Art Inquiry. Recherches sur les arts 2023, vol.

XXV
345
ISSN 1641-9278 / e - ISSN 2451-0327 / https://doi.org/10.26485/AI/2023/25/22

Serhii Belinskyi
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2359-2507
Knights of the Winter Campaign 28th separate mechanized brigade,
Armed Forces of Ukraine
[email protected]

Yuliа Ivashko
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4525-9182
Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture
[email protected]

Iryna L. Kravchenko
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3972-5215
Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture
[email protected]

Andrii Dmytrenko
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4757-5218
National University “Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic”
[email protected]

Iryna Dreval
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8157-1467
О.М.Beketov National University of Urban Economy in Kharkiv, Ukraine
[email protected]
346 S. Belinskyi, Y. Ivashko, I. L. Kravchenko, A. Dmytrenko, I. Dreval

ANALYSIS OF FINE-ART PHOTOGRAPHY TECHNIQUES

IN REPRESENTING THE TRAGEDY OF WAR IN UKRAINE
USING SERHII BELINSKYI'S WORKS

Technical achievements have made it possible to observe the tragic events of war in Ukraine both
in real time and in the distribution of photos and videos, which become the property of the whole
world via the Internet. Despite the fact that there is a lot of visual information illustrating these
events, avant-garde methods of conveying the horrors of war can be distinguished. In particular,
such methods are used by one of the authors of the article, Serhii Belinskyi, who is a fine-art pho-
tographer and a press officer of the Knights of the Winter Campaign 28th mechanized brigade
during the war. His original peacetime style consisted in presenting the world through inanimate
objects, nature and animals, or by presenting fragments of the human body (legs, hands, often
with light effects).
We will omit his official photos on the brigade’s website and only analyze the use of
avant‑garde proprietary techniques during the war. Only photos featuring inanimate objects,
nature and animals, as well as those representing fragments of human bodies (legs, hands) have
been selected for the analysis. The following techniques can be distinguished in them:
- using an unusual angle from below (showing the Easter blessing through rows of soldiers’
feet)
- giving symbolic meaning to ordinary objects (an icon in a ruined church, a road sign,
a sewn-up heart, a book of fairy tales, a flowering tree in front of a tank)
- introducing intentional asymmetry of the frame plane and a change of the direction of
looking – not from left to right, but from right to left (a cow by a destroyed cowshed)
- presenting a fragmentary image of a human body part, in this case belonging to military
personnel (legs, arms)
- using contrasts of light and shadow
- demonstrating the war with weapons and military equipment
- supplementing the photo with a caption explaining the artist's main idea
The use of these techniques means that such photographs turn into tragic art for the pho-
tographer.
How do art photographers see the world? The peculiarities of Serhii Belinskyi's vision of
the world are as follows:
- conveying one's own emotions through inanimate objects, landscapes, and animals, i.e.,
a "world without people"
- photography as a means of psychological protection against the trauma of war, as the
artist maximally concentrates on the frame.

Keywords: art photography techniques, war in Ukraine, symbolic meaning, Serhii Belinskyi
ANALYSIS OF FINE-ART PHOTOGRAPHY TECHNIQUES ... 347

Introduction

The specific direction of the research, dedicated to the vision of the world
as seen by artists, particularly in the conditions of war, guided the selection of
the processed sources:
- sources dedicated to artistic photography techniques1
- problems of art criteria, artist-spectator interaction, selection of works of
art and special education2
- the concept of style and an author's style as a whole3
- sources dedicated to the problems of war destruction4

1 B. Peterson (2017) Kolor bez tajemnic. Kolor, kompozycja i ekspozycja w tworzeniu żywych
zdjęć. Wydawnictwo Galaktyka, 2017; S. Biver, P. Fuqua, F. Hunter, R. Reid (2022) Światło
w fotografii. Magia i nauka. 3rd edition. Wydawnictwo Galaktyka, 2022.
2 P. Gryglewski, Y. Ivashko, D. Chernyshev, P. Chang, A. Dmytrenko (2020) Art as a message
realized through various means of artistic expression. “Art Inquiry. Recherches sur les arts”,
vol. XXII, pp. 57-88; P. Gryglewski, D. Chernyshev, O. Kashchenko, A. Shilo, Y. Ivashko,
A. Dmytrenko, O. Ivashko (2021) Between Practice and Theory. Comments on the Specificity
of Art History and Art Education in Poland and Ukraine. “Art Inquiry. Recherches sur les arts”,
vol. XXII, pp. 168-190; M. Orlenko, Y. Ivashko (2019) The concept of art and works of art
in the theory of art and in the restoration industry. “Art Inquiry. Recherches sur les arts”, vol.
XXI, pp. 171-190; A. Pawłowska (2019) What is History of Art in the 20th and 21st century –
A few theoretical problems. “West Bohemian Historical Review”, 9 (2), pp. 137-151; G. Szta-
biński (2019) Why Do We Need the Term “Art”? “Art Inquiry. References sur les arts”, vol.
XXI (XXX), pp. 19-35; P. Sztabińska (2010) Zmiany relacji między artystą, dziełem a odbior-
cą w sztuce współczesnej. “Sztuka i filozofia”, No. 36. pp. 81-90; P. Sztabińska (2010) The
Minimalist Allergy to Art. “Art Inquiry. Recherches sur les arts”, vol. XII (XXI), pp. 91-108;
P. Sztabińska (2014) Contemporary artist and the notion of center and periphery.“Art Inquiry.
Recherches sur les arts”, vol. XVI, pp. 45-56.
3 Y. Ivashko, T. Kuzmenko, S. Li, P. Chang (2020) The influence of the natural environment on
the transformation of architectural style. “Landscape architecture and Art”. Scientific Journal
of Latvia University of Agriculture, vol. 15, No. 15, pp. 101-108; M. Żychowska, I. Sandu,
Y. Ivashko, A. Dmytrenko, O. Ivashko, O. Morklyanyk (2022) Style as a Reflection of Ideolo-
gy of the Authorities. “Art Inquiry. Recherches sur les arts”, vol. XXIV, pp. 273 -297.
4 Y. Ivashko, V. Tovbych, A. Hlushchenko, S. Belinskyi, J. Kobylarczyk, D. Kuśnierz-Krupa,
A. Dmytrenko (2023) Preparing for the post-war reconstruction of historical monuments in
Ukraine: Considerations in regard of the ongoing Polish post-WWII experience and internatio-
nal law on the protection and conservation of historical monuments. “Muzeológia a kultúrne
dedièstvo”, vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 53-71; T. Kozłowski, Y. Ivashko, S. Belinskyi, A. Dmytrenko,
O. Ivashko (2022) Teoretyczne i prawne zasady odbudowy zabytków architektonicznych w Ukra-
inie, które ucierpiały w trakcie agresji rosyjskiej. “Teka Komisji Urbanistyki i Architektury
Oddziału Polskiej Akademii Nauk w Krakowie”. Vol. L, pp. 391-408. http://teka.pk.edu.
pl/index.php/numery-czasopisma/tom-l-2022/; A. Pawłowska, A. Gralińska-Toborek, P. Gry-
glewski, O. Sleptsov, O. Ivashko, O. Molodid, M. Poczatko (2023) Problems of Expositions
and Protection of Banksy’s Murals in Ukraine”. International Journal of Conservation Scien-
ce”. Vol. 14, Issue 1, pp. 99-114.
348 S. Belinskyi, Y. Ivashko, I. L. Kravchenko, A. Dmytrenko, I. Dreval

The following tasks were set in the study:

- analyze the change in perception of the world from peace to war in Serhii
Belinskyi's artistic photography
- identify the author's main techniques and argue which of them disap-
peared, remained, or underwent transformation during the war
- discuss the "artist-spectator"method of conveying information
- use the interviewing method to determine and scientifically investigate
the photographic process for the artist himself

Materials and methods

The specific research aims led to the choice of general scientific research
methods, including:
- stylistic analysis – to characterize Serhii Belinskyi's creative photographic
work
- comparative analysis – to compare the author’s peacetime/wartime world-
views and artistic techniques, historical processes and phenomena in
style formation, argumentation of certain styles in terms of their de-
pendence on the dominant ideology
- photofixation – to visually substantiate the obtained conclusions and
judgments
- system structural analysis – to determine the author's principles and
techniques used in art photography

Results and discussion

Peculiarities of Serhiy Belinsky's philosophy of world perception, as expressed

in fine‑art photography

Fine‑art photography is the type of art that can capture the effect of the
moment "here and now" both in peacetime and during active hostilities. And in
this, fine‑art photography has an undeniable advantage over painting, graphics,
sculpture, or music, which require certain specific conditions, sometimes stu-
dio ones. As the experience of this war shows, fighting artists, not having the
opportunity to paint portraits of soldiers from nature for many hours, draw
them from photographs.
Highly skilled fine‑art photography is at the same level as other types of
art, because, unlike reportage photography, the task of which is to capture the
events "here and now" as accurately as possible, fine-art photography captures
the "here and now" through the photographer's worldview. As such, it does
not simply mean documenting a phenomenon or an object with maximum ac-
ANALYSIS OF FINE-ART PHOTOGRAPHY TECHNIQUES ... 349

curacy. That is why, in our opinion, the issue of an "author's style" in fine‑art
photography is similar to an "author's style" in graphics, painting, or sculpture,
since an artistic photographer is not a reporter. He or she depicts the surroun-
ding world through themselves, indirectly conveying their worldview, mood,
and emotions. Therefore, the phenomenon of fine‑art photography is interest-
ing not only from the point of view of assessing its artistic value, but also from
the perspective of studying the artist's personality and inner world.
Well-known figurative techniques of artistic photography have an impact
on the viewer both in peacetime and wartime, though generating different emo-
tions. If a gloomy landscape with a small human figure gives the impression of
a person's loneliness in a big cold world, then the image of a red child's slipper
on a school stage destroyed by Russian invaders in the Mykolayiv region
creates a feeling of the horror of war, although nothing special is happening in
the frame. It is fair to say that the language spoken by that lone slipper or by
the sad eyes of a homeless cow has a stronger impact on an average viewer than
a naturalistic wartime reportage photograph, because it affects not only what
gets into the frame, but more so what remains behind the scenes and is guessed
by the viewer (Fig. 1, 2).

Fig. 1. A child’s slipper on the stage of a destroyed school in the Mykolaiv region.
Photo by Serhii Belinskyi, 2022.
350 S. Belinskyi, Y. Ivashko, I. L. Kravchenko, A. Dmytrenko, I. Dreval

Fig. 2. A homeless cow near a destroyed barn in the Mykolaiv region.

Photo by Serhii Belinskyi, 2022.

The non‑standard nature of Serhii Belinskyi's photographic work is due

to the non-standard nature of his personal worldview and the diversity of his
artistic interests. For many years, Serhii Belinskyi was a famous musician of the
Ukrainian rock band “Propala Hramota”, used to compose music, and lived
in Italy for a long time, working as a marble sculptor. He has been engaged in
fine-art photography all his life, and writes works of art. That is why, for him,
fine-art photography is only one of the aspects of world perception, related to
other spheres of his artistic creativity.
All these aspects are based on his own philosophy and worldview. Since
the photographer himself is a deeply religious person who respects the tradi-
tions of his people, he is interested in the issues of spirituality and universal
human values, which he explores in his works. This is especially noticeable
in his fine‑art photography of both peacetime and especially wartime (Serhii
joined the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine back in 2021, before the full-
scale invasion of Russia, and now continues to defend Ukraine).
ANALYSIS OF FINE-ART PHOTOGRAPHY TECHNIQUES ... 351

In peacetime, he traveled a lot around the world, and it was then that the
foundations of his specific worldview, expression of his own philosophy and
evaluation of universal values were laid through ordinary objects in unusual
angles. In the photographs of peaceful times, the main position of majestic po-
wer is occupied by nature. It may be lyrical and gentle, in the form of flowering
trees, which he adores; picturesque, in the form of landscape paintings, or even
ominous and menacing, with a pre-storm sky and gusts of wind that tear
down tents. At the same time, in order to understand the specifics of Serhii
Belinskyi's own style stemming from his worldview, it is necessary to pay atten-
tion to such features as the position of a person in an image.
The authors have systematized creative techniques used in Serhii Belinskyi's
photographs based on the system‑structural analysis method – from the aggre-
gated level of the main approaches (that is, the main tasks that the artist wants
to achieve) to the finer level of specific principles and techniques, i.e., how he
embodies these approaches.
Three approaches can be distinguished in Serhiy Belinskyi's peacetime
photographs, each characterized by a specific set of features.
In his first approach, which consists in conveying the effect of movement
and static by visual means, the following principles are used:
- conveying the effect of movement by means of placing constituent
elements in a certain way
- using forms and lines that are subconsciously associated with move-
ment or static
- using lines in a certain combination
- determining the direction of movement
The second approach involves creating the impression of spatiality of
a planar photograph and is characterized by:
- a multilayered deep image composition in which a certain idea is laid
- using a background not filled with images as a space
- applying focusing/defocusing techniques to identify the main and secon
dary elements
- emphasizing images with light-shadow and colour correlations
- using space limitation techniques
The third approach is to transmit the emotions and ideas of a picture in
indirect ways, which is achieved by:
- using colour contrast
- contrasting the scale of elements
- opposing filled and unfilled parts
- non-standard perspective and focus
- changing the context of ordinary subjects
It is not by chance that Serhii Belinskyi's photographic work has attracted
the attention of the Japanese, as it embodies the fundamentals on which
352 S. Belinskyi, Y. Ivashko, I. L. Kravchenko, A. Dmytrenko, I. Dreval

traditional Japanese culture is based. The basic principles underlying Japanese

culture, regardless of the type of art, are:
- maximum fusion with nature emphasizing the "secondary" nature of
a human being compared to the boundless Universe, which historically
was the difference between Japanese and European worldviews
- insight into the hidden truth of each phenomenon not through
extroverted perception, but through introverted knowledge of the world
through oneself
- conventionality and symbolism of information transmission by the most
concise means
- not a direct realistic representation of a phenomenon, but its idealized
symbolic image
- control and concealment of emotions, and their expression through
mediated phenomena
- incompleteness and changeability as the personification of the ever-
changing universe.
In haiku poetry and traditional engraving, as the most characteristic arts
that express the Japanese national identity, these basic principles are expressed
as follows:
- the "divinity" of nature and its expression of ideal harmony is demon-
strated through the glorification of sensations through natural pheno-
mena and landscapes; the landscape becomes one of the main
themes of classical Japanese engraving; entire cycles of engravings are
created that represent different seasons, and in such landscapes the
figures of people are emphatically small against the backdrop of ma-
jestic landscapes (Fig. 3);

Fig. 3. The South Bridge. Kyiv. Photo by Serhii Belinskyi, 2018.

ANALYSIS OF FINE-ART PHOTOGRAPHY TECHNIQUES ... 353

- the rule of the Japanese home: "one table, one chair, one flower" as an
algorithm of a perfect interior actually applies to all types of art; so, in
haiku poems, the content should be expressed as succinctly as possible
in three lines, while avoiding a direct description of emotions
- in all types of Japanese arts, not a realistic image of a phenomenon is
described and depicted, but its idealized image, be it a landscape or
a portrait of a geisha
- artists deliberately did not give their works final completion, thereby
artificially "not reaching" the stage of maximum flowering, not painting
the eyes of dragons, leaving a flower or a tree branch "out of the frame",
at the same time giving the viewer an opportunity to imagine the
fragment on their own, and thus instructing the creative process5
Despite the fact that Serhii Belinskyi's work is still based on European soil
and European psychology during peacetime, it is somewhat related to Japanese
culture in the following way:
- the subject of "divine", so to speak, nature is common in his photo-
graphs – the sky and clouds, flowering trees, the majestic Kamianetskyi
Canyon, landscapes of an Italian villa similar to the naves of a green
cathedral, reservoir shores; in these photographs, the figures of people
are absent, or they seem toy‑small
- the peculiarity of Serhii Belinskyi's photographs is that he does not
directly realistically reflect the image of the world in them, but actually
"passes" it through himself and depicts his perception of this world and
its phenomena mainly through inanimate objects or animals
- the impression of incompleteness and changeability of the world is also
characteristic, as conveyed by Serhii Belinskyi using the same tech-
niques that we observe in classical Japanese engraving: the image of an
object is fragmentary – only an arm, legs, a fragment of a figure, a head
of an animal, or a fragment of a tree
Now let us trace how the author's worldview of an artistic photographer has
gradually changed from peaceful conditions to war, since Serhii has been in the
active Army since 2021. The following changes have been visually recorded:
- unlike in pre‑war photography, where people were a secondary subject,
and the worldview was conveyed mainly through inanimate objects, the
main subject in times of war is people – soldiers at different moments
of their lives

5 M. Żychowska, I. Chornomordenko, I. L. Kravchenko, L. Gnatiuk, A. Dmytrenko, A. Urakina,

V. Smilka. The influence of religious and worldview factors on the landscape design in Japan and
China. “Landscape Architecture and Art” 2022, vol. 21, No. 21, pp. 115-123.
354 S. Belinskyi, Y. Ivashko, I. L. Kravchenko, A. Dmytrenko, I. Dreval

- traditionally used inanimate objects present in pre-war photography

(buckets, chairs, bicycles, cars, etc.) are replaced by military equipment
(tanks, howitzers, cartridges, body armor, helmets), perceived as a full-
fledged hero of the plot
- there is a change in the author's representation in surrounding space:
while an unconventional avant‑garde form of self‑presentation in space
is used in pre‑war photography (a shadow, a silhouette in a window,
a fragmentary image), in wartime photography there is a shift towards
realism in self-portrait: "I as part of a collective"
- figurative means that convey the incompleteness and changeability of
the world have become different: in peacetime photography they are
purely avant‑garde, while in wartime photography there is a noticeable
shift towards realism, which is due to the conditions of being at the
front line; there is a change in the hidden message of the photograph –
despite a reflection of the variability of life at the front line, the theme
of struggle, stability, and the desire to go to victory dominates.

Fig. 4. Deadly aesthetics. Bakhmut. Photo by Serhii Belinskyi, 2022.

ANALYSIS OF FINE-ART PHOTOGRAPHY TECHNIQUES ... 355

At the same time, despite the radical transformation of the artist's world-
view under stressful conditions, and the resulting change in the "author's style"
and the character of the "artist‑spectator" dialogue, Serhii Belinskyi's wartime
photographs are not examples of reportage photography and remain works of
modern art.6
It can be said that a fundamental change in the context of photography
is taking place, which is generally characteristic of art during the Russian-
-Ukrainian war and is noticeable not only in artistic photography, but also
primarily in street art, which reacts most acutely and openly to social up-
heavals.7

Fig. 5. No signature. South. Photo by Serhii Belinskyi, 2022.

6 G. Sztabiński (2019) Why Do We Need the Term “Art”? “Art Inquiry. Recherches sur les arts”,
vol. XXI (XXX), pp. 19–35; P. Sztabińska (2010) Zmiany relacji między artystą, dziełem
a odbiorcą w sztuce współczesnej. “Sztuka i filozofia”, No. 36. pp. 81-90; P. Sztabińska (2010)
The Minimalist Allergy to Art. “Art Inquiry. Recherches sur les arts”, vol. XII (XXI), pp. 91-
-108; P. Sztabińska (2014) Contemporary artist and the notion of center and periphery. “Art
Inquiry. Recherches sur les arts”, vol. XVI, pp. 45-56.
7 A. Pawłowska, A. Gralińska-Toborek, P. Gryglewski, O. Sleptsov, O. Ivashko, O. Molodid,
M. Poczatko (2023) Problems of Expositions and Protection of Banksy’s Murals in Ukraine.
”International Journal of Conservation Science” Vol. 14, Issue 1, pp. 99-114.
356 S. Belinskyi, Y. Ivashko, I. L. Kravchenko, A. Dmytrenko, I. Dreval

Features of wartime fine‑art photography

The change in Serhii Belinskyi's activities, from a master of artistic photo-

graphy with a studio to his position as the head of the press service of the
Knights of the Winter Campaign 28th separate mechanized brigade, affected
the nature of his artistic photography during the war. As already mentioned in
the previous section, there is a noticeable shift in images from avant‑garde to
realistic ones, even when avant‑garde techniques are preserved. We can say that
realistic photography is created simultaneously on the basis of artistic photo-
graphy – i. e., it preserves imagery, artistic techniques, and sometimes special
effects (for example, at the time of shelling from different types of military
equipment).
It is possible to compare Serhii Belinskyi's photographic work during
peacetime and wartime from the point of view of filling the plane of a frame.
Thus, war photographs are more diverse in terms of filling the frame plane and,
compared to peacetime photographs, they become much less laconic (photos
of the "Sign of War" type become single).
The specificity of war photographs consists in preserving the basics of
fine‑art photography in a close‑up shooting of the depicted object – a road sign
cut with debris in the South, a portrait of a soldier, or an animal. In all such
cases, the close‑up (subject) fills the main field of the frame.
Among the techniques of fine‑art photography, it is worth including an
active diagonal to emphasize dynamism. Military photographs often depict
a diagonal slope on which a soldier stands in silhouette.
During the war, the studio technique of contrasting light and shadow, and
light studio effects are transformed according to frontline conditions and
acquire maximum realism. In particular, it is present in scenes of civilian life
in bomb shelters, battles and in the depiction of fires from shelling.

Fig. 6. Bakhmut. Photo by Serhii Belinskyi, 2023.

ANALYSIS OF FINE-ART PHOTOGRAPHY TECHNIQUES ... 357

Two techniques are used at the same time. One employs the traditional
direction of the gaze from left to right, as in the image of a closet with a map of
Ukraine in a destroyed school, or in the image of the icon of the Mother of God
on the surviving wall of a demolished village church. However, in some cases
this rule is deliberately disturbed in peacetime (e.g., in the photo of the cow, the
circle of the broken cowshed). The number of such non‑standard compositions
increases in wartime.
The specificity of Serhii Belinskyi's wartime works lies in the simultaneous
combination of several techniques of artistic photography. A good example is
a photo of a destroyed village church (Fig. 7), where the following techniques
are employed at the same time:
- free field (the plane occupied by the sky dominates in terms of mass)
- balance of object spots in an unfilled background
- achieving frame depth by selecting the foreground, midground and back-
ground sizes
- using diagonals for emphasized dynamism (the diagonal interrupts the
static horizontal horizon)
- lines directed to the main accent – the icon (this role is again performed
- by the diagonal of a wooden beam)
- contrast in color (the cold sky – warm elements of the church), percep-
tion of the given direction of movement from left to right

Fig. 7. A ruined village church in the Mykolaiv region. Photo by Serhii Belinskyi, 2022
358 S. Belinskyi, Y. Ivashko, I. L. Kravchenko, A. Dmytrenko, I. Dreval

In comparison to his photographic work of peacetime, the method of fra-

ming the main element with a window frame is preserved, which is clearly
visible in the photo of blooming roses outside the window of a destroyed house.
Since this photo, which occupies an important place in the work of the photo
artist, has been mentioned, it is important to consider the artistic techniques
used in it:
- perception of achieving spatiality of the frame by highlighting the fore-
ground, midground and background planes
- acceptance of leaving a free field (empty walls)
- approval of symmetry (the window with roses is located along the axis of
the image)
- adoption of simplicity and brevity
- perception of lines that set the direction to the main object (the role is
performed by the lines of two walls in perspective reduction)
- acceptance of colour contrast (cold tone of walls – warm tone of the
blooming roses)
During the war, even objects that are widely present in the artist's pre‑war
photos acquire a fundamentally different meaning and tragic symbolism. For
example, one can compare the artist's peacetime and wartime photos with ima-
ges of bicycles and cars. In peacetime they personify the road and travel, and in
wartime acquire the tragic context of an interrupted route and a destroyed road.
And were our usual routes not interrupted on February 24, 2022…?
The tragic events of the Russian‑Ukrainian war have given researchers
a unique chance to study how stressful conditions have affected the artist's
worldview and the nature of his work. This is an experience that cannot be
artificially created.
The above does not apply to fine‑art photography only. Humanity has not
had such a tragic experience since the Second World War. That is why there is
a need to assess the consequences of various aspects of the Russian‑Ukrainian
war: ecocide, genocide of the population, destruction of infrastructure and
buildings, destruction of culture and cultural values, etc. Scientific research on
these aspects has now gradually begun to appear, although the war is still in its
hot phase. However, the true extent of the destruction remains to be assessed
after the victory, just like the methods of post-war reconstruction.8

8 Y. Ivashko, V. Tovbych, A. Hlushchenko, S. Belinskyi, J. Kobylarczyk, D. Kuśnierz-Krupa,

A. Dmytrenko (2023) Preparing for the post-war reconstruction of historical monuments in
Ukraine: Considerations in regard of the ongoing Polish post-WWII experience and internatio-
nal law on the protection and conservation of historical monuments. “Muzeológia a kultúrne
dedièstvo”, vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 53-71; T. Kozłowski, Y. Ivashko, S. Belinskyi, A. Dmytren-
ko, O. Ivashko (2022) Teoretyczne i prawne zasady odbudowy zabytków architektonicznych
w Ukrainie, które ucierpały w trakcie agresji rosyjskiej. “Teka Komisji Urbanistyki i Architek-
tury Oddziału Polskiej Akademii Nauk w Krakowie”. Vol. L, pp. 391-408. http://teka.pk.edu.
pl/index.php/numery-czasopisma/tom-l-2022/
ANALYSIS OF FINE-ART PHOTOGRAPHY TECHNIQUES ... 359

Conclusions

Our analysis of the world perception by the photo artist, based on the
study of the "author's style" transformation from peacetime to the time of the
Russian‑Ukrainian war, has allowed us to argue how the tragedy of the war has
affected the artist's worldview and how it finds expression in specific photo-
graphic techniques.
It has been proven that in the case of Serhii Belinskyi's photographic work
it can be said that a change in the artist's "author's style" has taken place under
the influence of stressful war experiences. His wartime photographs, although
retaining a certain similarity in techniques and methods of conveying the plot
to peacetime photographs, feature a fundamentally different "author's style".
And here we encounter the interesting phenomenon of changing the
"author's style" in a short period of time under the influence of sharply negative
external factors (in this case, the war, which Serhii Belinskyi has both witnessed
and participated in). At the same time, even Serhii Belinskyi's wartime photo-
graphic work is not homogeneous: photographs from the South of Ukraine differ
from photographs from the East. In photographs from the South, it is possible to
notice more avant‑garde framing, a variety of subjects, and polychromy. Photo-
graphs from the East tend towards portrait realism, have a limited list of subjects,
and mainly feature a muted brown‑gray‑green colour grade (Fig. 8).

Fig. 8. Green silhouettes of soldiers and sunflowers. Photo by Serhii Belinskyi, 2022.
360 S. Belinskyi, Y. Ivashko, I. L. Kravchenko, A. Dmytrenko, I. Dreval

At the level of the above‑mentioned main approaches and principles of

achieving a certain impression, we can talk about a certain similarity between
the artist's peacetime and wartime photos. However, there is a strong difference
at the level of specific techniques that directly lead to a certain impression.
In particular, it is important to conclude that Serhii Belinskyi's creative work
has evolved under the influence of the Russian‑Ukrainian war from avant‑
-garde photography towards realistic photography, but largely based on his
approaches, principles and techniques from peacetime work. There is a notice-
able departure from the perception of the world image through inanimate
objects and unusual angles to its perception through portraits of people and
a change in the context of inanimate objects (from objects of daily use to military
equipment and weapons, which become certain "actors" in the photos).
The study of the artist regarding the specifics of photographing in war
conditions has revealed the peculiarities of his worldview and reactions to
stress. As Serhii Belinskyi noted, the camera becomes a means of psycho-
logical protection for him in war conditions, because in difficult moments he
starts filming or taking photos and, in this way, it seems, puts up a barrier
between himself and the tragic picture around him. This helps him endure the
horrors of war.

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ANALIZA TECHNIK FOTOGRAFII ARTYSTYCZNEJ

W PRZEDSTAWIANIU TRAGEDII WOJNY W UKRAINIE
NA PRZYKŁADZIE PRAC SERHIJA BIELIŃSKIJEGO
(streszczenie)
Osiągnięcia techniczne umożliwiły obserwację tragicznych wydarzeń wojny na Ukrainie zarówno
w czasie rzeczywistym, jak podczas dystrybucji zdjęć i filmów, które za pomocą Internetu stają
się własnością całego świata. Pomimo tego, że istnieje wiele informacji wizualnych ilustrują-
cych te wydarzenia, można wyróżnić awangardowe metody przekazywania „okropności wojny”.
W szczególności takie metody stosuje jeden z autorów artykułu, Serhij Bielińskij, który jest foto-
grafikiem artystycznym, a w czasie wojny oficerem prasowym 28 wydzielonej brygady zmecha-
nizowanej im. Rycerzy Zimowej Kampanii. Jego autorski styl czasu pokoju polegał na przedsta-
wianiu świata poprzez przedmioty nieożywione, przyrodę i zwierzęta lub poprzez przedstawianie
fragmentów ludzkiego ciała (nogi, ręce, często z efektami świetlnymi).
Pominiemy jego oficjalne zdjęcia na stronie brygady i przeanalizujemy jedynie zastosowanie
awangardowych, autorskich technik podczas wojny. Do analizy wybrano tylko zdjęcia z przed-
miotami nieożywionymi, przyrodą i zwierzętami oraz zdjęcia z fragmentami ciał ludzkich (nogi,
ręce). W fotografiach tych artysta stosuje następujące techniki:
- użycie nietypowego kąta od dołu (ukazanie wielkanocnego błogosławieństwa poprzez
rzędy żołnierskich stóp),
- nadawanie symbolicznego znaczenia zwykłym przedmiotom (ikona w zrujnowanym
kościele, znak drogowy, zaszyte serce, księga baśni, kwitnące drzewo na tle czołgu),
- celowa asymetria płaszczyzny kadru i zmiana kierunku patrzenia – nie z lewej na prawą,
ale z prawej na lewą (krowa przy zniszczonej oborze),
- fragmentaryczny obraz części ciała człowieka, w tym przypadku personelu wojskowego
(nogi, ręce),
- użycie kontrastów światła i cienia,
- ukazywanie wojny za pomocą broni i sprzętu wojskowego,
- uzupełnienie zdjęcia podpisem wyjaśniającym główną ideę artysty.
ANALYSIS OF FINE-ART PHOTOGRAPHY TECHNIQUES ... 363

Oznacza to, że dla fotografa takie fotografie zamieniają się w tragiczną sztukę. Jak fotografo-
wie artystyczni postrzegają świat? Osobliwości wizji świata Siergieja Belińskiego są następujące:
- przekazywanie własnych emocji poprzez przedmioty nieożywione, krajobrazy i zwierzęta,
czyli jest to "świat bez ludzi",
- fotografia jako psychologiczna ochrona przed traumą wojenną, gdyż artysta maksymalnie
koncentruje się na kadrze.

Słowa kluczowe: techniki fotografii artystycznej, wojna w Ukrainie, symboliczne znaczenia, Ser-
hii Belinskyi

Serhii Belinskyi. Artist, musician of the rock group “Propala Hramota”, fine‑art photogra-
pher. He has had 10 exibitions of his artistic photos in Poland, the Check Republic, Japan and
Ukraine. Since 2021 – the press oficer of the Knights of the Winter Campaign 28th separate me-
chanized brigade of the Army of Ukraine. Author of scientific publications on the war in Ukra-
ine, member of the international Polish-Ukrainian scientific group of Yu. Ivashko. This group
won the silver medal at the European Exibition of Creativity and Innovation “Euroinvent 2023”
for the scientific project “Reproduction and restoration of iconostases of Ukrainian churches”.
Scientific interests and fields of scientific activity: artistic photography, music, modern art.
E-mail: [email protected]

1. Kozłowski T., Ivashko Y., Belinskyi S., Dmytrenko A., Ivashko O. (2022) Teoretyczne
i prawne zasady odbudowy zabytków architektonicznych w Ukrainie, które ucierpały w trakcie
agresji rosyjskiej. “Teka Komisji Urbanistyki i Architektury Oddziału Polskiej Akademii Nauk
w Krakowie”. Vol. L, pp. 391-408. http://teka.pk.edu.pl/index.php/numery-czasopisma/tom-
l-2022/
2. Ivashko Y., Tovbych V., Hlushchenko A., Belinskyi S., Kobylarczyk J., Kuśnierz-Krupa D.,
Dmytrenko A. (2023) Preparing for the post-war reconstruction of historical monuments in
Ukraine: Considerations in regard of the ongoing Polish post-WWII experience and international
law on the protection and conservation of historical monuments. “Muzeológia a kultúrne
dedičstvo”, vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 53-71.

Yulia Ivashko, Doctor of Science (Architecture) (2013), Professor (2014), Doctor habilitatus,
nostrificated (2018). Author of over 550 scientific publications and monographs. Scientific in-
terests and fields of scientific activity: folk architecture of different countries of the world, archi-
tecture and the art of historicism – eclecticism and Art Nouveau, Islamic architecture and art, the
architecture and art of China, restoration of works of art.
E-mail: [email protected]

1. Ivashko, Y., Houses of Kyiv with gothic elements (study of history and architecture), editor-in-
-chief M. Dyomin, Kyiv 2004.
2. Ivashko, Y. V., Art Nouveau style in architecture of Kyiv, editor-in-chief M. Dyomin, Kyiv,
Gopak, 2007.
3. Ivashko, Y., Li S. Art Nouveau of Western Europe, Ukraine and China: the ways of transformation
and implementation, editor-in-chief M. Dyomin, Kyiv 2015.
4. Orlenko, M., Ivashko, Y, Li S. Reincarnation of the Northern National Romanticism: investigation
and experience in the restoration of objects, editor-in-chief M. Dyomin, Kyiv 2016.
5. Dyomin M., Ivashko Y., Rezga K. Mosques of Algeria: Architectural and Urban Aspects, Kyiv
2019.
364 S. Belinskyi, Y. Ivashko, I. L. Kravchenko, A. Dmytrenko, I. Dreval

Iryna L. Kravchenko, Doctor of Science (Architecture) (2021), Associate Professor, Profes-

sor at the Department of Theory of Architecture of the Kyiv National University of Construction
and Architecture. Author of more than 70 scientific publications. Scientific interests and fields
of scientific activity: history and theory of architecture, architecture of non-formal education
institutions, architectural formation of modern informational and educational space, landscape
architecture, modern visual art.
E-mail: [email protected]

1. Kravchenko, I., Tovbych, V. (2023). Implementation of the basic principles of forming the
architecture of non-formal education institutions. Urban Development and Spatial Planning,
(82), pp. 198–212. https://doi.org/10.32347/2076-815x.2023.82.
2. Żychowska, M., Chornomordenko, I., Kravchenko, I. L., Gnatiuk, L., Dmytrenko, A., Urakina, A.,
& Smilka, V. (2022). The influence of religious and worldview factors on the landscape design in
Japan and China. Landscape Architecture and Art, 21(21), pp. 115-123. https://doi.org/10.22616/j.
landarchart.2022.21.12 (Scopus).
3. Kravchenko, I. (2022). The principle of compositional and figurative compliance in the architecture
of non-formal education institutions. Urban Development and Spatial Planning, (79), pp. 179-189.
https://doi.org/10.32347/2076-815x.2022.79.
4. Kravchenko, I., & Akopnyk, S. (2022). Architecture of informal education institutions abroad
during their intensive development and branching (1941-1956). Current Problems of Architecture
and Urban Planning, (62), pp. 3–14. https://doi.org/10.32347/2077-3455.2022.62.
5. Kravchenko, I. (2021). Development of the architecture of non-formal education institutions in
1917-1940 on the territory of Ukraine. Current Problems of Architecture and Urban Planning,
(60), pp. 105-116. https://doi.org/10.32347/2077-3455.2021.60.

Andrii Dmytrenko, PhD, Associate Professor at the National University “Yuri Kondratyuk
Poltava Polytechnic”. Author of more than 170 scientific publications. Scientific interests and
fields of scientific activity: history of architecture, regional peculiarities of national architecture,
architecture of buildings and structures, demographic aspects of spatial planning.
E-mail: [email protected]

1. Dyomin M., Chernyshev D., Dmytrenko A., Kuzmenko T., Chang P. (2020) A breakthrough
in landscape design: from traditional garden of ancient despots to the avant-garde "garden of
Cubism" “Landscape Architecture and Art” Vol. 16, No. 16, pp. 70-79.
2. Gryglewski P., Ivashko Y., Chernyshev D., Chang P., Dmytrenko A. (2020) Art as a Message
Realized Through Various Meansof Artistic Expression. “Art Inquiry. Recherches sur les arts”
vol. XXII, pp. 57-88.
3. Ivashko Y., Dmytrenko, A., Paprzyca, K., Krupa, M., Kozłowski, T. (2020) Problems of
Historical Cities Heritage Preservation: Chernihiv Art Nouveau Buildings. “International Journal
of Conservation Science”, 11(4), pp. 953-964.
4. Ivashko, Y., Chang, P., Dmytrenko, A., Kozłowski, T., Mykhailovskyi, D. (2021) Influence
of structural schemes on the shaping of historical wooden buildings: On the examples of tra-
ditional Chinese pavilions, pavilions of the chinoiserie style and Ukrainian wooden churches ,
No. 67, pp. 49-60.
5. Żychowska, M., Ivashko, Y., Chang, P., Dmytrenko, A., Kulichenko, N., Xin Mu Zhang, X. N.
(2021) The influence of traditional Chinese landscape architecture on the image of small archi-
tectural forms in Europe. “Landscape Architecture and Art”, vol. 18, No. 18, pp. 59-68.
ANALYSIS OF FINE-ART PHOTOGRAPHY TECHNIQUES ... 365

Irina Dreval, Doctor of Science (Architecture) (2013), Associate Professor, Head of Chair
of the Department of Urban Planning, O. M. Beketov National University of Urban Economy
in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Her research interests include methodical and practical problems of the
development of town-planning complexes. One of her current research directions is the study
of the actual aspects of architectural town‑planning development of railway station complexes.
She is the co-author of 7 monographs and ca. 90 research papers in international and Ukrainian
scientific journals.
E-mail: [email protected]

1. Dreval I. V. Open spaces of Kharkov historical center and the problems of their architectural and
urban planning transformation in modern conditions. International symposium "Environmental
and engineering aspects for sustainable living". Hannover, November 28th, 2018, pp. 10-11.
ISBN 978-3-00-032886-2
2. I. V. Dreval, L. N. Shvets. Ecological aspect of urban development of railway stations in the
structure of the city. International symposium "Environmental and Engineering Aspects for
Sustainable Living". Hannover, May 27th, 2020, pp. 4-5 http://www.ewg-board.eu/daten/bro-
shure-ECO2020-www.pdf
3. Baibak D., Dreval I., Ilienko O. (2021). Research components of Sports and Leisure Complexes.
Young Researchers in the Global World: Approaches and Challenges. Book of papers of the 2021
International Forum for Young Researchers, Kharkiv, April 23rd, 2021, pp. 136-138. Retrie-
ved from https://bit.ly/328Lcpu
4. Tytarenko I., Pavlenko I., Dreval I. 3D Modeling of a Virtual Built Environment Using Digital
Tools: Kilburun Fortress Case Study. “Applied Sciences” 2023; 13(3): 1577. https://doi.org/10.3390/
app13031577