layers to symbols
When dealing with symbols one needs to
keep in mind that there are at least three basic
layers to each symbol. These layers are (1) human,
(2) cultural and (3) personal.
Throughout human history a certain connotation becomes
built up around a symbol. This meaning is associated
directly with nature and primitive feelings. For example,
take the apple. A simple symbol. Strip away everything
else and you are left with food grown from a seed. The
apple is often associated with fruitfulness (of nature
or even a woman's womb). The apple is also linked with
harvest and fall (the time the fruit is collected).
The human layer to a symbol crosses the boundaries of
culture, which is why it is associated with primitive
second layer is dependent upon the culture being
studied. Obviously a Western interpretation would differ
from an Eastern and etc. Culture also includes a time
reference. Let's take the apple once again. For a Western
medieval Christian reference (that's three layers within
this "cultural" ONE), the apple is a symbol
of man's fall from grace. Now to show the cultural time
difference, look at the apple in the modern computerized
technological world. The marketing blitz that established
MacIntosh computers also firmly linked the image of
an apple to the product in the minds of modern day consumers.
third layer to symbols is the personal reaction.
Your reaction to the apple itself can be very personal
(and can be absolutely mixed in with the cultural layer).
One who is allergic to apples would have spent their
whole life avoiding the fruit and this would color their
interpretation. To this person, the apple symbolizes
illness at the minimum, death at the extreme. This is
(of course) an oversimplification of a personal reaction
but I think you get the point <g>.
one cannot control all reactions to a symbol when trying
to put together a work of art. One can however, be aware
of this, and use this knowledge to make the piece more
effective. Knowledge of the layers of meaning can be
used for many different effects (similar to layering
different colors of paint). They are all tools in the
hands of the artist :)
© Chris Eisenbraun; Feb. 5, 2001
revised: Aug. 24, 2003.