Abstract: The article is devoted to such phenomenon of modern popular culture as superheroic comic series. Taking into account the fact that American comic series have long ago broken the tether of such American culture and comic series have taken an important place in cultural and economic clusters of the majority of today's countries, the theme of the present research article remains topical up to  now. The author of the article examines the culture forming role of an American superhero of comic series from the point of view of the culturological problem of the Other/Alien image. In particular, the author analyzes such phenomena of popular culture as cosplay, fan communities, fan festivals and costumized heroism. The research is based on theoretical and methodological approaches of J. Lacan and S. Zizek that allow to view the problem of heroism in historical perspective through the prism of psychoanalytical methodology. J. Derrida's works have also played an important role in this research, in particular, his method of 'deconstruction' that is used by the author of the article to develop the image of Hero that has the basic features of the Other/Alien and so did the views of postmodernists J. Deleza and V. Turner who developed the concept of liminality. As a result of his research, the author has come to the conclusion that the influence of an American comic superhero on the modern cultural environment is tremendous and can be found in the influence on different kinds and genres of art, subculture of comic fans and popular phenomenon of cosplay as well as certain behavioral patterns imitating the behavior of superheroes. 

Keywords: pop culture, mass culture, heroic, hero, superhero, comics, Alien, Other, cosplay, initiation

Abstract: The subject of research is the image of the holy bishop in illuminated manuscripts of Germany in the 11th-12th centuries and its connection with the history of the cult of saints - both cults with long tradition (veneration of first bishops of the German dioceses, founders of monasteries ), and new cults (the veneration of the bishops, who lived in the Xth - the first half of the XIIth century as the founders of monasteries and churches). The article deals with circumstances of appearance of these images and manuscripts. Using the comparative analysis of a variety of miniatures the author distinguishes between different thematic groups and iconographic types and identifies relations between the content of the image and purpose of the book. The main emphasis of this research is a function of the image in its relation to the history of the cult of the saint (representative, memorial), and the relationship of images of saints - holy bishops - with images of customers or the authors of manuscripts.

Keywords: 11th century, Germany, medieval west european manuscripts, bishop, cult of the saints, illuminated manuscripts, book illumination, holy bishop, 12th century, image of the bishop

Abstract: The object of the research is Soviet art movies produced in 1918 - 1991 (including those that were co-produced with foreign cinematographers) about the Russian Revolution of 1917 which is dated sometime from February 1917 till March 1921 based on modern historiographical data. The subject of the research is production and perception of such films in terms of crosscultural communication, globalisation and socio-cultural particularities of the periods in Soviet history and Soviet cinematograph. The method of historical typologization, qualitative and comparative methods as well as periodization of the history of Soviet cinematograph developed by VGIK is used by the authors in this article. Soviet entertainment movies about the Russian Revolution of 1917, dynamics of these films production and perception is studied for the first time in the academic literature. The authors discover a general number of films, films that were co-produced with foreign cinematographers, films that received international awards, 'hot ticket' movies and most popular films. The results of the research can be used during lectures on cultural studies, art history and history. 

Keywords: co-production, dynamics of film production, soviet cinema, art cinema, the Russian revolution, periods of Soviet history, the leader of the rental, popular films, television films, cinema music

Abstract: The subject of the research is the symbolism of chrysanthemum in the world view of native speakers of the Japanese language. The goals and objectives of the research are determined by the point of view that flowers are a spiritual component of Japanese traditional culture and consist in describing the evolution of the symbolism of the chrysanthemum, determining the factors that influence its formation, the means of actualization in the national consciousness. Having examined the general mythological foundations of the image of chrysanthemum, the author explores the ways of the formation of heraldic symbols, determines the role and place of the flower in the festive and everyday culture of the Japanese. The methodological basis is linguoculturological analysis, related to the study of the interrelation between language and culture, interpretative and descriptive methods, axiological approach. The author comes to the conclusion about the special semiotic status of chrysanthemum in Japanese lingvoculture. Throughout the centuries, the image of the chrysanthemum, the sacred symbol of the sun and the goddess Amaterasu, longevity and imperial power was constantly enriched with new meanings. A definite contribution to the study of the topic is the identification and description of the ambivalent semantics of the chrysanthemum: during the Meiji era, the image of white chrysanthemum became an attribute of funeral ceremonies, during the Second World War contributed to the aestheticization of death.The novelty of the research lies in the fact that the author in his work operated with new sources and illustrative material, which have not been published anywhere in Russian.

Keywords: art, aesthetics, spiritual life, sun, emperor, symbolism, chrysanthemum, Japan, nature, traditional culture

Abstract: The article is devoted to the role of mass media and cinematographic art in distribution of fashion around the region. The rationale of the research is caused by the fact that the majority of researches devoted to fashion in Russia are based on data collected in big cities while processes of fashion distribution has specific features in regions. The authors of this research analyze how fashion was perceived by young people of the Brezhnev years depending on their social features such as level of education and place of living. As an example, the authors analyze a collection of costumes from the French movie of 1970 'Man Orchestra' that had a great influence on distribution of fashionable clothes of thoes times. The authors of the research has applied the interdisciplinary approach that combines methods of art history analysis of fashionable clothes shown in movies, diachronic approach in cultural studies, and sociological survey (focus group interview). The conclusion is that perception of fashion in mass media and cinematograph was quite different in rural and urban areas and depended on the level of education among other factors. The authors underline that fashionable clothes allowed to satisfy one's need in personal freedom back in 1960 - 1980's and foreign mass media (newspapers and cinematograph) provided numerous examples of how to achieve it. 

Keywords: city, Indian film, european cinema, Soviet cinema, Soviet television, Brezhnev era, mass media, fashion, village, Man Orchestra

Abstract: The subject of the research is the main questionable matters an art historian doing a research under the conditions of a disciplinary cognitive situation may face. The specifics of the problems under consideration are conditioned both by the initial material of actual art history research that has been chanding as a result of  transformations in the subject area of art history, and with the specifics of the research activity of an art historian, who, while balancing between academism and discourse, sometimes turns out to be a component under reesearch himself or herself and becomes included in the subject area of art history. In his research Shtein has used activity approach as a functional but specific art history methodological tool as it is viewed by the traditional movement founded by G. Schedrovitsky. The novelty of the research is caused by the fact that the author of the article clarifies the main questions which adequate solutions may not only satisfy the actual needs of art history but also keep art history integral as a discipline. At the same time, the problems described herein allow to conclude that it is possible to solve them using the activity approach. 

Keywords: disciplinary cognition, ontologization, activity approach, metaontology of art, ontology of art history, methodology of art, art theory, art history, science about art, contemporary art

Abstract: The article is devoted to the analysis of rayography by American-born artist Man Ray. In the 1920's the abstract visuality of rayography (rayography is historically known as photogram) was in opposition to "straight photography" which proclaimed the primacy of the photorealistic language as well as to "pictorialism", the direction destroying the documentary by using special manipulation that turned a photo into a picture. Man Ray's experiments allowed him to take the position of a lead photographer of modernism, as well as to get orders from the most famous illustrated magazines: Vanity Fair, Vogue, Vu, Harper's Bazaar. Rayography by Man Ray has really become synonymous with what today is called media art, where the media implies providing the subjectivity of artist, regardless of the area of his activities. The formal-stylistic analysis was applied as a primary method of the research. In addition to this the problem-logical method was applied; it allowed dividing the topic into a number of more specific aspects which were considered in a logical sequence and then, in accordance with the general context of the study, the main conceptual items of the article were derived. The novelty of the research is associated with the perspective research: rayography is considered not only as the original author's work, but also as an artistic brand, successfully functioning as Ray’s specific cultural policy. The invention of rayography by Ray is largely linked with the development of the strategies of mass culture, which in its turn stems from the Dadaist experience of the artist and, to some extent, with his American origin, that suggested a clear primacy of pragmatism over idealism. Man Ray brought a photograph beyond its representational capabilities, turning formalistic aesthetic practice into a quite successful commercial product.

Keywords: Christian Schad, surrealism, Dada, Man Ray, photogram, rayography, photography, László Mahou-Nagy, modernism, brand

Abstract: The subject of the research is the musical style features of Old Believers' spiritual verses that are understudied as a result of their complex genesis and variety of genres. The purpose of this research is to define reasons, conditions and factors that unite compositions of different musical styles into a single genre. In her research Murashova analyzes written and verbal verses and defines how kryuki notations can be used in composing hums of repentant verses, folklore memorials and songs composed in a 'romance' style. By analyzing melodic features of verses from the repertoire of Old Believers of Rudny Altai Murashova has discovered regional features thereof at the levels of rhythmic and pitch composition of verses. At the same time, the author of the article has defined typological principles of musical styles of spiritual verses as a complex genre system. The research is based on the complex approach that combines methods of medieval studies, folklore studies and other branches of music and culture studies. Written verses are studied from the point of view of using kryuki notations to fix texts that have been created in different time periods and have a different influence of neumanna hums on their style. Verbal verses are analyzed taking into account the mutual interaction between verbal and written channels of artistic communication. Connecting liturgical service and folk song, spiritual verses combine all components of Old Believers' musical culture into a single system. A determing feature of this system is polystylistic nature. Using intonation patterns developed by other genres, spritiual verses accumulates typical types of national intonation: ritual lamentation, tale, locomotor and cantilena. Stylistic flexibility allows spiritual verses to adapt to the socio-cultural situation and environment in different historical periods, at the same time spiritual verses have always remained a conductor of Christian values and a means of cultural identification of Old Believers. 

Keywords: polystylistics, sound organization, rhythm, neumanna notation, Rudny Altai, musical style, believers, spiritual verse, oral traditions, cultural adaptation

Abstract: The article provides facts about life and creative path of our contemporary, famous Brazilian composer and percussionist Ney Rosauro. In his research Lazovsky gives a description of his life and creative path and focuses on methodological discoveries made by the musician, in particular, his 'Teaching Series' that was created especially for music teachers and students. The Teaching Series consists of several books and contains a number of exercises and recommendations that help to overcome technical difficulties when playing music. The method of four drum seizure offered by Rosauro is especially interesting. The research is based on the analysis of Rosauro's research and methodological innovations. In particular, the author analyzes the correct position of hands of a performing musician. The author makes a conclusion that this method can be efficiently used by a modern performer. The method offered by Rosauro keeps drums independent from one another and at the same time responsive to each movement of a figner. It is a natural and easy-to-learn method that allows to perform tremolo and all kinds of arpeggio with one hand. The research is addressed to a wide range of musicians who want to improve their performing skills when playing percussion instruments as well as develop their own style of performance and extend their musical knowledge. 

Keywords: grip, mallet, marimba, composer, percussionist, Ney Rosauro, method, music, drums, education