User:Asimsky/EUREF Permanent Network

Spatial icons are images that establish a mediating relation between earthly reality and the heavenly realm. The terms image and icon are here understood in a very general sense and are meant to denote a comprehensive mental image, rather than a mere picture. Spatial icons are thus understood as spatial representations of spiritual or religious ideas, that is, representations that go beyond (but which often encompass) the use of iconic images (in the common sense of the term) as well as other material artifacts of religious art. Spatial icons and iconic images nevertheless share the same essential characteristic of establishing a mediating relation between the mundane and the divine; in this regard, they both are to be distinguished from narrative or illustrative religious imagery. The notion of the spatial icon is a key concept at work in the field of hierotopy, which is a study of the creation and perception of sacred spaces. The concept and the term were both developed by Alexei Lidov.

While both spatial icons and iconic images serve the function of mediating between the sacred and the mundane, the spatial icon encompasses a much broader range of components involved in the formation and definition of sacred spaces. A variety of plastic elements, including everything from buildings to decoration, and from murals to liturgical artifacts, work together to form a spatial icon. Various dynamic and performative media also play a significant role, such as rituals and song, as well as the artistic manipulation of natural light and sounds, and also elements dealing with odor and touch. From this point of view, churches can be seen as spatial icons in which the image of God exists not merely as a flat representation, but as something that is directly incarnated in the sacred space by means of the various media employed. The temples and sanctuaries of various religions were originally conceived, designed and created as spatial icons. 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". The New Jerusalem Monastery located on the Istra river near Moscow, which was conceived in the middle of the 17th century by Patriarch Nikon and czar Alexei Mikhailovich, is a particularly striking example. 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.

Performativity, as well as various dynamic elements, is also a significant feature of spatial icons. 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. Sacred relics and iconic images often play an integral role in the creation of a comprehensive spatial image. The Tuesday performance surrounding the Hodegetria icon in Constantinople and the Donkey walk taking place in Medieval Moscow 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.

A spatial icon is a consciously created spatial image that transcends the material objects involved in its formation. The spatial icons of the Heavenly Jerusalem found at work in Orthodox churches, for example, were created without an image of the Heavenly Jerusalem ever being directly depicted. To account for this non-illustrative nature of spatial icons, Alexei Lidov has recently developed the concept of an image-paradigm. This is an image-idea, or a sort of vision, which the creators of sacred spaces evoke in the minds of the viewers and participants. It plays a central, organizing role in the multilayered system of iconic images and other liturgical elements found in Byzantine churches, thereby serving as a means of communication between the creators and beholders of spatial icons.

Additional 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.

Links

 * on-line library of hierotopic works