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The function and semiotics of cats in urban space and in cultural memory (by example of Yerevan and Gabrovo) // ΠΡΑΞΗMΑ. Journal of Visual Semiotics. 2025. Issue 2 (44). P. 133-158

The article analyses the function and semiotics of cats in urban space and cultural memory, using the example of Yerevan (Armenia) and Gabrovo (Bulgaria). Analyzing Armenian and Bulgarian phraseological units, the study’s authors show that cats are “active” in the linguistic memory of the two peoples. They describe the visualization of cats in urban space and their multimodal manifestations in statues, restaurant names, cafe names, design interpretations, cultural artifacts, etc. The article highlights the phenomenon of the Van cat as a symbol of Armenian identity. An analysis of the empirical material of the two cities showed that Fernando Botero’s “Cat” became the catalyst for the appearance of the Black Cat Gastropub restaurant (2021–2023), the appearance of an “Armenian” twin. Yerevan sculptures with cats refer to the “high” Armenian literature, cultural memory, and historical past. The Bulgarian example showed that the Gabrovo cat and related practices (festivals) point to a “grassroots” carnival culture. The Gabrovo cat is a transnational symbol and expresses a philosophical concept: humor as a weapon against aggression and laughter as a means of transnational survival.

Keywords: cats of Yerevan, Fernando Botero, Van cat / Turkish van cat, cats Daredevils of Sassoun, Gabrovo cat, Gabrovo carnival

Epic visual signs in urban space: Evidence from Armenia, Estonia, North Macedonia, and Bulgaria // ΠΡΑΞΗMΑ. Journal of Visual Semiotics. 2026. Issue 2 (48). P. 72-103

The study examines how epic images function in urban space as semiotic markers of cultural memory and collective identity. The aim of the study is to show the mechanisms by which epic material is “translated” from textual, symbolic signs into visual, iconic ones. Such intersemiotic translations activate epic heroes in the minds of city inhabitants: on the one hand, reinforcing some discourses (mythological, commemorative) and reducing other practices, such as reading the most epic texts. Recognition of visual characters is high, while textual nuances are weakened. The article consistently addresses the following tasks: first, it substantiates the approach to the city as a complex semiotic text and highlights the epic cultural code of the urban environment as a framework for analysis, using the examples of Yerevan, Tallinn, and Prilep. Second, an intersemiotic analysis of visual artifacts is carried out using examples of sculptures, stamps, and commemorative coins, considering double coding and historical, mythological, and ideological layers. Third, Armenian, North Macedonian, Bulgarian, and Estonian materials are compared to identify stable models of epic visualization and epic heroes. Methodologically, the study is based on the tools of visual semiotics and a typological analysis of urban artifacts, supplemented by survey data as an indicator of the reception and recognition of signs in the mass consciousness (using the Armenian example). Based on the Armenian material, it is shown that the high recognition of the hero in the city and the replication of his image (in the media, philately, numismatics) work as mechanisms of “imprinting,” fixing the city sign in cultural memory. The visualization of epic heroes almost always represents not a “plot-plot,” but a dedicated “plot-situation,” which is associated with the language of sculpture, painting, and other monumental visual systems. It is revealed that the non-representation of the enemy in the visualizations of cultural heroes is modeled on the logic of constructing the zero sign at the visual level. The recipient of the sculpture can reconstruct the image of the enemy himself, or the situation, only when the epic text is activated in his mind. Based on the Tallinn material, it is shown that epic codes are actualized both in commemorative images (Linda) and in hyperbolically archaic images of a cultural hero (“Glehn’s Devil”), which fit into the urban space of Tallinn both in the city center and outside (“Crying Linda,” “Linda’s Stone”). The significance of this article lies in the fact that epic images in the city serve as tools for building identity, commemoration, and relevant socio-political narratives, regardless of geography or region.

Keywords: cultural code of city, epic, semiotic translation, cultural memory, monumental visualization, Sasuntsi David/David of Sassoun, Kral Marco, Linda, Kalev, Kalevipoeg