Thursday, January 25, 2007
Symbols in art
1- Clouds mean rain, a falling barometer means that a storm is coming, a twister in the sky means an approaching tornado: one is a sign of the other. These relations exist in nature and were discovered, not invented by humans. On the other hand, a bell ringing means the end of class, the word “cat” means a certain species of domesticated quadruped. These relations are conventional. 2- In art, what is it that makes a thing a symbol? It is something represented in the artwork (an object, an action, or a pattern of objects and actions, or just a color) that does the symbolizing? How does A become a symbol of B? 3- The cross is a symbol of Christianity (a conventional token of suffering) but this is a historic and religious convention. Though used as the main symbol of nazism, the swastika is considered sacred in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. Who owns the symbol? The sun seems like a natural symbol of life and strength; a river brings forth the idea of eternal change and flowing, and so forth. In these cases there was no agreement (convention) as to what would stand for what; the relation is too obvious. 4- According to philosopher Nelson Goodman one can virtually make any A to stand for any B, provided one can justify the link -an important premise for an artist. 5- Here are some examples of how virtually anything can be a symbol for something else: animals, parts of the body, abstract characters, artefacts, plants, etc. A circle → the cosmos (in Shamanism); a triangle→ perfection; an ant→ industry; the ape → loyalty and devotion (ancient India); the arch→ the union of earth and sky (ancient Greece); the human beard→ wisdom, strength and virility (Semitic religions); blood→ a tantric image of fertilization (Vedas); ying/yang→ positive, negative (Ancient China); A and ω→ beginning and end (ancient Greece); the dog→ watchful guardian (ancient Egypt); Moby Dick→evil. 6- So, to further problematize the issue: What would Duchamp's Fountain stand for?
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For something to be a symbol it simply must imply something. There are symbols in everyday life that are natural. When thinking of symbols in art one usually thinks of something in the work that is ment to represent something else. However when we think of art we usually think it must have a human touch because art has a sense of society, that is, art is only art, for the producer and the viewer. In that sense you might say that symbols are invented by humans, however our intuition tells us otherwise. IN the intro for the question there are references to natural symbols such as clouds, barometers and the like. These clouds were around millions of years before humans ever thought of art, before humans even existed. And yet the cloud still represents rain to anyone who has ever been in a rain storm. In the animal kingdome colors symbolize venom, anger, and sexual maturity. Therefore symbols are not a human invention rather they are used throughout the universe whenever you can make a conclusion about something because it is implied without saying. A symbol is simply a connection between what is, and the clues that tell you what is.
Symbols require repetition and association. Their association is learned through repetition. Corporate or consumer product branding works through repetition. You see the brand in commercials, advertisements, on bags, pamphlets, and other materials associated with the company or product. Recently, I noticed a billboard on US1 at 27th Avenue. It’s a blank white board with the word, “HUNGERECTOMEY” in italics in an outlined box. There is no other information on the billboard—just white space. Yet, within seconds, I determined that it is an ad for Snickers. Brilliant! They took the Snickers “brand” from the candy bar wrapper using the same lettering and boxed outline, and it became an ad for the candy bar. I recognized it, not because I often buy Snickers, but through seeing that wrapper over and over for many years—through repetition. This is the same for symbols in art. Barbara Kruger’s “visual messages” are associated with the artist because of the repetitive use of a single font, Futura Bold Oblique (Wikipedia), in a unique style, and limited use of color—black, white, red. By creating her images in this same way over and over, her work becomes symbolic and is associated with the artist. This is typical of many artists who ultimately develop a style. As for Duchamp, I associate his work with rebellion. By taking found objects and changing their representation, he made a statement that things are not always restricted to one prescribed interpretation. He rebelled by choosing to show how you could break the norm. This message was repeated in his work making it recognizable in his use of found objects as sculpture with new meaning.
I disagree that symbols are not a human invention. Yes clouds may have been around as long as the earth has had an atmosphere but without humans to see them and attribute some sort of meaning to them then clouds are just millions of droplets of water and ice nothing more. For a symbol to exist there must be a mind to percieve it and link meaning to it.
However I do think that symbols have been around as long as man has been making art. The Venus of Willendorf dating to approximately 25000 b.c.e. is recognizable to modern day man as a fertility symbol and the symbols of the spider, and octopus in precolumbian andean art endure as representations of blood letting in sacrifice. Even cave paintings showing hunting and animal representations can be interpreted as a language of symbols with a vocabulary of icons recognizable
to those of that time period.
In time past symbols were necessary in art when populations either did not possess writing as in precolumbian times or were mostly illiterate as in the Renaissance. Art was used to instruct the masses, usually telling religious stories. In order to have a sort of vocabulary for this language of symbols, their meanings were usually fixed. The clock being a symbol for the passage of time, bubbles symbols for the fragility of life, lillies signifying purity. Now that artists no longer function as creators of courtly and religious propoganda symbols are more personal and less generic. Modern artists bestow their own meanings upon symbols which may be ambiguous and the viewer is expected to interpret the work for themself perhaps reading different meanings.
Gauguin a towering figure of Symbolist painting said: 'Every detail is, in fact really nothing but a partial symbol...'
Symbols can found in many areas of our daily lives and can be made by the individual or by common association seeded by different societies. Sometimes symbols are just coincidence. I want to just focus on symbolism in art. You can find symbols or representations in subject matter in art. For example, an artist can illustrate anger by using a person with angry face, which could be one way of symbolizing this emotion. However, another way of representing anger could be expressed through the way the artist paints. By the use of color and vibrant brush strokes can convey/symbolize the same emotions even if it is abstract. The difference is the artist either illustrates or expresses a symbol. Their approaches differ but symbolize the same thing.
Symbols are attention grabbers. Without it the world can get quite confusing by making things harder to distinguish from one another. Not only images can be symbols, name, brands, colors, smell, and sounds are also symbolic. Every company and firm has a copyrighted logo or symbol to apart itself from others. In the animal kingdom, color, smell, and sounds are usually used to express warning and invites. And in nature as you have mentioned the heavy cloud would forcast rain, and wind could forcast hurricane and such. These symbols aren't manmade compared to company logos which are. When it comes to fine art, the symbols each artists create within their work can't really consider either man-made or natural I think. Each person has their own distinguish style even if they don't realize it, therefore in the making of this it comes naturally.
Symbols obviously represent something deeper than the face value of the original sensory object. Symbols are heavily controlled and steered by cultural/societal ideals. For example, to express mourning we wear black, but to those in China they use white to represent the same state of mind. Symbols of ideal beauty, of gender roles, and of many other things that tend to fluctuate through time also change from one culture to the next. Yet, there are some symbols that have such a universal meaning that they can reach almost anyone. Those universal symbols tend to be objects or images found in our natural environment.
To further explore the creation of a symbol let’s go back to the question in the first post. How does A become a symbol of B? When speaking of natural symbols we first must think of the interactions humans usually have with those natural resources. If the experiences tend to lead to positive outcomes, then humans will begin to associate natural object A with positive emotion B. The inverse is also applicable in terms of more negative feedback. Natural symbols tend to have a more caustics association as implied in the first post.
Symbols are anything that is recognizable by the masses. Symbols are in our everyday life. The way, which, we learn what a symbol represents, is by repetition seeing it often and being able to associate it. In art, an artist can symbolize anything by using color, objects, words, actions, etc. For instance, with color by using dark colors and shades it could represent an emotional state of depression or isolation and vise versa by using bright colors it could represent a state of happiness. In addition, some recognizable symbols, which have gone from symbolizing A to B and have become successful, are the Nike check, which symbolizes Nike the goddess of victory in Greek Mythology and a famously known athletic company. Next, a green crocodile that symbolizes an animal and a recognizable high-end company name Lacoste, which sell’s clothing, footwear etc.
The fountain is a representation of A becoming B. Conventionally the fountain represents restroom breaks, dirtyness and even privacy. We live in a time after the industrial revolution, where instead of unique creations, many things can be created by the masses. For example, look at our cell phones, a symbol for communication. When yours breaks, you have no worry that there are at least a billion other cell phones out there ready for you're purchase. Well the point is that these cell phones once were quite pricy, because they're werent many, and they were new. I understand things must improve and grow in production if there is a demand. Do these products in mass production begin to lose a sense of value, or meaning because of it's availability? I believe that as things are mass produced, symbols and they're convetional ties begin to mean nothing significant to us(humans) anymore. We lose value for the things placed in our hands because theres so much of it out there. To get back to the fountain. I see the fountain to be the realization that the object, which conventionally means men's room (A),not looked at as what it is. Duchamp begins to see this as a shape, not contained by it's edges and conventional meaning. It's color is quite unique from its conventional use, prior to being showcased. He begins to see the object for what it is artistically and with no conventional meaning, only with a point to prove. The mind of the artist is far more deeper than societies conventions and labels which are contained by edges and fear.
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