ARTAPP 103

Module 5 - Finding Meaning

“There is only one thing in a work of art that is important: it’s that thing you can’t
explain”.
-Georges Braque
OVERVIEW
Even though Braque’s enigmatic quote cloaks works of art in mystery, art, by its nature,
asks questions and holds meaning. It explains ideas, uncovers truths, manifests what is
beautiful and tells stories. It is at once a form of visual expression and non-verbal
communication. Many times an artwork’s meaning, or content, is easy to see . Two
examples are the freshness of an Impressionist landscape painting or the identity
inherent in a portrait photograph. But sometimes the meaning in a work of art is
hidden, deciphered from signposts and clues imbedded in the work by the artist. In this
module we will see how formal properties, subject
matter, context and iconography team up to help interpret meaning in art. Let’s
approach these four terms as different levels of meaning we can examine to get a more
complete understanding of what we are seeing.
OBJECTIVES
Upon successful completion of this module, you should be able to:

 Discuss the meaning of form and content

 Undertake comparative descriptions of form and content
 State the three levels of meaning in world art
 Identify the use of iconography in art
 Define the term "context" and discuss it's role in finding meaning in art
 Describe the role of the critic
 State and explain the six critical perspectives
 Identify, research, integrate and explain visual information concerning artworks and
specific meaning
 way to explain how we have learned to
recognize outlines as contours of a solid
HOW WE SEE: OBJECTIVE & shape. In art for example, this concept
SUBJECTIVE MEANS allows us to draw "space" using only
Up until now we’ve been looking at lines.
artworks through the most immediate of
visual effects: what we see in front of
our eyes. Now we can begin to break THE FIRST LEVEL OF MEANING:
down some barriers to find specific FORMAL
meaning in art, including those of
different styles and cultures. To help in So after we see an object, we can
this journey we need to learn the understand its form: the physical
difference between looking and seeing. attributes of size, shape and mass. With
art, this may at first appear to be simple:
To look is to get an objective overview we can separate out each artistic
of our field of vision. Seeing speaks element and discover how it is used in
more to understanding. When we use the work. You had practice doing this in
the term “I see” we communicate that the last two modules. The importance of
we understand what something means. a formal level of meaning is it allows us
There are some areas of learning, to look at any work of art from an
particularly psychology and biology, that objective view.
help form the basis of understanding
how we see. For example, the fact that The invention of the photograph has
humans perceive flat images as having greatly changed our ideas about what
a "reality" to them is very particular. In looks ‘correct’. A good example of this
contrast, if you show a dog an image of idea can be seen looking at the two
another dog, they neither growl nor wag images below: the first is a digital photo
their tail, because they are unable to of a foggy landscape and the second a
perceive flat images as containing any painting by the color field painter Mark
meaning. So you and I have actually Rothko (click the hyperlink here to view
developed the ability to "see" images. his work).

In essence, there is more to seeing than

meets the eye. We need to take into
account a cultural component in how
we perceive images and that we do so
in subjective ways. Seeing is partly a
result of cultural biases. For example,
when many of us from industrialized
cultures see a parking lot, we can pick
out each car immediately, while others
from remote tribal cultures (who are not
familiar with parking lots) cannot.
Gestalt is the term we use to explain
how the brain forms a whole image from
many component parts. For instance,
the understanding of gestalt is, in part, a
 Veil of Venus. Image: Christopher Gildow

Foggy Landscape. Image: Christopher Gildow

Now you can imagine these memories
reflected in Rothko’s series of abstract
When you compare the two, you ‘color field’ paintings. It’s simplistic to
see that formally they are similar; say this was Rothko’s only influence. As
bands of color spread horizontally an artist he explored painting styles
across the surface in layers. Yet emerging out of Surrealism, including
Rothko’s painting is much more automatic drawing and more
reductive than the photo. The complex mythomorphic techniques. But
space is flat, sitting right on the it’s hard to deny that to some extent his
surface of the canvas, whereas in paintings are based on what he saw.
the photo you get a feeling of Click the link to read more about Mark
receding space as areas of color Rothko .
overlap each other. This similarity In another example of formal similarities,
is not coincidental. As a young man early photographs often used paintings
Rothko lived for in Portland, as reference. We can see this in a
comparison of a nineteenth century
Oregon, and hiked the Cascade
photo of the Acropolis in Athens,
Mountains. On hikes to higher
Greece, and a painting from the series
elevations, he saw the landscape ‘The Course of Empire’ by Thomas Cole
and atmosphere around him and titled “The Consummation”. Both show
was especially moved by the colors commanding views of landscape
in the sky near the horizon just dominated by classic Greek
before sunrise and just after architecture. The photo mimics Cole’s
sunset. This phenomenon is called painting in formal terms, emphasizing
the Veil of Venus: bands of pink, the grandeur of the architecture within a
violet and blue near the horizon vast expanse of space.
directly opposite the setting or Conversely, realist paintings from the
rising sun. Below is an example of 19th century were sometimes ridiculed
this phenomenon. for being too lifelike and not ‘ideal’
enough. Theodore Gericault’s Raft of The ceremonial house was built as
the Medusa is an example. You can a place for spirits to dwell. The
click to enlarge the image and read “A paintings themselves indicate
Hint of Scandal” to the right of it to why abstracted images of faces making
such a realistic, powerful painting could fierce gestures, suns and female
be caught up in controversy. Nowadays genitalia, all in reference to the
people often proclaim that a painting is spirits surrounding the ceremony
good because it looks "just like a
taking place inside.
photograph".
The rise of modern art produced artistic
styles that challenge viewers in finding THE SECOND LEVEL OF MEANING:
meaning in the works they see. The use SUBJECT
of abstraction and gesture as subject
matter runs counter to traditional There are specific categories of ideas
avenues for finding meaning. It is in this that have been represented in art over
formal, gesture-laden approach, time. Many of them are present in some
however, that much of the grace and cultures, but never present in others.
delicacy, as well as power, anger or This disparity gives us another place to
other emotions can be conveyed. In look for meaning when we approach
other words, it is the application of the differences in representation. But
elements that can give us clues to a generally these categories of ideas
work’s meaning. If we take the formal (sometimes called subjects) can also
quality of application (what kind of lines be called a genre of art; that is, a fairly
or shapes are created, how the paint is loose category of images that share the
applied, etc) and combine it with a same content. Here is a brief list of the
specific subject (the act of painting type of genre that you may see in a
itself), you can discover a new meaning work:
from the combination of these visual
effects.  Landscape
 still life
When looked at from this perspective,  portrait
the paintings of the Abstract  self-portrait
Expressionists become more  allegory: representing a mythological
meaningful. In particular, the art of Joan scene or story
 historical: actual representation of a
Mitchell captures the exuberance and
historic event
energy that the application of paint can  religious: two forms: religious
achieve (see Formalist Criticism below). representation or religious action
This bridge between formal  daily life: sometimes also called genre
quality and subject matter can painting
be applied to meaning in works of  nude: male nude and female nude are
art from many cultures. Gesture separate categories
 political: two forms: propaganda and
and pattern combine to enhance
criticism
the meaning of more decorative  social: work created to support a
works like the paintings from specific social cause
a Ceremonial House ceiling from  power: work created to connect to
the Sepik region of New Guinea. specific spiritual strength
 fantasy: work created to invent new the subject matter of a mother and her
visual worlds children to symbolize the hardships
 decoration: work created to embellish faced during the Great Depression. The
surroundings woman’s face speaks of worry and
 abstraction: work whose elements and desperation about how to provide for her
principles are manipulated to alter
children and herself. Comparatively,
the subject in some way.
San Francisco photographer Jim
Thirtyacre’s image Working Mother from
What you will discover when you think
2009 reflects this same sentiment but
about some of these subjects is that you
through the context of the first major
may already have a vision of how this
economic crisis of the twenty first
subject should appear. For example:
century.
visualize a portrait or self-portrait. You
can see the head, probably from the
shoulders up, with little background,
painted fairly accurately. Look at
these portraits and see that this is
moderately true, though some works
may surprise you. Artists often reinvent
how a subject is portrayed (remember
the portraits made from images of DNA
we saw in a previous module). Some
works of art can be part of a certain
genre by using metaphor: one image
that stands for another. A good example
is this quilt by Missouri Pettway from
Gees Bend, Alabama. Made of strips of
old work clothes, corduroy and cotton
sacking material, it becomes a portrait of
the artist’s husband. Missouri's daughter
Arlonzia describes the quilt: "It was
when Daddy died. I was about
seventeen, eighteen. He stayed sick
about eight months and passed on.
Mama say, 'I going to take his work
clothes, shape them into a quilt to
remember him, and cover up under it for
love.'
Dorthea Lange, Migrant Mother, 1936. Photograph.
Contemporary artists sometimes Farm Security Administration collection, U.S. Library
of Congress.
reinterpret artworks from the past. This
can change the context of the work (the
historical or cultural background in
which the original work was created),
but the content remains the same.
Dorothea Lange’s Migrant Mother,
Nipomo Valley from 1936 (below) uses
 THE THIRD LEVEL OF MEANING:
CONTEXT
The craft arts have meaning too,
primarily in the functionality of the art
works themselves, but also in the style
and decorations afforded them.
A goblet from the 16th century has an
aesthetic meaning in its organic form, in
its function as a means to hold and
dispense liquid, and a particular
historical meaning in the way it is
embellished with diamond point
engravings that depict the flow of the
river Rhine (click ‘zoom’ at the bottom of
the image to see the goblet in detail).
The goblet’s detailed map of the Rhine
gives it specific context: the historical,
religious or social issues surrounding a
work of art. These issues not only
influence the way the viewer finds
meaning in particular works of art but
also how the artists themselves create
them.
For instance, the hammered gold mask
Jim Thirtyacre, Working Mother, 2009. Color digital from Peru’s Sican culture below is
image.
simple and symmetrical in form and
striking in its visage. For the Sican
It is important to note that people the mask represented either the
many cultures do not use particular Sican deity from the spiritual world or
genres – portraiture, for example, in their
the lord of Sican, a man who
art. For some cultures the representation
of an actual human face is dangerous and represented the deity in the natural
can call up spirits who will want to live in world. Masks were stacked at the feet of
the image: so their masks , while still the dead lord in his tomb. In this cultural
face-like, are extremely context the masks had significance in
stylized. Traditional Islamic images are the life, death and spiritual worlds of the
forbidden to depict figures and other Sican people.
material objects. In their place artists use
the genre of decoration.
 THE FOURTH LEVEL OF MEANING:
ICONOGRAPHY
At the simplest of
levels, iconography is the containment
of deeper meanings in simple
representations. It makes use of
symbolism to generate narrative, which
in turn develops a work’s meaning.
Each of the objects in this painting has a
specific meaning beyond their imagery
here. In fact, this painting is actually a
Golden Mask, Lambayeque, Sican culture, Peru. C. painted marriage contract designed to
9th century C.E. solidify the agreement between these
Museo Oro del Peru y Armas del Mundo, Lima.
two families .
To view James Rosenquist’s 1. You notice that the bride is pregnant.
painting is to be confronted with a She wasn't at the time of the painting
huge image of a fighter jet overlaid with but this is a symbolic act to represent
images from popular culture, all in bright that she will become fruitful.
colors and seemingly without 2. The little dog at her feet is a symbol of
connection. But when we see the work fidelity, and is often seen with portraits
in the context of American experience in of women paid for by their husbands.
the 1960’s we realize the two-pronged 3. The discarded shoes are often a symbol
of the sanctity of marriage.
visual comment Rosenquist is making
4. The single candle lit in the daylight (look
about war and consumerism; what he at the chandelier) is a symbol of the
termed “a lack of ethical responsibility”* bridal candle, a devotional candle that
(from James Rosenquist, “Painting was to burn all night the first night of the
Below Zero”, Notes on a Life in Art, marriage.
2009, Alfred A. Knopf, page 154) . In 5. The chair back has a carving of St.
the artist’s hands the two ideas literally Margaret, the patron saint of childbirth.
overlap each other: the salon hair dryer 6. The orange on the windowsill and the
and diver’s bubbles mimic the rich clothing are symbols of future
mushroom cloud rising behind the material wealth (in 1434 oranges were
opened umbrella (which is another hand carried from India and very
expensive).
formal link to the nuclear bomb blast
7. The circular mirror at the back reflects
behind it). The painting is at such a both the artist and another man, and the
large scale that viewers are dwarfed by artist's signature says "Jan van Eyck
its overpowering presence . was present", both examples of
witnesses for the betrothal pictured. (We
don't think of this much anymore, but a
promise to marry was a legal
contract). The circular forms around the
mirror are tiny paintings of the Stations
of the Cross.
You can see how densely populated
iconography in imagery can convey
specific hidden meanings. The problem
here is to know what all of this means if
we want to understand the work.
Understanding the context of the work
will help. Another more contemporary
painting with icons imbedded in it
is Grant Wood’s American
Gothic (Links to an external site.) from
the 1930’s. The dower expressions on
the figures’ faces signify the toughness
of a Midwestern American farm couple.
Indeed, one critic complained that the
woman in the painting had a “face that Edward Collier, A Vanitas, 1669, oil on
could sour milk”. Notice how the trees canvas.
and bushes in the painting’s background This item is in the public domain
and the small cameo the woman wears The armor, weapons and medals show
mirror the soft roundness of her face: a focus on military accomplishments.
these traditional symbols of femininity The open book alludes to knowledge
carry throughout the work. In contrast, and in this case, the drawing of a canon
the man’s straight-backed stance is mirrors the overall theme. The globe is a
reflected in the pitchfork he holds, and symbol of both travel and our common
again in the window frames on the existence as earth-bound beings.
house behind him. Even the stitching on Contemporary vanitas paintings could
his overalls mimics the form of the certainly include allusions to air and
pitchfork. The arched window frame at space travel. On the far right of the
the top center of the painting in work, behind the book and in the
particular is a symbol of the gothic shadows, lies a skull, again reminding
architecture style from 12th century us of the shortness of life and the
Europe. inevitability of death.
In addition, a popular genre in painting
from 16th century northern Europe, We can use iconography to find
especially the Netherlands, is known meaning in artworks from popular
as vanitas painting. These still life culture too. The “Golden Arches” mean
paintings are heavily dependant upon fast food, the silhouette of an apple (with
symbolic objects that project the joy and a bite out of it) means a brand of
accomplishments life affords, yet at the computer, a single,
same time remind us of our mortality. sequined glove stands for Michael
Edward Collier’s painting below is a Jackson, the ‘king of pop’ and the artist
good example of how crowded these Andy Warhol’s soup can image forever
could be. links Campbell’s soup with Pop Art .
CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES how we communicate ideas. I often use
the example of the word "cowboy".
From the first forms of art criticism in
ancient Greece, the discussion of In your head: visualize a cowboy: then
meaning in art has taken many describe what you saw. What gender
directions. As we realized in module 2, was your person? What race was this
the professional art critic is one of the person? Now let’s apply those answers
gatekeepers who, through their writing, to historical fact. The fact is upwards of
endorse or reject particular kinds of art, 60% of the historical cowboys in the
whether in style, artistic ability or United States were black slaves freed
message. In fact, a study of the different after the civil war. Did you see your
ways to look at art can tell us much cowboy as white?
about changing times and philosophies:
the role of aesthetics, economics and Your idea of cowboy might have come
other cultural issues have much to do from film, which is an extremely different
with the origin of these philosophical form of reality. The structural idea
positions. Of course, none of them are manifests itself when we look for
completely true but simply different meaning in art based on any
types of discourse. People approach preconceived ideas about it we already
meaning from different perspectives. have in our mind. These preconceptions
The artworks sit silent while all around (or limitations) are shaped by language,
them the voices change. We are at a social interaction and other cultural
time when there are several, sometimes experiences.
greatly conflicting, ways of thinking Deconstructive Criticism goes one
about meaning in art. Here are six step further, and posits that any work of
different perspectives art critics use as art can have many meanings attached
compasses to interpreting meaning: to it, none of which are limited by a
Structural Criticism: We started this particular language or experience
course with a discussion of what outside the work itself. In other words,
art is. That discussion was actually the critic must reveal (deconstruct) the
based on one of the ways to look at art: structured world in order to knock out
what is known as structuralism. any underpinnings of stereotypes,
Structuralism is based on the notion that preconceptions or myths that get in the
our concept of reality is expressed way of true meaning. Taking the
through language and related systems perspective of a deconstructive critic, we
of communication. On a larger scale, would view a portrait of Marilyn
visualize culture as a structure whose Monroe by pop artist Andy Warhol as
foundation is language, speech and an imaginary construct of what is real.
other forms of communication. When As a popular culture icon, Marilyn
this approach is applied to the visual Monroe the movie star was ubiquitous:
arts, the world of art becomes a in film, magazines, television and
collective human construction, where a photographs. But Marilyn Monroe the
single work needs to be judged within person committed suicide in 1962 at the
the framework supported by the whole height of her stardom. In truth, the bright
structure of art. This structure is still lights and celebrity of her Hollywood
based in language and knowledge and persona eclipsed the real Marilyn,
someone who was troubled, confused
and alone. Warhol’s many portraits of art is embedded in a social, economic
her –each one made from the same and political structure that determines its
publicity photograph –perpetuate the final meaning. Born of the writings
myth and cult of celebrity. of Karl Marx , ideological criticism
translates art and artifacts as symbols
Formalist criticism is what we that reflect political ideals and reinforce
engaged in when we looked at the one version of reality over another. A
elements and principles of literal example of this perspective would
art. Formalism doesn't really care about view the Lincoln Memorial in
what goes on outside the actual space Washington, D.C. as a testament to a
of the work, but finds meaning in its use political system that oppressed people
of materials. One of the champions of because of race yet summoned the
the formalist approach was Clement political will to set them free in the
Greenberg. His writing stresses process of ending a Civil War.
“medium specificity”: the notion there is
inherent meaning in the way materials
are used to create the artwork. As is
relates to painting and works on paper,
the result is a focus on the two-
dimensional surface. This is contrary to
its traditional use as a platform for the
illusion of depth. Formalism allows a
more reasoned discussion of abstract
and nonrepresentational art because we
can approach them on their own terms,
where the subject matter becomes the
medium instead of something it
represents. This is a good way to
approach artworks from cultures we are The Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C.
not familiar with, though it has the Photo by Jeff Kubina and licensed
tendency to make them purely through Creative Commons
decorative and devalue any deeper
meaning. It also allows a kind of training In contrast, Ernst Ludwig
in visual seeing, so it is still used in all Kirchner’s painting Franzi in Front
studio arts and art appreciation courses. of a Carved Chair (below) from
1910 is also considered a symbol
Greenberg was a strong defender of the
of artistic (hence, political)
Abstract Expressionist style of painting
freedom. His Expressionist art –
that developed in the United States after
World War 2. He referred to it as “pure with its strong, sometimes
painting” because of its insistence on arbitrary colors and rough
the act of painting, approach to forms, was denounced
eventually releasing it from its ties to by Nazi Germany as being
representation. “degenerate”. The Degenerate Art
Ideological criticism is most Show of 1937 was a way for the
concerned with the relationship between German political establishment to
art and structures of power. It infers that label modern art as something evil
and corrupt. Hitler’s regime was being just as important as any other art.
only interested in heroic, It is in this way that the artist “inside” is
representational and idealistic more important than any other reason
images, something Kirchner was the art happens or the effect the art has.
rebelling against. Kirchner and When discussing Vincent van
other Expressionist artists were Gogh you will often hear people make
marginalized and many of their mention of his mental state more than
his actual artwork, experience, or
works destroyed by the authorities.
career. This is a good example of
psychoanalytic criticism. One of the
problems in this type of criticism is that
the critic is usually discussing issues the
artist themselves may be totally
unaware of (and may deny these issues
exist).
Feminist criticism began in the 1970's
as a response to the neglect of women
artists over time and in historical
writings. This form of criticism is specific
to viewing art as an example of gender
bias in historical western European
culture, and views all work as a
manifestation of this bias. Feminist
criticism created whole movements in
the art world (specifically performance
based art), and has changed over the
last few years to include all
underrepresented groups. Examples of
feminist art include Judy Chicago’s
large-scale installation The Dinner
Party and the work of Nancy Spero .
In reality, all of these critical
perspectives hold some truth. Art is a
multifaceted medium that contains
influences from most all the
characteristics of the culture it was
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Franzi In Front of created in, and some that transcend
A Carved Chair, 1910, oil on canvas, cultural environments. These
Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid perspectives, along with the different
This item is in the public domain levels of meaning we explored in this
module, help us to unravel some of the
Psychoanalytic criticism is the way we mysteries inherent in works of art, and
should look at work if we feel it is only bring us closer to seeing how art
about personal expression. The purest expresses feelings, ideas and
form of this criticism ranks the work of experiences that we all share. In our
untrained and mentally ill artists as search it is important to be aware of all
the issues involved, take aspects of (and context) you’re seeing it in, and
each critical position depending upon make up our own mind.
the work being viewed, the environment