History of Art/Meaning
Order Description
“How does meaning come to the image? Where does meaning end?
And if it ends, what is there beyond?”
–Roland Barthes, Rhetoric of the Image
Choose an image to which you respond to strongly (hate/love/etc.). This may be an art historical image, a contemporary pop culture image or anything in between. Use the tools seen in Barthes’ essay to look for a meaning in the image that is not immediately apparent. The other texts we have thus far encountered should also figure in the essay.
Other text we covered are:
Sontag – Against Interpretation
Panofsky – Perspective as a Symbolic form
Barthes – Rhetoric of the Image
The central goals of the essay are:
– To make a clear reading of the image with a view to ideology, style and ?context.
– To substantiate and contextualize the reading you suggest.
– To offer a larger context for the image (through historical and critical sources).
– To lead the viewer through the image in an engaging and informed manner.