russia, ed. A. Lidov, Moscow: Indrik, 2011, pp. 473-507.
  7. A. Godovanets. "The Icon of Light in the Architectural Space of Hagia Sophia" in Spatial icons. Performativity in Byzantium and Medieval Russia, ed. A. Lidov, Moscow: Indrik, 2011, pp. 119-142.
  8. Vs. Rozhniatovsky. "The Performative Iconography. Effects of Light in the Space of Eastern Christian Churches." in Spatial icons. Performativity in Byzantium and Medieval Russia, ed. A. Lidov, Moscow: Indrik, 2011, pp. 393-442.
  9. Vs. Rozhniatovsky. "Light Effects in the Space of Byzantine Church: Peculiarities and Stages of Evolution" in Light and Fire in the Sacred Space, ed. A. Lidov, Moscow: Indrik, 2011, pp. 95-101.
  10. A. Melnik. "The Dramaturgy of Fire in Russian Churches in the 16th and 17th centuries." in Spatial icons. Performativity in Byzantium and Medieval Russia, ed. A. Lidov, Moscow: Indrik, 2011, pp. 443-473.
  11. B. V. Pentcheva. The Sensual Icon. Space, Ritual, and the Senses in Byzantium, Pennstate Press, 2009.
  12. M. Sokolov. "Principle of Paradise." Moscow: Progress-Tradition, 2011, Ch. 1. Earthern and Heavenly Paradise, pp. 23-88
  13. A. Lidov. "Hierotopy: Spatial icons and Image-Paradigms in Byzantine Culture", Moscow: Theoria, 2009. Ch. 10, Image-Paradigms as a New Notion of Visual Culture, pp. 293-305, 335-337.
  14. H. L. Kessler. "Seeing Medieval Art", Broadview Press, 2004, ch.5, Church, pp. 109-110.
  15. Sh. Tsuji. "Creating an Iconic Space. The Transformation of Narrative Landscape" in Spatial icons. Performativity in Byzantium and Medieval Russia, Moscow: Indrik, 2011, pp. 627-642.
  16. A. Lidov. "New Jerusalems. Transferring of the Holy Land as Generative Matrix of Christian Culture" in New Jerusalems. Hierotopy and iconography of sacred spaces, ed. A. Lidov, Moscow: Indrik, 2009, pp. 8-10.
  17. M. Bacci. "Performed Topographies and Topomimetic Piety. Imaginative Sacred Spaces in Medieval Italy" in Spatial icons. Performativity in Byzantium and Medieval Russia, Moscow: Indrik, 2011, pp. 101-118.
  18. A. Lidov. "The Creator of Sacred Space as a Phenomenon of Byzantine Culture" in L’artista a Bisanzio e nel mondo cristiano-orientale, ed. Michele Bacci, Pisa, 2003, pp.135-176.
  19. A. Lidov. "The Byzantine World and Performative Spaces" in Spatial icons. Performativity in Byzantium and Medieval Russia, ed. A. Lidov, Moscow: Indrik, 2011. pp. 17-26.
  20. A. Lidov. "Hierotopy: spatial icons and image-paradigms in Byzantine culture", Ch. 2. Spatial icons. The Miraculous Performance with the Hodegetria in Constantinople. Moscow: Theoria, 2009, pp. 39-70.
  21. M. Flier. "The Image of the Tsar in the Muscovite Palm Sunday Ritual" in Spatial icons. Performativity in Byzantium and Medieval Russia, ed. A. Lidov, Moscow: Indrik, 2011, pp. 533-562.

Further reading
  • A. Lidov. Hierotopy: Spatial icons and Image-Paradigms in Byzantine Culture, Moscow: Theoria, 2009, 352 p.
  • Spatial icons. Textual and performative. Materials of international symposium, ed. A. Lidov, Moscow: Indrik, 2009, 184 p.
  • Spatial icons. Performativity in Byzantium and Medieval Russia, ed. A. Lidov, Moscow: Indrik, 2011, 702 p.
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