Semiotics in Art History

The inclusion and value of ‘external evidence’, information concerning the artist and his interpretation and reasoning of his piece, has frequently been debated by philosophers. Many argue that external evidence should not be considered in the interpretation of a piece of art; better yet, the audience would seemingly benefit from not having any prior knowledge of the artist or his implications. Other theorists counter that while we should not judge a piece with the artist in mind, having some general knowledge does give important insight into the culture that is expressed through the piece.

subject’s action. Many works of his time period were sculptures that were meant to be

In this section Reid make emphasis in the idea of “when the audience changes, your message has to change, sometimes drastically” . Considering that statement at Ringling it would be the level of explanation needed in order to present art work in the best way possible. For example there is a difference between academic work and informative work, the first one applies a technical vocabulary, but for the second it is necessary to present a concrete idea of the artwork. Although academic and informative essays are different in some aspects, both of them share the need of very detailed

Required Text: Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art: A Sourcebook of Artists’ Writings, eds. Kristine Stiles and Peter Selz, University of California Press, 1996.

* Explain ways in which the artist has become the subject of the work. What issues does this raise about the, role of the artist, Subject

1.”semiotics” The study of signs and symbols and how they combine to convey meaning in different social contexts,This branch is mainly concerned with how verbal,non verbal and aural signs and symbols combine to create messages.

Art by its nature is a subject of the philosophical, social, economic, political or religious context surrounding its creator. More often than not, a work of art addresses a specific topic or somewhat revolves around a particular person. Therefore, it is impossible to separate the context of a piece of painting, either historical or cultural, to its intrinsic value or the artwork's meaning. On the other hand, different cultures and time utilized specific conventions that govern the representation of objects of creativity. This essay highlights various pieces of art and their relationship to particular cultural, political, economic, or social settings. Moreover, it pinpoints how different times influence art presentation.

Man Ray like many other artists did not care to have his personal life shown in his art. He wanted to be viewed and recognized for his work which included sculptures, paintings, and photography. Man Ray was mostly influenced by Stieglitz's photographs. Man Ray used a similar style to Stieglitz. He captured images that created an unvarnished look at the photos' subject. Man Ray discovered a new way to create his photos; by accident in his work room he discovered how to manipulate objects in his photos on pieces of photosensitive paper.

Which is more important color or drawing? These two have always been fought over for centuries by Poussiniste and Rubenistes. Two great pieces of art that were created in the 1600’s are Peter Paul Rubens’ The Caledonian Boar Hunt and Nicolas Poussin’s Landscape with Calm. While Rubens argues that color is the most important part of the painting Poussin argues that the drawing is more important. In the paragraphs below I will talk about the paintings each individually and then compare them.

In Grandview Boulevard, completed in 1974 CE, the artist utilizes painterly brushstrokes. The shadows of the trees that are painted dark purple appear to have more painterly aspects than the rest of the composition. From far away, the painting seems smooth and sleek, but up close, the individual thick brushstrokes can be seen. The implied texture of the leaves in the painting is sturdy and prickly, and the texture of the yellowed grass appears to be dry and coarse, however, the actual texture of the painting itself is smooth. The artist also uses both curvilinear and geometric lines. In looking at the trees in the painting, they are composed of primarily geometric lines (excluding the leafy top) that run in a

Semiotics, also known as semiology, is the study of signs, symbols, and signification. Signs and symbols are hidden throughout television shows and movies, especially in crime dramas like NCIS. Shows like this are notorious for having discreet connections between different points of the story.

Art history: a useless pondering over sketches that have little significance to life, at least this is the notion held by many. Delving into art history is a slippery slope that requires more than any one person knows. James F. Cooper and Alan Wallach explore the considerations art historians go through to decipher the relevancy of artworks. However, James F. Cooper’s arguments retro and one-track minded, while Alan Wallach’s arguments on which artworks to pick apart, the methods to attack them, and the reasons people spend so long analyzing a piece of paper are far more relevant to today’s emerging standards.

Semiotics is the study of meaning. There are many aspects that go into developing a semiotic analysis. They include signs, a signifier and signified, codes, opposition, code confusion, intertexuality, paradigms, and syntagyms. Before delving into the analysis, the meaning of each of these terms and their relation to semiotics must be made clear. A sign could be anything that stands for something else. A signifier is the physical object that represents something else, while the signified is the image the object relays. Codes are a set of rules that govern everything. Opposition, or binary opposition, which is used in this analysis, is when two things or people are used as opposites

Benjamin’s death in 1940 at the age of 48, is rumored to be a suicide when the Naza’s took office, but is still a mystery. His ideas and concepts however, would live on for decades to come. Much of what he wrote about when discussing art came essentially after the development of photography and film. In his work, “Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction,” Benjamin addresses his perception of the changes in art and the aesthetic experience congruent with societal changes. He writes with concern of how the great artworks are viewed after the introduction of photography and film. His idea of mechanical reproduction changed the art world as society knew it, particularly in how the public views artwork and the value of that work as more and more people are able to own, view and discuss it. This paper will specifically look at aspects of Benjamin’s groundbreaking essay and how educators can relate his ideas to the practices in their art classrooms.

The basics of Semiotics were laid down by a Swiss linguist, Ferdinand De Saussure (1857-1913). “He used the word to describe a new science which he saw as ‘a science, which studies the life of signs at the heart of social life’ [Saussure cited in Underwood] He considered that a sign had two essential elements: the signifier and the signified. A signifier is any material thing that