An audience interprets visual and tactile arts by incorporating the artistic components of color, form, line and texture. Each of these elements could be an iconic representation in that a community establishes a specific association with the art component. Over time, this component represents an aspect of the culture, which establishes the association. An iconic figure originally part of the mindset of a community can be placed in a new reality that the community does not accept as the normal setting for this iconic figure. This placement brings awareness to the community’s consciousness of an aspect within its culture that may need some attention.
For instance, recent evidence has been unearthed which contains common signs and symbols in the weaponry and jewelry found in archaeological sites from both the Celtic and the Magyar regions of ancient Europe. The visual arrangements of these commonplace associations within the framework of jewelry and weaponry comprise iconic figures within a new reality, thus creating an example of iconic realism.
Below, you will see images of a few archaeological finds from these regions that contain similar artistic configurations. (See images below.)
To wrap up this three-part series, through the use of the semiotic theory of iconic realism, artists shape the consciousness of various aspects of culture, including education, history, business, and aesthetics whereby their works of art combine an iconic figure with a realistic setting that communicates an incompatibility with the accepted environment in which the audience commonly associates the iconic figure. Understanding the language presented through the art form, be it literary, visual or aural, the audience may even respond with an emotional resistance, as it perceives the iconic representation in this new realistic setting.
