Visual art and contemporary communication studies have many common points of contact, since both spheres of intellectual activity are engaged in the transfer and accumulation of various types of information. Visual art reflects cultural values, traditions and social problems. Understanding these aspects helps to better understand the context of a work of art, similar to the cultural context in communication. Modern technologies allow artists to experiment with new forms and means of expression, which reflects technological changes in the field of communication. The question of the effectiveness of the communication process remains: how to ensure the transfer of information so that it is transmitted and explicated correctly and completely? The lexicographic practice of creating dictionaries uses a traditional communicative model in the form of a dictionary entry. We call this type of transfer of lexicographic information a lexicographic canon. Lexicography contributes to the unification of terminology in various fields of knowledge, which helps to avoid misunderstandings and improves communication between specialists. The article examines the ways of using canons of lexicographic presentation of material in texts of contemporary art. A dictionary as a collection of information about various phenomena contained in concepts, terms and their definitions is a universal form of knowledge. Dictionary representation allows us to record and pass on knowledge from generation to generation. Traditionally, the dictionary form is associated with scientific discourse. Contemporary art creatively uses the established lexicographic canon. The external form of the dictionary is used almost unchanged, but the content of the dictionary entry is modified, and the author's methods of presenting information are introduced. The functions of the dictionary are shifting towards the information and advertising discourse of non-commercial art. Modern authors initiate a creative approach to creating a dictionary of a new type of art - mail art. The material of our study was the alphabetical dictionaries published in the magazines "Numero" and "Kairan" of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. The methods of studying the material are descriptive, comparative, intermedial. The communicative aspect of lexicographic practice is aimed at creating dictionaries that not only provide information about words, but also ensure effective communication in the language, contributing to the development of users' language skills.