Celia Wilson
VISUAL LITERACY
Lecture Three - Making Meaning
DR. TERRY SPEAKE
Agreement:
All that is needed for any language to exist is an agreement amongst a group of people that one thing will stand for another e.g. male and female toilet signs.
Signs:
In order to exchange meanings or concepts, we need a shared language. Language is the second system of representation in the process of constructing meaning.
Roland Barthes:
Suggested that semiology was in fact one part of linguistics. he identified structural relationships in the component of a sign.
His ideas centre on two different levels of signification, connotation and denotation.
The denotive means the literal meaning, a simple literal meaning whereas the connotation is the meaning behind the image - a series of codes reflecting an underlying process of signification within a culture.
For example, a photograph of a red rose would denote that it is a red rose whereas it connotes a symbol of passion and love.
Peirce and Saussure:
Charles Peirce (1839 - 1914) developed a study of signs called semiotics.
Saussure (1857 - 1913) shaped the semiotic approach, which he called semiology. He analysed the sign into two further elements (form and idea or concept).
- The first element is the signifier
- The corresponding concept it triggers is the signified
He argued that signs were members of a system and are defined in relation to the other members in that system.
He also argued that the relationship between signifier and signified, which is fixed by our cultural code, is not always fixed. If meaning changes historically, then we must employ a process of interpretation.
Iconography - Panofsky's three levels of meaning:
A man lifts his hat in greeting:
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First level - he lifts his hat and replaces it, we can interpret this expressively, sensing it is a friendly gesture, use our experiences of everyday life.
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Second level - we understand that when someone lifts their hat, it means more than physically lifting it, it is a form of communication and a symbol of politeness. This is different from the first level because we have to previously know what the action means for us to understand it.
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Third level - Panofsky says we can tell something about the mans personality along with his national, social, educational and cultural background