Class 6.1Introduction to Semiotics

Ferdinand de Saussure

Born Geneva, Switzerland, 1857Trained in ancient and modern languages at the University of Geneva and later, the University of Leipzig.Taught in Paris and Geneva.Died in 1913.

FERDINAND DE SAUSSURE

Taught at University of Geneva, during academic years 1906-7, 1908-9, 1910-11.

First published 1916 by a team of students who carefully collated their lecture notes.

Course in General Linguistics

Saussure attacks this older conception of how language works

and proposes a new alternative

Key implications of this shift▪ 1. The sign is arbitrary.

▫ There is no necessary link between a particular set of sounds and the concept it designates.

▫ The sound and concept are united within the confines of a particular language and culture.

▫ In English the rooster says “cock-a-doodle-do”; in French “cocorico”; in German “kikiriki.”

Key implications of this shift▪ 2. The sign creates meaning

differentially, in relation to other signs.

▫ Dog is not cat, not chipmunk, not chocolate chip cookie.

▫ Meaning is context-dependent.

▫ “You dog!” might sometimes refer to a dog, other times to a human.

sign

▪ Sign=signifier + signified

▪ Signifier (discrete visual element)

▪ Signified (meaning)

can be laid out like this:

signifiers: signifieds:

Why are we studying this theory of language in art class? Does this mean visual imagery is like a language?

To some extent, yes.

How do these insights help us to understand the language of visual imagery?Let’s work with an example: the semiotics of the color

red.

What does red mean in this context?

What does red mean in this context?

What does red mean in this context?

Jessica Alba for CampariLimited edition calendar, 2009

There is no simple equation (signifier (red)=signified (x).The signified depends in part upon the context in which you find the signifier.

So, what do you think red means in these next examples?

Mark RothkoUntitled, 1960oil on canvas56 1/8 x 54 1/8 inches

Gerhard Richter, Party, 1963Oil, nails and cord on canvas and newspaper72 x 60 inches

Charles Saunders PEIRCE (“purse”) (1839-1914)American thinker, mathematics, science, logic, semiotics

http://www.iupui.edu/~peirce/

three types of signstypes

• icon: represents the object through some similarity or resemblance

• index: represents the object by being a physical trace of it

• symbol: represents the object by convention (social agreement)

examples• example of icon:

smiley face, representational art

• example of index: fingerprint

• example of symbol:pretty much all of language, in which words have no necessary relationship to the concept they represent

explanation of three of Peirce’s sign types

index: a type of sign that is physically connected to its making

index: a type of sign physically connected to its making

Robert RAUSCHENBERG, Automobile Tire Print, 1953paint on 20 sheets of paper mounted on fabric, 16 1/2 in. x 264 1/2 inches, SFMOMA, © Robert Rauschenberg Foundation / Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY

use of indexical marks in art

Gabriel OROZCOChicotes (Whips)2010installed at the Tate Modern

use of indexical marks in art

Christoph NIEMANN, Coffee, New York Times blog, December 2, 2008

quick review•Saussure:

• it links sounds (or images) with mental concepts• language is arbitrary and culturally bound• terminology

• every sign consists of two parts:• a signifier (pattern of letters, sounds, or forms)• a signified (a set of concepts and associations that

those forms trigger in the viewer's mind

quick review•Peirce ("Purse")

creates terminology for different types of signsthey are differentiated based upon the relationship of the sign to reality

• symbol (all of language): arbitrary relationship to what it represents; to understand you have to know the convention

• icon (would include a lot of imagery): in some way looks like what it represents

• index: is a physical trace of the process that produced it