Our everyday lives are bombarded by images and in a majority of cases what we see is not really the end of the story, it is what we perceive of the seen object that really tells us the story. People who suffer from a form of visual agnosia (called propagnosia – a condition associated with deficits in the right temporal lobe damage manifesting an inability to consciously recognize faces) suffer a remarkable problem in not being able to cognitively distil the details that they ‘see’ in every day life and hence perceive even the most mundane items to be things completely different. Famous among this is the case of Dr. P from Oliver Sachs’s book “The Man who mistook his wife for a Hat and other clinical tales” who actually mistook his wife for a hat and proceeded to wear ‘her’ and even mistook the author of the book for a grandfather clock. The man clearly perceived the world to be something completely different from what the rest of us saw and experienced as reality. Cases of perception being different from reality are also seen in religious symbols. I remember being in India at the time when stone idols of a Hindu god was purportedly drinking milk offered by devotees. I also remember reading the news where enterprising people saw images of their holy representatives on grilled cheese sandwiches. I also know that the same grilled cheese sandwich has been bought on e-bay for thousands of dollars. In fact Wikipedia has an interesting collection of such religious simulacra here. Reading reports of grilled cheese sandwiches and the like prompted me to create the following painting as a commentary on this phenomenon.
“Mugshots on grilled cheese sandwiches – new trends in religiosity” : Oil on canvas (3ft X 4ft)
How often do you use symbolism in your art? How do you manifest your art with a deeper agenda than what is outwardly seen and how often do people actually understand the symbology employed? How often do you have to explain your symbols with a descriptive title rather than the art ‘speak for itself’’?
Great picture!
Sunil, the pink skin of your person made me laugh. I suppose this is the way that Jesus Christ is portrayed in the Western World. In actuality, one would expect him to have had a nice tan from walking in the middle eastern sun. His impressively high, pink forehead makes him look more like a North European philosopher than a Middle Eastern Messiah.
I debated the skin for quite some time before settling on this. Not too sure why I actually settled on this, but it seemed to fit in well…
Yes, you are right, he must have had a ruddy tan back then…
I think of our brains in general and vision in particular as working by searching for patterns, stored representations that are on different levels of specificity, like face, man’s face, Jesus’s face, etc. We’re driven to look for these unconsciously, and what we’re likely to see depends on our past experience, our stored patterns. It’s not surprising that if you’re looking for it, sooner or later you’ll see a crude version of a given symbol in some random phenomenon.
I don’t directly use this kind of symbolism, but I’m very interested in how people’s perceptions of more abstract work (like my weathered auto paint) are affected by the existence of such cultural patterns. Sometimes it’s a major problem, as when David saw a chocolate chip cookie in my winter streamscape.
Wonderful work! It’s a shame that sooo many problems start from the brain. I have often been reminded of the answers to the questions you asked so here I go…..
1)How often do you use symbolism in your art? If you are speaking of symbols that are already meaningful to many. Not often… EVERYTIME I paint the shapes that I put into my work are symbolic to me and what I have been through though.
2)How do you manifest your art with a deeper agenda than what is outwardly seen?
That is not an easy question to answer. I don’t know how to describe that exactly. Painting my emotions, just comes out while listening to music. There I know I can be free.
3)How often do people actually understand the symbology employed?If it is before I explain it to them, it’s not often.They tend to understand and see what I do after I have explained it to them though.
4)How often do you have to explain your symbols with a descriptive title rather than the art ‘speak for itself? Almost everytime.
:) Thanks for your asking these sunil!
I agree wonderful questions and they inspire me to examine my photography and more importantly my intensions. Perhaps because I’m such a novice ..but it is more difficult for me with photography in the use of symbols.
Angela,
I have the same issue when you mention “They tend to understand and see what I do after I have explained it to them though.” – And I sometimes find myself fighting dogmas that say that ‘the art should speak for itself and you should not be giving explanations.
Another issue that I have is that it is often very difficult for the art to speak for itself when you are trying to send a message with just painting a human face (which is what I typically experiment in my current phase)… – in this case after I have explained the intent behind the face, people go on and say – “a-ha now it makes so much sense”.. Often times I have to resort to putting in a descriptive title for my art to speak for itself – and that too flies in the face of some purists… It is good to hear similar perspectives like yours…
Thank you
Ginger,
Today’s (March 27th, 07) post by Steve Durbin tackles just this issue – abstract representations in photography… – a subject that in my view is only slowly gaining steam.
Sunil,
I suppose I am a Purist but I also believe that Text can be a very useful directive.
Here, though, I get lost from the beginning and never recover: Mugshot (it is not a mugshot), Grilled Cheese (oil paint, right?), New Trends in Religiosity (?). And then there are: Use of Technology (Contemporary?), Color Selections (Pink?), Flatness (Neck?), Classic Christ-Pose Issues, and whatever that Something is in the bottom left corner (Tilted? Bowing Christ?).
D,
I guess I did go a little overboard on that title… but here goes
-Mugshot?: This is my version of a mugshot.
-Grilled Cheese?: Again, a representation of grilled cheese that does not strive to mirror reality.
-Pink?: Reflects perception of a majority of people in a “white Jesus”. Since people looking at grilled cheese sandwiches can see whatever they want, a pink Jesus could not be too far away in their delirium
-Flatness (Neck)?: I wanted his face to project out while the neck remain plated two dimensionally on the grilled cheese
-Bowing Christ?: Not too sure if it is your perception or my painting. Anyways, it was meant to be his shoulder…
Hi Sunil.
Thanks for the follow-up.
– Does Mugshot carry the criminal element?
– The orange-yellow is melted cheese (Velvetta?)?
– Pink is to make him more White?
– “I wanted his face to project out while the neck remain plated two dimensionally on the grilled cheese.” This is wonderful and crazy. It is all I need!
– Bowing Christ? I was referring to the lower corner on the other side. It makes Christ look like he is leaning forward, a bit.
D,
No, Mugshot does not carry any criminal amount. In fact you may be missing the whole point – the painting shows what people perceive on their toasted cheese sandwiches… In this case Jesus was the symbol they perceived…
Hello, i am a 15 year old art student and i’m currently half way through my GCSE. I specialise in painting and am therefore very interested in the use of symbols and shapes in art. Sometimes though, i feel that these are used without realising it!
1)How often do you use symbolism in your art? quite often when i’m painting about myself. Different things have meanings and whether you intended them to at first. They remain there in your mind.
2)How do you manifest your art with a deeper agenda than what is outwardly seen?
I like to work on fairly large scales, because i feel that then the piece works on two levels: up close and from far away. From far away you get the basic idea of the form and subject, but from close up you can see the detail and importance placed on each brush stroke
3)How often do people actually understand the symbology employed? At first glance – Never! But if it’s explained to them in a piece of writing or even a brief verbal description they soon can see why i have done things. I think symbols are very personal and although there are commonly used art symbols, sometimes without a very diverse knowledge – even these are difficult to spot.
4)How often do you have to explain your symbols with a descriptive title rather than the art ‘speak for itself? I like to leave the title to be symbolic and interesting too, but i will always do a piece of writing to go with the art – a sort of background of the painting. I feel this helps people to understand what you were thinking when the painting developed. My style does not always offer straightforward understanding.
Thanks a lot, i dont know if what i just said is at all useful to you but it actually inspired me quite a bit:)
Rob,
Thanks for contributing to this discussion. It prompted me to wonder just how specifically the word “symbol” is defined. My handiest dictionary has it as “Something that represents something else by association, resemblance, or convention.” Taken so broadly, it seems that symbolism plays a role in any art that we appreciate as richer than just the thing in itself.
I know an artist who has, I think in a largely but not totally conscious way, developed a whole personal symbology around a prime subject of hers, trees that are often isolated and/or bare of leaves. You probably have some immediate associations with that already, but it becomes more complicated and interesting with many signs of life brought in, like birds or idiosyncratic objects, and many contacts and relations among trees and branches. I think much of what you said would apply for her, also.
That sounds really interesting, Steve. I’m doing a piece on myself and i’m trying to find the right symbology to use. It’s a self portrait that’s realisic from far away, but if you get up close you can see the detail and many things that represent me. In the right eye of the portrait i’m thinking of placing a symbol. Some form of inkeeping object that will stand out as important to me. I’ve done a little questionnaire to find out what words represent me and people have come up with:
unique, creative, singing, talented, artistic, different and colourful.
does anybody know of any symbols that i could associate with these words?
thanks a lot
Rob
Rob:
How about that cut diamond in profile that you see on virtually every jewelry store sign?
Rob,
I would hesitate to suggest anything, because such a significant thing has to come from you. Of course, anything I could suggest or you could use will have been used by someone before, anyway. The point is to make it your own by the way you actually, physically paint it. I can come up with lots of things I think of in association with those words: a colorful bird in song; a silken cloth draped on the breeze; a flowering vine growing in the woods; an elegant crystal springing from the rock; and so on. Perhaps some are more conventional, but in all cases they work (or don’t) by the way they are painted, the precise shapes and colors that are used. Whatever you choose becomes the symbol you’re looking for. If I were trying to select a personal symbol as you are, I would consider all kinds of objects that come to eye or to mind, and imagine applying those adjectives, and try to feel what seems right for me. Then see what I come up with painting it. Happy hunting!
Jay,
Just saw your comment when I posted mine. Interesting we both thought of gems, even though I found it slightly surprising when it occurred to me. I wonder what others would come up with. ???
Yes, thanks. I’ve been looking into some basic ideas, but i was a bit overwhelmed by the choice of adjectives and symbols associated with them. I really like that gem idea but, as Steve said i need to use a method of trial and error in order to see what will work. Thanks for your help, and if anybody thinks of any more such as the gems i would be really interested to hear them.
By the way – Jay, what did you mean by the “cut diamond that appears on store signs?” i’m intrigued ;)
cheers
Rob
Rob:
I would imagine that a quick perusal of your yellow pages will unearth, in the jewelers’ section, any number of ads featuring the image of a diamond seen in cross section. It is to the jeweler what the three hanging balls are to the pawn shop.
i’ve got it! a fragment of mirror to symbolise self awareness that is the shape of a diamond to signify uniqueness and it is placed in the eye to look like the reflective piece of light..
thanks for the inspiration
Rob