René MAGRITTE (Belgian, 1898-1967)The Key to Dreams, 1930Oil on canvas, 31 7/8 x 23 9/16 inches

© Estate of René Magritte / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

Art 100

SemioticAnalysis

Charles Saunders PEIRCE (“purse”) (1839-1914)American thinker, mathematics, science, logic, semiotics

http://www.iupui.edu/~peirce/

three types of signs

types

icon: represents the object through some similarity or resemblance

index: represents the object by being a physical trace of it

symbol: represents the object by convention (social agreement)

examples

example of icon: smiley face, representational art

example of index: fingerprint

example of symbol:pretty much all of language, in which words have no necessary relationship to the concept they represent

explanation of three of Peirce’s sign types

index: a type of sign that is physically connectedto its making

index: a type of sign physically connected to its making

Robert RAUSCHENBERG, Automobile Tire Print, 1953paint on 20 sheets of paper mounted on fabric, 16 1/2 in. x 264 1/2 inches, SFMOMA, © Robert Rauschenberg Foundation / Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY

use of indexical marks in art

Gabriel OROZCOChicotes (Whips)2010installed at the Tate Modern

use of indexical marks in art

Christoph NIEMANN, Coffee, New York Times blog, December 2, 2008

Ferdinand de Saussure

Born Geneva, Switzerland, 1857Trained in ancient and modern languages at the University of Geneva and later, the University of Leipzig.Taught in Paris and Geneva.Died in 1913.

FERDINAND DE SAUSSURE

Taught at University of Geneva, during academic years 1906-7, 1908-9, 1910-11.

First published 1916 by a team of students who carefully collated their lecture notes.

Course in General Linguistics

Older conception

…gives way to the new.

sign

Sign=signifier + signified

Signifier (discrete visual element)

Signified (meaning)

Key implications of this shift 1. The sign is arbitrary.

There is no necessary link between a particular set of sounds and the concept it designates.

The sound and concept are united within the confines of a particular language and culture.

In English the rooster says “cock-a-doodle-do”; in French “cocorico”; in German “kikiriki.”

Key implications of this shift 2. The sign creates meaning differentially, in

relation to other signs.

Dog is not cat, not chipmunk, not chocolate chip cookie.

Meaning is context-dependent.

“You dog!” might sometimes refer to a dog, other times to a human.

Why are we studying this theory of language in art class? Does this mean visual imagery is like a language?

To some extent, yes.

How do these insights help us to understand the language of visual imagery?

Let’s work with an example: the semiotics of the color red.

What does red mean in this context?

What does red mean in this context?

What does red mean in this context?

Jessica Alba for CampariLimited edition calendar, 2009

There is no simple equation (signifier (red)=signified (x).The signified depends in part upon the context in which you find the signifier.

So, what do you think red means in these next examples?

Sometimes red is just red.

Mark Rothko

Untitled, 1960

oil on canvas

56 1/8 x 54 1/8 inches

Gerhard Richter, Party, 1963Oil, nails and cord on canvas and newspaper

72 x 60 inches

Jeff KOONS Balloon Dog (Magenta)1994-2000high chromium stainless

Richard SERRA, Torqued Ellipse, 1996

Damien Hirst, The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, 1991

Piece, as installed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC

What are the key signifiers in this piece?

detail of mouth