Circus suit as a means of artistic expression

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to identify the specifics of the costume as an expressive means of circus art, as well as to consider its function as a formative component of a circus show and to determine the role and capabilities of a circus costume in the process of creating an image. Methodology. The method of art history analysis and the systemic method were applied, which contributed to the systematization of the expressive means of circus art; the method of artistic and stylistic analysis and the typological method in order to identify the specifics of a certain artistic and expressive means and the main non-creative forms of creating a circus image with its help; the method of structural analysis of circus performances (to identify the peculiarities of the viewer's perception of the visual series as a whole and the role in its formation of the circus costume), etc. Scientific novelty. The circus costume is investigated as one of the means of expressiveness of circus art; the peculiarities of the perception of the costume in the circus act and the current trends of its use in the context of the introduction of the latest technologies for creating a circus show are revealed; the specificity of the evolution of the circus costume at the present stage of the development of the performing arts in general and circus in particular is characterized. Conclusions. The circus costume is an important means of expressiveness of modern circus art, which is intended to enhance the imagery and artistry of the circus program in general and the performance in particular, organically combining with musical design, props, apparatus or projectiles, lighting, plastic or choreographic solutions and affects the viewer within artistic image. The study revealed that the development of a circus costume as an expressive means is based on the analysis of the nature of the stunt work in the room, taking into account the complex of physical, mechanical and aesthetic features of fabrics, organic combination with other expressive means in accordance with the imaginative vision of the director. The functional purpose of the circus costume in a plot and plotless circus performance is excellent: in the first case, the costume creates a specific artistic image and enhances the semantic and content component of the performance, and in the second, it is not only an application for an arena image of the artist but in fact is the visual essence of this image. Modern circus costumes are characterized by the uniqueness of their compositional character, which reflects the interpretational logic of postmodernism and is expressed in a semantic game, an innovative strategy for using historical stylistics, etc.