Inconography and Authenticity with Dr Anna Powell
Part 1 Iconography
In relation to the lecture about semiotics, today's lecture with Dr Powell was a two part lecture discussing both iconography and authenticity. For iconography we discussed the definition of it, why it is important for visual designers to have an understanding of how iconographic readings of images work, and how we can apply an understanding of iconography in our own work.
'Iconography is about the rhetoric of images’, that is, it helps us to know ’what images say and what to say about images'. (WJT Mitchell, art historian)
Derived from the Greek words Eikōn (meaning image) and graphia (meaning writing) iconography came into term during the early 17th century. Iconography is the identification, description and the interpretation of a content of images. An example of iconographic symbolism that was shown during the lecture was three images, a dove, a peace symbol and a white flag, the three are commonly interpret a plight for peace. The dove is a more figurative concept whilst the symbol and the flag being abstract, the latter more so.
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Additionally we discussed the term 'Iconology' which is the study of the meaning contained within these iconographic symbols; i.e. the interpretation of the content of images. Iconology looks at more than the face value of the symbol, taking into account its context - both historical and cultural, as well as in relation to the artist or designer's broader oeuvre of work.
Iconography in Byzantine Portraiture
The lecture briefly addressed iconography in a Byzantine portrait. The portrait consisted of a man that was bearded with a lamb slung over his shoulders and holding a cane whilst there is a cross behind him. Personally due to not really knowing about Byzantine portraiture I took the portrait to be religious artwork, in my initial analysis I took the man as a depiction of a shepherd due to the lamb and cane.
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| This was the Byzantine Portrait shown during the lecture. |
Metaphoric Iconography in Advertising
Metaphoric Iconography in advertisement is a common occurrence, an example of this, is the Mitsubishi advertisement below. It portrays the inside of the car advertised as a rhinoceros, with the slogan 'It's more than technology, it's instinct' indicating that the vehicle is considered animalistic and the use of a rhinoceros gives off an impression to the vehicle being strong and sturdy.
Another example is seen with the petroleum and oil company Esso, after the wake of WWII esso used a tiger in their branding with the slogan 'Put a tiger in your tank!' This was to promote that their gasoline would make vehicles performance motors and 'ferocious' like a tiger. Adding animalistic features to machines has always been favoured combination to companies, giving this concept of the machine being alive.
Authenticity and Forgery
Authenticity is to be original. In art, it is the different ways in which a work of art or an artistic performance may be considered authentic. During the lecture we were provided with a list of synonyms and antonyms of the word 'Authentic'
List of synonyms - Unique, Original, True, Real, Genuine
List of Antonyms - Common, Copy, False, Imitation, Counterfeit
Jackson Pollock and his work is a great example of authenticity, Dr Powell stated about, Pollock’s Abstract Expressionism is an example of an artist exploring ideas about removing/distancing the artist’s hand from the processes of his ‘craft’. He dripped paint onto the canvas, not touching it with his brush, creating a physical and metaphorical distance between himself and the finished work.
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| Number 31 by Jackson Pollock |
An interesting point that was raised about authenticity during the lecture was about forgery.
below is a well known painting Johannes Vermeer, the other is a perfect forgery of the painting, what became clear in the lecture is that we didn't know which one was the forgery and which one was the real painting. This then brought up two interesting questions "Is a perfect forgery a less valid example of artistic skill than an original?" and "Is it less authentic than the original?"
It's fascinating to consider forgery as an art form and that there are people who make a living out of forging works of art and selling them.
A documentary called 'Living with Van Gogh' gives us a look inside the world of Chinese 'copy-culture', the workers shown in the documentary were able to create copies of the artwork from artists like Van Gogh, and sell them to people who wanted the paintings because it 'matches the decor of their home'. workers who would specialise in a single painting were able to produce about 50 copies a day, which would then sell for around $80 per painting. The process of how these specialists would create so many in a day consisted of lining the canvases up against a wall and doing each painting one colour at a time, for instance with Van Gogh's flower painting, the specialist would paint all of the yellow and then switch a brush and paint the orange. Buyers of these paintings were interviewed and even they stated that the copies are perfect and almost like the real thing.
Although the world of forgery in art isn't very favoured, the efficiency of these specialists is definitely admirable.
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