The Tiny Hand of Samuel Armas

Photo from Google Images

In 1999, Michael Clancy captured on film the little hand of Samuel Armas, held here by Vanderbilt University Hospital surgeon, Dr. Joseph Bruner. The iconic element here is the hand of the human fetus, for it represents life, innocence, complete vulnerability. This is an excellent example of iconic realism in photography, for one would never think that the connection between a 21 week old human in the womb and a surgeon could physically take place in this manner. One cultural dilemma that this photograph reveals is the debate between abortion and the infant's right to life. Moreover, this photograph brings to mind the limitations and possibilities of medical science as well as the beauty in the touch of a human hand. 

Rodin's "The Kiss" and Iconic Realism

Photo of Rodin's The Kiss from Google Images

August Rodin’s The Kiss illustrates an iconic human act of a loving embrace. However, the two individuals do not touch. The significance of this is the key to understanding the iconic realism in this work of art. These two lovers emulate a common, human activity, yet this embrace, sculpted to express lack of physical contact, creates certain dissonance. The message from this careful configuration could be that humanity longs to embrace life fully, as an act of love; however, certain parameters prevent this occurrence. Other possible interpretations may involve a sense of detachment. Regardless of the interpretation, this sculpture exemplifies iconic realism in that there is an iconic structure, placed in a realistic setting that does not conform to the accepting reality of intimacy. Through this juxtaposition, the artist illustrates cultural liberation, an innovation for the era in which it was sculpted.

"Letter from a Birmingham Jail" and Iconic Realism

painting of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by William Rock, Chinese calligraphy by Huang Xiang

The significant "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is another illustration of iconic realism. From behind bars, King wrote this eloquent epistle, begun in the margins of discarded newspapers, then from a borrowed legal notepad. In this piece, he elaborately describes his educated and passionate belief in freedom of speech. Written in April, 1963, he had no access to a computer, nor spellcheck, yet his hand-written expression is clear, coherent, concise, and cohesive, utilizing classical rhetoric to elucidate for his audience the possibilities that could evolve from cultural reform.

To view an excellent rhetorical analysis of this letter, click onto the link below:

Dr. Martin Luther King's "Letter from a Birmingham Jail"

Walt Whitman and Iconic Realism

Adler Planetarium Astronomy Museum, Art Institute of Chicago

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1053/5097973137_718735c9c6.jpg

When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer

by Walt Whitman

When I heard the learn'd astronomer,

When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,

When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide,

and measure them,

When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with

much applause in the lecture-room,

How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,

Till rising and gliding out I wander'd off by myself,

In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,

Look'd up in perfect silence at the stars.

In Walt Whitman's poem, "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer, the speaker leaves an astronomy lecture to step outside the fixed parameters of the building. Subsequently, this individual learns first hand of the beauty when viewing the same firmament of which the lecturer speaks but viewed simply with the naked eye in silence. By leaving the lecture, the speaker, with scientific information gained from the the astronomer's lecture inside, now enjoys the silent beauty with appreciated knowledge, but more importantly, with appreciation of the significance of the stars’ natural condition. 

This poem illustrates iconic realism in that the subject,  constellations in a contrived setting, brings the audience and the speaker in the poem to a recognition that education of natural phenomena includes the experience of the real connection between humanity with nature. 

I warmly thank the Art Institute of Chicago for purchasing a copy of my book, The Theory of Iconic Realism: Understanding the Arts through Cultural Context.

Jeanne D'Arc and Iconic Realism

         

                    

 Joan of Arc's Death at the Stake,                                        http://genzoman.deviantart.com/art/Joan-of-Arc-74526531         

 by Hermann Stilke (1803–1860)                            

     With Halloween and All Saints Day soon arriving,  I thought I'd post on my patron saint, Jeanne D'Arc. I've chosen two images of this saint, a painting and the cover of a video game to illustrate iconic realism.

     Images merge within this painting of Jeanne D’Arc to provide an interpretation that represents the presence of hope that humanity, with all its industry, will recognize the value in the temporal nature of innocence. Interpretation of this work of art may include a variety of perspectives to complement the number of viewers of the specific art. At this moment of perception, then, the artist and the viewer become collaborators.

     Once this cognitive collaboration between artist and viewer occurs, the cultural interpretation begins to transform into a collection of new perspectives, based on the historicity of the viewers. Nicholas Davey states, “Hermeneutic thought articulates the conviction that art does not represent (vorstellen), copy or falsify the given world but allows that which is within the world to present (darstellen) or actualize itself (verwirklichen) more fully.” [1] New perceptions of a creative work shape newly actualized interpretations of the original work of art, which eventually become accepted interpretations of a community. Once the community recognizes these interpretations, the iconic becomes a reality.

     Through the establishment of an iconic figure within the consciousness of the community, an artist can then place this icon in a new reality that the community does not accept as the normal setting for this iconic figure. This placement allows the artist to make a statement that brings awareness to the community’s consciousness of an aspect within its culture that may need some attention.

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[1] Davey, Nicholas. “Hermeneutics and Art Theory.” A Companion to Art Theory. eds. Paul  Smith and Carolyn Wilde. (Oxford: Blackwell, 2002) 149.