semiotics. semiotics is the study of signs and sign systems what is a sign? anything that can...
TRANSCRIPT
Semiotics
Semiotics is the study of signs and sign systems
What is a sign?
Anything that can represent a thing or idea
is a sign
Literal sign that tells the viewer
to “stop”
The word
DOG =
Language is a form of semiotics
ICONICON
INDEXINDEX
SYMBOLSYMBOL
Icon
An Icon is a sign that resembles its object
This is an icon that represents George Washington
The viewer knows this because it resembles Washington’s appearance
IN some cases, we have thousands of icons to represent one individual
IndexAn index is a symbol that is physically
connected to its object
This clock has indexical meaning – when we see it, we understand that it is a symbol for time
We also know that a clock tells the time
In this way, the symbol is directly connected to the object
• “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire” – this expression is an example of indexical thought
• The smoke coming from a burning building is an index for the object that it’s linked to: fire.
A photograph of a person, place, or thing is always an index.
It not only represents its object, but is actually connected to it in time and space.
Symbol
A symbol is an arbitrary representation
of an object
This symbol has been selected to represent a Volkswagen
It only has meaning because we understand the alphanumeric system (more symbols) and it has been attached to VW vehicles
Symbol? Index? Icon?
Why is all of this important?
When trying to understand images from When trying to understand images from other cultures or periods of time, we have other cultures or periods of time, we have to decode the systems of signs in order to to decode the systems of signs in order to make meaning out of what we see.make meaning out of what we see.
Nineteen Maya
Numerals & 20 Day Signs
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
Nineteen Latin Numerals and Calendar
Let’s take a look at this painting and see if we can use our knowledge of language and semiotics to make meaning out
of the images and text.
Chicano Park – Street MuralsSan Diego, CA
Detail from Aztec Codex
“To understand the world of todayHold it up to the world of long ago”
Sculpture found in the funeral chamber of an Aztec Emperor
Feathered Serpent from the Quetzalcoatl temple in Teotihuacan, Mexico
Why do you think all of these ancient symbols were
incorporated into a contemporary image?
Why include a yin yang and swastika when pre-contact Mexican symbols looked like the one’s to the right?
Long live the strike!
What’s the mural about?
What do the signs and symbols tell the viewer?
What can we tell about present-day Chicano culture by looking at this mural?
Chicano culture in the United States is informed by both present-day Mexican culture and present-day American
culture….