Week 3 Semiology and Visual Interpretation

 

The Arnolfini Portrait -Jan van Eyck - 1434


This week’s readings is the idea that paintings are made up of signs and symbols.  The first part of the essay compares the idea of perception as a process of painting to observation in science. Bryson suggests that a formula or method is necessary when creating a painting. Like science, people test methods to formulate innovative art practices. Perception is clouded by one’s stock pile of memories and cannot therefore provide an accurate interpretation. 
Bryson also talks about how art is a manifestation of a superstructure and base in society.   The framework of society is in a tier of economic, legal, political institutions, and ideological formations. The base-structure consists of productive forces and relations of production, technology, and plants. From the base-structure the sign must follow. 
    I like the last part of the essay where Bryson talks about how the semilogical approach for art often accounts for what society is already doing as opposed to what we should be doing. I tried to apply this concept to paintings that I have seen. For example, Norman Rockwell’s painting, The Problem We All Live With, shows a little black girl walking among men in suites escorting her to a school building. There is a splattered tomato in the background, which looks like splattered blood at first glance. The painting is a direct protest of what was going on in the U.S. during the civil rights era. It supports Bryson’s theory of the semilogical approach that many artist take. If Rockwell painted a mix of black children and white children in a school classroom happy and learning together than that would be the opposite of the semilogical approach. 
I also like Bryson’s statement about how images must articulate local acts of innovation otherwise it may be considered insignificant. I find that many artist attempts to innovate or create a new movement with art in order to make people think about creating art in a unique way. For this reason, many artists have made a name for themselves.
I also believe that artist use symbols in their paintings spark talk among the viewers. The artist is communicating something, but they are not directly telling their viewers word for word what it is. Instead their work is like a riddle. A good example of painting that sparked much talk  is, The Arnolfini Portrait, by Jan Van Eyck in 1434. The painting is very detailed and beautifully done. However that is not enough for an artist to make an impact. Jan Van Eyck put many symbols in his painting and it sparked speculation and controversy over its meaning. For instance, the burning candle above the married couple. Is it a sign of the holy spirit granting blessing over the couples union? Or is it a representation of life and death? This approach is common among artist through out history and like Bryson mentions, symbols are influenced by the context of society that is formed by the economic, political, and ideological world that the artist lives within. 
    He goes on to talk about interpreting art based on past and present context. The original meaning of the art must be taken into consideration. If we open the same work of art to the present does that open up pandora’s box for interpretation? I believe that it does not and that we must look at the artists intent when creating the piece. Interpreting a piece of art in the context that it was created in, is like trying to go back in time and understand the world that the artist lived in. It is way for humans to understand our past so we can make continue to move forward to a better society. If we interpret a piece of art to the present and not take in the historical context the we loose the true meaning and the work becomes insignificant. 

Norman Rockwell, The Problem We All Live With, 1963, oil on canvas, 36 x 58 inches. Illustration for LOOK, January 14, 1964. Norman Rockwell Museum Collections. ©NRELC, Niles, IL.



Sources: 
Norman Bryson, “Semiology and Visual Interpretation,” in Visual Theory: Painting and Interpretation, 1991

Eyck, J. van. (1970, January 1). The Arnolfini Portrait. The National Gallery. Retrieved September 11, 2021, from https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/jan-van-eyck-the-arnolfini-portrait.

Norman Rockwell + the problem we all live with. Norman Rockwell + The Problem We All Live With. (n.d.). Retrieved September 11, 2021, from https://www.kennedy-center.org/education/resources-for-educators/classroom-resources/media-and-interactives/media/visual-arts/norman-rockwell--the-problem-we-all-live-with/.


Comments

  1. Felicity ClaySeptember 12, 2021 at 4:18 PM

    Hey Yvonne! Your blog post this week was great, I thought your synopsis of the reading was splendid and easier to understand than the reading was. In particular the explanation you gave of the base-superstructure was well worded. I think the Rockwell image you chose to support the semiological theories of Bryson was an excellent choice too. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yvonne_HumeSeptember 12, 2021 at 10:03 PM

    This week's reading was another difficult one. I had to take many notes to make sense of it. We have to stick together when it comes to explaining these challenging readings. Thank you for your kind words.

    ReplyDelete

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