Gra znakami i znaczeniami w polskim artystycznym plakacie teatralnym
Play on signs and meanings in Polish artistic theatre posters

Summary/Abstract: The paper begins with the assumption that an artistic theatre poster is composed of two interacting semiotic systems: the language (the title of the play, the name of the author, the place of stage production, the name or signature of the author of the poster, the year of its creation), and the image (graphic signs, meaningful typography, graphical arrangement, colour scheme). These two codes are interwoven; linguistic signs often fulfill the function of the image in multimodal messages, and vice versa. The application of the category of multimodality allows us to superimpose the meanings of iconic images, mental images, and images hidden behind words, when reading the content of a poster. In artistic theatre posters, verbal and visual signs play with senses and allow the reader to activate different contexts, which leads to a multitude of interpretations. Recipients are not obliged to read the creative, multimodal message in a single, prescribed way. They are free to follow various parallel interpretative routes. Signs of the poster play with each other and with the reader, and the entire meaning of the multimodal message can change as one of the multiple senses of a word, an image, or a colour is singled out.

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