Here are the most important terms we will be using throughout this year's study; please be sure you get well acquainted with all of them:
- THEME: the general content of the artwork (general aspect/subject) (e.g., the landscape)
- SUBJECT-MATTER: the sum of identifiable objects, persons, places, references in the artwork (e.g., the rose garden)
- MEANING (or, CONTENT): is revealed through interpretation; sometimes the title may be of help, but most often than not, it is shown through careful iconographic and/or iconological interpretation
- ICONOGRAPHY: the overt or hidden symbolism in the artwork, rendered through images (signs, symbols)
- ICONOLOGY: the meaning revealed through the study of the cultural, social, and historical background of the artwork (through literary, historical, etc., texts)
- DESCRIBING ART: the verbal pointing to the features; a means of gathering the support for interpretations; it concerns the subject matter, the most expressive formal elements, the principles of design, etc.
- ANALYSING ART: explaining how the described elements get their meanings, the artist's choices; inferring meaning; evaluating technique
- INTERPRETING ART: a most important and complex activity; the arriving at the meaning of the artwork by employing different strategies of interpreting based on the information gathered through iconographical and iconological insights
- EVALUATING ART: determining how good the artwork is, according to some criteria, either clearly stated or implied, while providing reasons and evidence for judgments
Task: Watch the video. What is the role of iconography in understanding a work of art, and how does it work?
Deadline: Oct 26
Sekely Arnold Roland / pictura
ReplyDeleteIconography is the visual vocabulary of art, demanding you decode symbols using external texts rather than relying on a piece's aesthetic style. A symbol's meaning is strictly dictated by its cultural framework a dove means the Holy Spirit in Christianity, but signals Aphrodite in classical myth. While essential for cracking ancient and Renaissance art, this method collapses against modern works that intentionally abandon established representational rules.