Iconography/Semiotics-long
Edzard Teubert
I apologize for being obtuse. Perhaps the following will clarify a concept.
Some use the term iconography, another place where I found reference to a
similar if not the same concept is in Architecture.....as Semiotics....
for clarification, from Johnny Grey, 'The Hardworking House"...
"I wrote a design manifesto, of which a condensed version was published as
'In Place of Modernism' in 'Design Magazine (1981). It was a modest attempt
to work out my own alternative philosophy to the poverty of the Modern
Movement, which dominated the architectural scene during the [last] decade.
The manifesto was a plea to understand the non-material elements in design.
It incorporated the influence of new academic disciplines such as the study
of semiotics, the idea that all manmade objects are signs or symbols and
bear a wider meaning than just their material content.
I felt comfortable with this. I argued strongly that it should form
the basis of a new vocabulary or form, of language of ornament that could
allow the participation of artists and crafts people, of history and local
cultural tradition in the design and manufacture of objects of everyday
life. These ideas are now old hat. Anti-modernist deviations such as period
features, ethnic styles,individualism and retro-styling are all commonplace
and raise little controversy.Now there is a prevailing tolerance, a
plethora of design influences running through popular taste even among the
more highbrow design elite."
To me this speaks directly of List. In a positive way. Whereas List feels
that a North American/European style is evolving in Bonsai... it stands to
reason that a language/conceptual change must also evolve. What words will
you use in refining your Art?
In this evolution, manmade objects will take on new meanings. Bonsai are
manmade 'recreations of Nature'. Well and good. It was asked what the next
step was for refinement. My comment was that the concept of 'meaning' is
next on the evolutionary curve in Art Development....which determines where
'negative space' will be...
What does the 'Burnt Forest' styling mean? Does it represent 'torched', ..
Thats it. nothing more? Or is it the loss of rain forests. Which then
evolves to meaning... 'no more Ozone'...
In turn, what does the 'Flat Top' styling mean or 'bring to mind'? So
whenever you see a flat top tree... it is the icon/representation,
symbol/semiotic for _________?
Anecdote: A client of mine has a painting I would have traded the
contemplation garden I built.....Some of you may recognize the Icon.
.... An old Chinese man with a hat is sitting under water, on the ocean
floor... Where his hat emerges from the water, it changes to a verdant
green island. So simple, so effective...
The Island is Hong Kong...... iconography is part of art
[recently on list]
Cypress/cryptomeria in a Jpn. garden is pruned to a multiheaded form. This
means harvest and regrowth [to the Japanese] and further, 'hardwon
supremacy over Nature'
...which in turn, when you look at a multiheaded form, it means, forest.
Niwa. the 'essence' of Niwa. A multiheaded cypress
BUT, in Lists bonsai form, cypress/cryptomeria styling remains a
singleheaded apparition. With no recognition that 'to see a
cypress/cryptomeria, is to see a forest' and the iconic form [multiheaded]
is frowned upon,....
...which is in answer to Khaimraj's question... negative space, where?
First we need to design/comprehend the element. then we can decide where
the negative space is, of movement [windswept], of elevation [mountain], of
singleheaded aloneness [Time,..before Man arrived], of multi-trunked
dominance [Time,.. Man's supremacy by cultivation], ... these are all
conveying different messages to the observer.
Zokei,... a moment frozen in Time, [in otherwords a 'dead Bonsai, :-)]
lastly, if a single Bonsai represents a forest, then it would also mean
that a single stone is an icon of mountain, and if a mountain is more
stable than a forest... then if the Bonsai where designed in the shape of a
mountain, it would be a stable Bonsai 'design'...
If this is not clear, please ask, so that I can grasp where the
miscomprehension is......
edzard
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<< What does the 'Burnt Forest' styling mean? Does it represent 'torched', ..
Thats it. nothing more? Or is it the loss of rain forests. Which then
evolves to meaning... 'no more Ozone'...
In turn, what does the 'Flat Top' styling mean or 'bring to mind'? So
whenever you see a flat top tree... it is the icon/representation,
symbol/semiotic for _________?>>
Why does it have to be symbolic of anything, other than a representation of a
tree we have seen in nature. Depending on the overall styling, when I see a
flat-top, I think of a bald cypress or an Acacia. I happen to like the
appearance of these trees, nothing more, nothing less.
Perhaps it is simply a matter of semantics. To me, terms such as icon,
symbol, semiotic invoke thoughts of something (in this case a bonsai) giving
the appearance of an unrelated object (if I understood correctly in this case,
a mountain). Whereas, a word like representation means the bonsai is a
containerized image of a wild tree. It doesn't mean it is a duplication but
more the practioners interpretation.
Rick Choate <RickB...@aol.com>
S-most, Tx