Title Shifting paradigms: semiotic reading of the built environment transformations in Lithuania 1986–2004 /
Another Title Paradigmų kaita: užstatytos aplinkos transformacijų semiotinis skaitymas Lietuvoje 1986–2004.
Authors Grigas, Algimantas
DOI 10.2478/mik-2024-0012
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Is Part of Meno istorija ir kritika = Art history & criticism.. Kaunas; Warsaw : Vytauto Didžiojo universitetas; Sciendo. 2024, t. 20, p. 201-214.. ISSN 1822-4547. eISSN 1822-4555
Keywords [eng] Soviet modernism ; Lithuanian architecture ; architectural criticism ; Algirdas Julius Greimas’ semiotics ; space transformations
Abstract [eng] The research delves into the complex and multi-layered transition of Lithuania from a Soviet to a post-Soviet society, focusing on the architectural landscape as a reflection of ideological shifts. It explores the period from Gorbachev’s initiation of perestroika in 1986 to the Baltic States’ entry into the EU and NATO in 2004, a time marked by significant transformations within the architectural, social, and political realms. First, using Greimasian Square, the study categorises and analyses the reactions toward Soviet Modernist architecture, observing the gradual shift from a representation of state ideology to a canvas reflecting a myriad of individual and collective experiences, also assuming the artistic value of the architects’ output. Second, utilising frameworks from Western architectural criticism figures such as Peter Blake, Robert Venturi and the Situationists, the study contextualises and collates with architectural trends in public interiors or private constructions in Lithuania. Additionally, presumptions are correlated with a crisis in the architectural profession, characterised by a rise in private constructions without architects. Through semiotic view architectural discourse becomes a vital element in understanding the broader cultural and political shifts in post-Soviet Lithuania.
Published Kaunas; Warsaw : Vytauto Didžiojo universitetas; Sciendo
Type Journal article
Language English
Publication date 2024
CC license CC license description