Question

1. How does a viewer discover the content of an artwork?

2. What are the of meaning of the terms icon and iconography?

3. Pablo Picasso used both the bull and the Minotaur repeatedly to symbolize aspects of himself or as a historical reference. What would be an icon you would use for yourself?

Answer 1

• 1.In art and art criticism, form and content are considered distinct aspects of a work of art. The term form refers to the work's style, techniques and media used, and how the elements of design are implemented. Content, on the other hand, refers to a work's subject matter, or what is being depicted.
• To interpret the content of any artwork,like for example,a painting,is all about how we respond in thoughts and feelings to what we see and experience,and to make sense of our responses by putting them into words.
• When we look at an artwork,we experience a range of emotions which could be vague but if as a viewer we make the effort of transofrming those thoughts into well articulated thoughts and identified feelings then only we would be able to understand the content of the artwork.
• To interpret the content,it needs to make sense to the viewer and they need to connect with it,representing some emotion or event in one's life.Meaningful connection is important to understand the content.
• 2.Iconography,literally, the "writing of images" , refers both to the content, or subject of an artwork, and to the study of content in art. By extension, it also includes the study of symbols, images that stand for other images or encapsulate ideas.
• For example in Christian religious painting there is an iconography of images such as the lamb which represents Christ, or the dove which represents the Holy Spirit. In the iconography of classical myth however, the presence of a dove would suggest that any woman also present would be the goddess Aphrodite or Venus, so the meanings of particular images can depend on context.
• The term comes from the Greek word ikon meaning image. An icon was originally a picture of Christ on a panel used as an object of devotion in the orthodox Greek Church from at least the seventh century on. Hence the term icon has come to be attached to any object or image that is outstanding or has a special meaning attached to it.
• As a symbol, an icon represents or suggests something, or, in other words, it's what we use to convey our particular message, within the system of ideas in which we operate.
• Due to time limit,remaining questions can be asked as another question,they will be answered,thankyou for your cooperation