Signs and Symbols Art Essay - 1427 Words

Signs and symbols are the foundation of visual language, just as the alphabet is the foundation of written language. Examine this statement with reference to a range of artists and artworks. Even before a young child can read or write they learn the alphabet as the beginning of interpreting the process of reading and writing. Equally a small child can generally recognise popular signs and symbols, such as the â€Å"M† for McDonalds or the Coke symbol before they can read. Just as society associates signs and symbols with various meanings, artists convey their thinking, beliefs and feelings to the audience through their works. This can be described as visual language or how images are used to communicate messages. This communication is vital to†¦show more content†¦Whiteley’s works parallels Van Gogh’s in its deliberate use of symbols in his paintings and while Whiteley observed many of the principles of Symbolism, his had its own unique facility of Surrealist attached. This can be appreciated in Night Cafà © (1972) [refer Appendix 3] where Whiteley depicted Van Gogh’s The Night Cafà © (1888) [refer Appendix 1] and distorted the ima ge and took the lines of the room to a vanishing point, idealising Whiteley’s Surrealist style. Whiteley’s use of symbolism in his works is outstandingly illustrated in Whiteley’s Archibald Prize winning self-portrait Art, Life and the Other Thing (1978) [refer Appendix 4] where Whiteley demonstrates the controversy of the Archibald in his representation of the William Dobell’s controversial winning portrait of Joshua Smith (1943) [refer Appendix 5] and John Bloomfield’s disqualification from the Archibald 1975 because of his portrait that was deemed to be painted from a picture of Tim Burstall. Whiteley represents these two controversies in his triptych self-portrait containing a photograph of how he looks in real life, a mixed media self-portrait, and a depiction of a baboon symbolising the metaphorical â€Å"monkey on his back†. Whitely once said â€Å"the fundamental reason one paints is in order to see†, describing how he thinks that his art is a method granting means of communication to his audience. Van Gogh was always in the search of art and how it was to be created, he once said â€Å"the positiveShow MoreRelatedPaul Tillich1036 Words   |  5 PagesCritically assess the views of Paul Tillich on religious language. (35 marks) In this essay I am going to critically assess the views of Paul Tillich’s views on religious language. I will first start by critically assessing Paul Tillich’s theory of religious language being presented as symbols and his rejections of signs. I will then conclude and provide a short summary before moving on to views for and against his ideas, before stating my own thoughts. Paul Tillich was a German- American theologianRead MoreThe Human World Of Space And Time By Ernst Cassirer963 Words   |  4 Pagesprocess of recollection what Cassirer has termed symbolic memory (Cassirer 1944, 51-2). Considering the animal symbolicum denomination that Cassirer attributes to human beings in â€Å"A Clue to the Nature of Man: The Symbol,† the following essay draws on the expressiveness of the symbolic art form and its capacity to engage with the subject through the sensuous to highlight the symbolic appeal of â€Å"The Bracero and Farmworkers Mural† among the Mexican American community in the City of San Juan, TX. SeekingRead MoreAnalysis Of Tahani Alshabeeb s The Remnants Of The Heritage 916 Words   |  4 PagesThis essay will be showing how Tahani Alshabeeb’s painting demonstrates the iconography methodology in the context of social and cultural issues related to Muslim women in the Arab region generally and in particular in the Middle East during the late 18th to the 19th century. It will also show how the viewers/audience may understand the signs and symbols that has been applied to the painting and how it can be interpreted. This essay is divided into 3 main sections. Each section is arguing a mainRead MoreGraffiti Essay1124 Words   |  5 Pages| Graffiti is Vandalism, Not Art | | | STUDENT NO: | 16 MARCH 2011 | The thread of this simple essay will centre on the controversy surrounding â€Å"graffiti art†Ã¢â‚¬â€is it art or simply vandalism. The paper will explore the true meaning of graffiti art, characteristics of common graffiti which includes a background history of its evolution in society, the different motives of artists who uses graffiti art, the conclusive facts that stem from my own point of view, and what the future holdsRead MoreThe Portrayal Of Women Since 1960 s Comics888 Words   |  4 Pagesof Women in 1960’s Comics We can learn a lot about history through art. Take for example prehistoric cave painting, the painting of pictures on caves gave historians insight into the mindset of a culture that lived a long time ago. Since the invention of the printing press and television, we can learn a great deal about modern culture through newspapers, television programs, novels, and print advertisements. In this essay, we’ll explore what we can learn about 1960s American culture through aRead MoreEnglish Language Arts Lesson Plan: Edgar Allen Poes The Raven618 Words   |  3 PagesEnglish Language Arts Lesson In this activity, I have planned a lesson reviewing the infamous poem, The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe. The lesson itself is intended to follow the Alabama State Standards for Seventh Grade Language Arts. According to the state standards for literature, the form, theme, tone, and syntax of poems must be analyzed and understood, as stated in standards one through 6 (Alabama Learning Exchange, 2010). Thus the following activities are meant to be undertaken by studentsRead MoreThe Beauty Of Mona Lisa953 Words   |  4 PagesThe Mona Lisa was one of the famous painting in the world, personally I believe it still is. This artwork was created by Leonardo Da Vinci, who was an Italian artist. He not only dedicate art in his life but also science, music, mathematics, engineering, literature, and many other areas. However, today this essay will only focus on the portrait he painted, Mona Lisa. Mona Lisa have many secrets, the date of this artwork is one of them. The time Leonardo worked on it r emain mystery, but the â€Å"portraitRead MoreTattoo Speech1291 Words   |  6 PagesTattoos are more than just art on someone’s body, it’s the meaning that holds a secret. In the essay, â€Å"Mark My Words. Maybe.†, many people often see Leslie Jamison’s tattoo in different perspectives. Not only do people have varying point of views, they also either have faced a lot of bad or good outcomes in their life. Finding yourself can be a huge deal, sometimes those can create themselves by how they feel or the way others may expect from them. The first time someone gets a tattoo, it’s extremelyRead MoreNature Ralph Walden Emerson and Henry David Thoreau Walden1693 Words   |  7 Pagesare two art works basically giving the similar messages to the readers. Their writers are different but one of the things which make these works similar is Henry David Thoreau is affected by Ralph Waldo Emerson’s works and ideas very much. Secondly, their essays a re both inspired from transcendentalism movement. Finally, their theme are both the same, they deal with mainly the idea of ‘nature’. While comparing these two essays, it is better to look at them deeper separately. Nature is an essay writtenRead MoreDebolism, Logos And Symbols In The Film Logorama742 Words   |  3 Pagesdesign to represent their company, has given new characteristic in this film. In real life, logos are function as sign carries ideology, to promote the ideal concept which helps profit their company. This essay will focus on the complex relationships between signs and further address on why commercial sign is not natural under this capitalism society. When a fictitious virtual symbol totally occupied reality, as the world in this film, the boundary of fiction and reality is merged. Every culture