Gender, Legends and Art Theory

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Gender, Legends and Art Theory

• Vesa Matteo Piludu

University of Helsinki Department of Art Research
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Semiotics

• The term, which was spelled semeiotics (Greek
  s?µe??t????, semeiotikos, an interpreter of
  signs) was first used in English by Henry Stubbes
  (1670, p. 75) in a very precise sense to denote
  the branch of medical science relating to the
  interpretation of signs
• Plato and Aristotle both explored the
  relationship between signs and the world, and
  Augustine considered the nature of the sign
  within a conventional system. More recently,
  Umberto Eco, in his Semiotics and philosophy of
  language, has argued that semiotic theories are
  implicit in the work of most, perhaps all, major
  thinkers.
• Semiotics, semiotic studies, or semiology is the
  study of sign processes (semiosis), or
  signification and communication, signs and
  symbols, both individually and grouped into sign
  systems.
• It includes the study of how meaning is
  constructed and understood.

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The tree souls of Semiotics

• Semantics Relation between signs and the things
  they refer to, their denotata. (icon and meaning)
• Syntactics Relation of signs to each other in
  formal structures
• (systems of symbols, web
  of signification)
• Pragmatics Relation of signs to their impacts on
  those who use them (social, psicological impact)

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Meaning processPierce Triadic system and
Saussure Dyadic system
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Signs Shop
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Anthroposemiotics, Sociosemiotics and Biosemiotics

• This discipline is frequently seen as having
  important anthropological dimensions (Humanistic)
• But it is relevant also for social studies
  (communication, sociology, political studies)
• And the communication of information in living
  organisms is covered in biosemiotics or
  zoosemiosis

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Semiotics in Europe

• In Italy semiotics is strongly connected to
  language, communication, cultural and religious
  studies (Umberto Eco, Omar Calabrese, Augusto
  Ponzio, Massimo Leone and many others)
• In Bulgaria semiotics is linked with advertizing
  studies (New Bulgarian University os Sofia,
  Kristian Bankov)
• In Lithuania there is the relevant Greimas
  Institute
• Estonia (Tartu) is an important center for
  Cultural Semiotic (Juri Lotman) and Biosemiotics
  (Kalevi Kull)

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Semiotics in Helsinki

• In Helsinki semiotic is strongly connected with
  art research and cultural studies
• Musical Semiotic (Eero Tarasti)
• Existential Semiotics (Eero Tarasti)
• Harri Veivo (Semiotic of Literature)
• Dario Martinelli (Biosemiotics, zoomusicology)
• Philosophical Semiotic (Pierce, Mats Bergman)
• Courses on Semiotic of Cinema, Ideologies,
  Performance, Rituals and Dance, Russian theory,
  Barthes, Visual Semiotics

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English Couses on Semiotics

• http//www.helsinki.fi/taitu/english/semiotics.htm

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Semiotic in Finland

• Rovaniemi (Media)
• Tampere (Theatre)
• Turku
• Imatra
• Network University of SemioticsVirastokatu 1
  (Cultural Centre)55100 IMATRAtel. 358 20 617
  6700, 358 20 617 6639
• http//www.semiotics.fi/en/

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Semiotic communication

• Social and cultural Contexts
• Adresser (sender of message)
• Message (communicative act based on a system of
  signs and on a code)
• Code (language, visual, musical code)
• Sign or signs (Icon)
• Meaning of the sign
• Adressee (receiver of the message)
• Communication I he/she, I-I (self reflection),
  we-they (ethnic), mass communication (media)
• The communication defines not only the signs and
  their role, but also the identities of the
  adresser and the adressee (Lotman, Bachtin)

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Cultural Change

• If the Social and Cultural Context changes
• the Icons (symbols myths, coat of arms,
  monuments) generally survive (memory of signs)
• But the meaning of the signs, and the
  communicative acts in wich the signs are used
  could change
• Semiotic deals with the dynamic aspects of
  signification
• Bauters, Merja Changes in Beer Labels and their
  Meaning A Holistic Approach to the Semiosic
  Process (Phd thesis)

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Semiosphere - artistic production in a
communicative frameworkd

• Cultural contest (Christianity)
• Artistic contest (Renaissance)
• Sender (artist) Message (painting) Receivers
• (general pubblic,
• Web of symbols commissioners,
• scholars, interpreters)
• Code (language)
• (painting)

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Symbols, meaning

• Difference between the symbol (signifier) and the
  meaning of the symbol (significans)
• Certain symbols have an enormous capacity of
  resistence (conservativism of symbols)
• The same symbol can have different meanings in
  different cultural contests (cultural relativism)
• If the coultural contest changes, the
  interpretation of the symbol could changes
  (symbolic dynamic)
• Juri Lotman

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Late Ervin Goffmann

• We cal learn about expectation about sex roles by
  looking at the signifiers (symbols) itself
• Focus on details, on the visual symbols
• In visual arts interesting variables as
• Energy and passivity
• dominance and subordination
• Childishness and maturity
• Sexuality and death
• Peace and war