Iconography, Symbolism, and Art History Affects How We Read Art!

Introduction:

The overarching goal of this series is to help “non-art people” learn how to approach and read a work of art. Firstly, I want to introduce you to three important, fundamental concepts: iconography, symbolism, and western art history. It is important to note that while “iconography” and “symbolism” might sound like terms covered in an introductory undergraduate course in aesthetics or art history, these terms are more than scholarly, literary devices—they are deeply ingrained in our culture. We interpret symbols and iconography on a daily basis, from the marketing campaigns to the commercial media we regularly consume. Furthermore, we often interpret these visual elements without our being conscious of it, and much of that has to do with art’s history in the west, specifically how western culture associates meaning with common symbols and images.

While I intend for this series and the topics considered therein to remain accessible to all readers, if you are struggling to read my writings because it is hard to understand, I suggest looking at the resources I put together below (specifically the videos), as these break down the topics being discussed in greater detail.

1. The Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2014, February 4). Iconography Visual Art. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/art/iconography

2. Little Art Talks. “Understanding Art with Iconography | Art Terms | LittleArtTalks.” YouTube, 8 Aug. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rv2_UcSA8bY. Accessed 22 Oct. 2020.

3. Literary Devices of Symbolism In Art. (n.d.). Literary Devices Definition and Examples of Literary Terms. Retrieved September 24, 2020, from https://literarydevices.net/examples-of-symbolism-in-art/

4. Goodbye-Art Academy. “Symbolism Defined - From Goodbye-Art Academy.” YouTube, 23 Sept. 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIkXOhT_BDY. Accessed 21 Oct. 2020.

5. Art History Timeline: Western Art Movements and Their Impact. (n.d.). Invaluable The World's Premier Auctions and Galleries. Retrieved September 24, 2020, from https://www.invaluable.com/blog/art-history-timeline.

6. Little Art Talks. “Art Periods and Art Movements | LittleArtTalks.” YouTube, 31 Dec. 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfX1tvloLNA.

7. Wilson, Matthew. Symbols in Art. Thames and Hudson, 2020.

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For each of the resources listed above, I will provide a brief synopsis; on three of the resources, however, I will provide a more in depth summary and touch on the quantitative and qualitative elements of each text. Such elements are measurements of text complexity that can help educators choose appropriate texts to apply in their classroom. When used throughout this blog, I define these terms according to Wessling’s definitions posed in her video Simplifying Text Complexity : quantitative refers to the parts of a text often measured by a computer (reading grade level, word length, sentence length, etc); qualitative, on the other hand, refers to the text’s humanistic components, often measured by how attentive the reader is to the text. Below are the sources I used to determine qualitative and quantitative measurements for the texts cited throughout this blog:

A) Text Complexity Rubric: Qualitative Measure https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0d3wvcHDk0BWTVuRDJIZ2poU3M/view

B) Wessling, Sarah. “Simplifying Text Complexity.” Online Video Clip. TeachingChannel. Teaching Channel. Web. 19 September 2020.

Iconography:

In my first main source, Iconography Visual Art, the text defines iconography as “the science of identification, description, classification, and interpretation of symbols, themes, and subject matter in the visual arts.” Referring to a specific artwork, “the term can also refer to the artist’s use of this imagery in a particular work.”

The quantitative grade level for the source, according to StoryToolz.com, suggests it is college level of 15.5. The qualitative measurement for the source is considered Extremely Complex, according to the “Text Complexity: Qualitative Measures Rubric.” I agree with the quantitative and qualitative measures of this text, especially since the text goes into such great detail about iconography, tracing its ties to movements throughout western art history. However, as an educator, to make this more accessible to my students, I would include a rudimentary vocabulary list to further break down this source’s definition: identification, classification, interpretation, themes, subject matter, and imagery.

As the purpose of this source is to provide an introduction to iconography as a topic, I would shorten this text for my students because most have not yet been officially embroiled in the world of art history. I desire to get my readers’ “toes a little wet” before going full throttle into reading a work of art.

A great video to better define iconography within the visual art context is by LittleArtTalks. This video is listed as number 2 on my resource list. This is a great resource for students that are struggling to understand how iconography works in a painting or artwork. The video link is below:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rv2_UcSA8bY

Symbols:

Symbolism has two meanings in the art world, which is why it is necessary to bring up my 4th resource from my list. The video, Goodbye Art-Academy, broadly defines symbolism as “when an artist uses a specific object or image to represent something else.” But the video also points out that symbolism can refer to an artist movement, called the Symbolist Movement, that took place from 1860 to 1900. It is important to draw this distinction when discussing an artwork, as an artist can use symbols in a piece but not necessarily be part of the Symbolist Movement. The video below does a great job explaining these distinctions:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIkXOhT_BDY

This source is a bit less complex than the previous source used to introduce iconography. Qualitatively, this source is considered Moderately Complex, and quantitatively, this source has a college level average reading score of 13.1. I disagree that this thirty-seven second video is considered college level material; this video is concise, clear, and even provides visual aids to facilitate its message. However, to help my students further comprehend this source, and to better introduce the topic of symbolism as whole, I would consider clarifying the following terms: symbol, object, image, artistic expression, abstract, representation, and hidden meaning.

Literary Devices of Symbolism In Art—listed as number 3 on my resource list—broadly defines symbolism and provides various visual examples of symbolism in western art history. Symbolism, an aesthetic not unique to poetry or literature, is used “to convey the hidden meaning to the reader or listener. It tells us about artistic expression and represents abstract ideas.” For example, a painter may use symbolism “when he wants to put emotions and ideas in the picture, which we can’t experience with our five senses.” In other words, it is the art of “showing, instead of telling.”

Art History:

My third main text source is Art History Timeline: Western Art Movements and Their Impact (number 5 on my resource list). As you can obviously tell from the title, it is a timeline of various art movements that took place in western culture. The source also provides visual examples of each artistic movement. I am choosing to look at this specific timeline of westernized art because most of my students / blog readers would have encountered at least one westernized artwork at some point in their education. That being said, I cannot emphasize enough that other art histories exist and are precious to art history as a whole.

I would use this text primarily as a visual example of the different art fads and art movements that affected artists throughout westernized history. I wouldn’t ask students to read about all of the art movements up front. Doing this would understandably confuse, bore, and frustrate students. However, I would have students refer back to this reading throughout a class because it touches on so many symbols, topics, philosophies, styles, and themes found throughout western history. It is also a great source to look at on your phone while in an art museum.

The Quantitative grade level of this timeline, according to StoryToolz.com, is college level or 12.5. The Qualitative level, according to “Text Complexity: Qualitative Measures Rubric,” is Extremely Complex. I don’t completely agree that this timeline is college level or extremely complex material, being that its layout is simple and intuitive; however, I do acknowledge that it contains A LOT of definitions and terminology, making it more complex than your average article. Before looking at the timeline, I would discuss with students the following basic terms: artist movement, art period, western art history, art history, fads, and artistic influence.

The Art History Timeline: Western Art Movements and Their Impact resource doesn’t fully explain the difference between an art movement and an art period. This is why the video, my 6th resource on my list, is essential. The video from Little Art Talks, “Art Periods and Art Movements,” adequately goes over these definitions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfX1tvloLNA

My last source (number 7 on my resource list) is a book by Matthew Wilson titled Symbols In Art. This book is simply an encyclopedia of various visual symbols seen in art ranging from different art histories, religions, cultures, and societies. While it isn’t a book from which I would directly instruct, I think it is a great way to give examples of symbols generally found in art. I may ask students in my future classroom to use a symbol from the book in an art project.

Thank you for reading all of this information. I appreciate your effort to read this specific blog post. I know it was a long post and I hope you will read more of my blog going forward.

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