Forms of translation of cultural values in contemporary art

Abstract

The article analyzes the forms of transmitting cultural values (meanings) through modern works of art. The novelty of the approach to an artistic product lies in the fact that it is studied both as a result of crosscultural communication and as a means of cultural tranfer. The author distinguish three modes of cultural transmission in the arts and define them as provocation, similarity, integration. Provocation implies that the artist shows interaction of values in different cultures focusing on their hostility and inconsistency. Similarity, on the contrary, is a form demonstrating closeness of meanings and search for common ground in the value systems of society. Integration is the third form, where the artwork expresses human values which are universal for all peoples: clean environment, safety, peace, health, freedom, justice, etc. This process does not always have positive connotations. A conflict of values may often indicate the ongoing process of accumulating and transmitting senses. It is concluded that, despite various forms of transmitting meanings, the arts are able to build cross-cultural communication between peoples due to their supranational, symbolic and universal language.