Abstract: The purpose of this article is to identify the role of polyphony in choral a cappella music of Russian compositional writing of the twentieth century. The subject of the study is the a cappella choral work of Dmitry Shostakovich. The object of the research is to consider the polyphonic techniques in the works "Ten poems of revolutionary poets", "Two treatments of Russian folk songs for unaccompanied choir", "Fidelity". The author examines in detail the polyphonic means in the choral heritage of the great Russian composer. Special attention is paid to polyphonic methods in a cappella choral works. The author states that D. Shostakovich's polyphony is distinguished by its depth and semantic concentration. The appeal to imitation, sub-vocal and contrasting polyphony in D. Shostakovich's a cappella choral compositions is characterized by an individual approach to solving a creative idea. The methodology consists in the synthesis of research methods, including musicology, poetics and choral studies. On the basis of this synthesis, the parameters of the musical composition are revealed: the analyzed genre specifics and polyphonic means, the features of choral writing. The main conclusion of the research is the paradigm of a deep stylistic synthesis of secular and spiritual principles in the works of D. Shostakovich. This position has become a determining factor for polyphony as the dominant principle of the composer's musical thinking. Attention is focused on the need to study the polyphony associated with the genre and style features of choral compositions for unaccompanied choir due not only to the general artistic and historical potential of choral culture in general, but also especially to its great importance in modern musical art. The novelty of the research lies in the fact that for the first time polyphony in the works of D. Shostakovich is analyzed from the standpoint of musicology and choral studies. The author's special contribution to the disclosure of the topic is the study of the works "Ten poems by revolutionary poets", "Two arrangements of Russian folk songs for unaccompanied choir", "Fidelity", which had not previously been the object of special research.

Keywords: imitative polyphony, subvocal polyphony, choral polyphony, Fidelity, Russian folk songs, verses of revolutionary poets, choral art, Dmitry Dmitrievich Shostakovich, contrasting polyphony, creative method

Abstract: The object of the study is a Chinese documentary about self-therapy. Documentaries about self-therapy have become the main focus of the work of young Chinese documentary filmmakers over the past two years. They often act in front of the audience as victims in the family. Such films are mostly very touching. Directors are often rated as brave and courageous, as they openly talk about their traumatic experiences, directly confront their parents and demand that they admit their mistakes. However, behind all this, serious ethical problems related to the shooting method remain unnoticed. The author analyzes in detail the film "Small Talk", a representative of Chinese documentaries about self—therapy. Special attention is paid to the rhetorical techniques used by director Huang Huidu in the film. The aim of the study is to compare the camera with a tool that promotes communication and self—reflection, rather than with a weapon of violence and self-defense. To study the texture of the film, a strategy of reading with commentary is used, perspectives are involved, knowledge of jurisprudence and psychoanalysis is used to question the authenticity of the first-person narrative, and ethical problems in the director's approach are indicated. The novelty of the research lies in the development of the ethical aspect identified by Paul Arthur in his study of documentaries about self-therapy, namely "murder on screen", which is insufficiently studied in subsequent studies. The study argues that in order to study the ethical aspects of documentaries about self-therapy, it is necessary to analyze the rhetorical actions of the director. Thereby finding out how he hides his aggressiveness. The study found that the director, firstly, creates an image of the victim, thus allowing the audience to listen to his story sympathetically, but ignores the violence to which the mother is subjected during filming, namely: reveals the mother's private life without permission, forcibly forces her to act, deprives her of her voice and distorts her image. Secondly, the director took on the role of an analyst to convince the audience that the film reflects objective facts, not subjective ones. The study convinces that the director's self—medication methods are unscientific, therefore, the cure in the finale of the film is false.

Keywords: aggressiveness, authenticity, film production, monologue, Small Talk, psychoanalysis, ethical issues, rhetoric, role, self-therapy documentary

Abstract: The subject of the study is the Western historiography of the history of art from the middle of the XIX century to the present, the patterns that determined the nature of its development, general cultural and general scientific factors that determined the paradigm shift in art criticism. The time frame of the study is determined, on the one hand, by the emergence of scientific art studies, on the other hand, by the assertion of a postmodern worldview that denies the possibility of scientific study of any texts, including artistic ones. The paper examines the characteristics of each of the highlighted stages, as well as their relationship with the general trends in the development of humanitarian knowledge at each stage. Thus, the history of art is placed in a broad context of general scientific and general cultural processes, which makes it possible to identify and study the driving forces that determine the course of its development. The main method of research is the method of periodization, the criterion for which is the predominance of a particular methodology at a particular historical stage of the development of art studies. The paper proposes the following periodization of the history of art studies: 1. Pre-scientific art criticism (before XIX century). 2. The cultural and historical stage (XIX century). 3. Formal and stylistic stage (XX century). 4. The iconological stage (XX century). 5. Post-scientific art criticism (beginning of the XXI century). This classification allows us to present the history of scientific art studies as a natural and consistent process of changing dominant methodologies, starting with the formation of a scientific approach to the study of art and up to the present time, when the very possibility of its application was questioned by the postmodern worldview. The main factor determining the change of stages in the development of art criticism is a change in the general cultural situation, as well as a change in the prevailing paradigms in art knowledge.

Keywords: the history of the history of art, historiography, iconology, formal school, cultural and historical school, methodology, periodization, Art history, stages of the development of art criticism, postmodernism

Abstract: The object of research is Huizhou architectural carving, the subject of research is the formation and development of Confucian and neo-Confucian subjects in carving. The source for the plots was the treatise "Twenty-four examples of filial piety" attributed to Confucius. The stories of the treatise reflect the respect and reverence of the ancients for their parents. The cult of Chinese ancestors with the obligatory birth of a boy, many children in the family, the amazing self-sacrifice of sons for the sake of the life and health of their parents, is expressed in the stories of the treatise. Many of them are based on real historical figures and events and are used to foster respect for elders. Using the example of Huizhui carving samples, the plots are shown: Leaving the service to find a mother, Collecting mulberries in different vessels, Sampling a medicinal decoction, Celebrating the birthday of an elderly family member, Qilin brings sons, the Phoenix bird brings sons. Research methods in the article: descriptive (describes the main Confucian themes in carving), typological and systematic method allowed us to identify the most important themes in the general system of Chinese carving, created to educate the morality of the people. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the fact that there are no such studies in the special Russian-language literature, all sources are written in Chinese. For the first time, the artistic embodiment of Confucian subjects in Huizhou architectural carvings has been analyzed. A brief literary history is given, the key cultural meaning is indicated – the manifestation of filial piety in all its manifestations, the artistic features of the carving (composition, layout of the plans) are highlighted, and the symbolic interpretation of the depicted characters (birds, plants, trees) is also revealed. Woodcarving samples were also published for the first time – the window of the living room of the ancestral temple of the ancestors of the Hu family, Jixi County; the window of the living room of the Zhichengtang house, Lu village of Yi County (late XIX century). A sample of brick carving is presented by the 2017 work of master Wu Zhenghui, demonstrating the ancient method of "nine-layer openwork carving". The material of the article expands the possibility of learning Chinese culture and art, and, consequently, contributes to the establishment of stronger intercultural ties between Russia and China.

Keywords: Qilin brings sons, Celebrating the birthday, Sample of medicinal decoction, Collecting mulberries, Leaving service, Canon of Filial Piety, filial piety, Confucian stories, artistic carving of Huizhou, Phoenix brings sons

Abstract: The article looks into the mirror motif in V. E. Borisov-Musatov's painting "The Pool", which is one of the masterpieces of Russian painting symbolism. The object of the research is V. E. Borisov-Musatov's painting "The Pool", the subject of the research is the role and functions of the mirror motif in this painting. The manifestations of the three modes of the mirror phenomenon in "The Pool" – the mirror-object, the idea of specular reflection and the image of the mirror are analyzed in detail. The principle of specular reflection is traced in the construction of the composition, in the organization of the linear structure and color system of the painting. Special attention is paid to the problem of the mirror and specular reflection in Musatov's painting techniques. The significance of the mirror phenomenon in the development of the figurative component in Symbolist pieces of art is revealed. The research was based on structural-semiotic and hermeneutic-phenomenological methods. General scientific methods of analysis and synthesis, comparison, generalization were used. The research concluded that the mirror motif plays a structure-forming role in the visual image of "The Pool". The painting of "The Pool" manifests the basic principles of Musatov's painting techniques. The research shows that the mirror phenomenon is the key to revealing the specificity and essence of the Symbolist worldview. In the painting, V. E. Borisov-Musatov created a suggestive visual image that affects the feelings of the viewers. The novelty of the research lies in the fact that the mirror matters in Symbolist painting are involved into the context of global replacement of texts with images as the dominant channel of information transmission. The article is of interest to researchers engaged in the study of symbolism, fine art, visual culture, and image theory.

Keywords: symbolism, worldview, visual image, motif, structure, painting, specular reflection, mirror, culture, art

Abstract: The subject of the research is the reflection of the futurological image of the Moscow metro in the works of fine art of the pre—revolutionary period, as well as the phenomenon of the artistic evolution of ideas about the Moscow metro in the works of artists and engineers. The paper will also briefly consider the main projects of the Moscow metro, both visualized and not. Among the sources it is worth mentioning drawings from the book by A. I. Antonovich, N. I. Golinevich and N. P. Dmitriev "Moscow City Railway. (Metro)" (1902), illustrations by N. N. Karazin to the project of the metro by P. I. Balinsky and E. K. Knorre (1902) and a series of postcards by the Einem company "Moscow of the Future" (1914). The iconographic method and the method of stylistic and artistic analysis are used in the work. The main attention will be paid to the peculiarities of the authors' ideas about the future of the metro and the city as a whole.   The scientific novelty of this publication lies in the fact that the pre-revolutionary futurological images of the Moscow metro will be analyzed comprehensively, the connection of later works with earlier ones will be shown. A special contribution of the author to the study of the topic is the introduction into scientific circulation of N. N. Karazin's work "View of the Subway from the side of the Bolshoy Kamenny Bridge", which is known only by photocopy. This photocopy is published in this article. The main conclusion of the study is that all the images appeared by chance, but each series of works for its own reason. All the authors also depicted the Central Station in their works, which was never built.

Keywords: Moscow metro, Moscow metropolitan, Karazin, Antonovich, Einem, Metropolitan, Metro, Transport, Balinsky, Knorre