2. Charles Saunders PEIRCE (“purse”) (1839-1914)
American thinker, mathematics, science, logic, semiotics
http://www.iupui.edu/~peirce/
3. three types of signs
types
icon: represents the object
through some similarity or
resemblance
index: represents the
object by being a physical
trace of it
symbol: represents the
object by convention
(social agreement)
examples
example of icon: smiley
face, representational art
example of index:
fingerprint
example of symbol:
pretty much all of language, in
which words have no necessary
relationship to the concept they
represent
11. Ferdinand de Saussure
Born Geneva, Switzerland, 1857
Trained in ancient and modern languages at the University of Geneva and later, the University of
Leipzig.
Taught in Paris and Geneva.
Died in 1913.
FERDINAND DE SAUSSURE
12. Taught at University of Geneva, during
academic years 1906-7, 1908-9, 1910-
11.
First published 1916 by a team of
students who carefully collated their
lecture notes.
Course in General Linguistics
16. Key implications of this
shift
1.The sign is arbitrary.
There is no necessary link between a particular set
of sounds and the concept it designates.
The sound and concept are united within the
confines of a particular language and culture.
In English the rooster says “cock-a-doodle-do”; in
French “cocorico”; in German “kikiriki.”
17. Key implications of this
shift
2.The sign creates meaning differentially, in
relation to other signs.
Dog is not cat, not chipmunk, not chocolate chip
cookie.
Meaning is context-dependent.
“You dog!” might sometimes refer to a dog, other
times to a human.
18. Why are we studying this
theory of language in art
class? Does this mean visual
imagery is like a language?
To some extent, yes.
19. How do these insights help us
to understand the language of
visual imagery?
Let’s work with an example: the semiotics of the
color red.
