Hans Christian Andersen's "The Ugly Duckling" and Iconic Realism

Photo of two swans, canoodling on East Lake, Danbury, CT

One of my favorite childhood tales is Hans Christian Andersen's "The Ugly Duckling." In this tale, he introduces the concept of tolerance by the placement of the animal kingdom's icon of grace, the swan, in a home of ducklings, known for awkwardness. The young swan is completely out of place in this environment. Here, Andersen uses iconic realism to illustrate that even though one may experience cruelty and humiliation, when one looks inward and sees God's child returning the gaze, one can realize individual truth, and therefore, discover possibilities associated with self growth. Now, one can make decisions based on talents, skills, knowledge, and individual purpose.  

(Click HERE to view Danny Kaye singing about this tale.)

Bostonian, Mercy Otis Warren, "Muse of the American Revolution"

Mercy Otis Warren, photo from cover of book:

Mercy Otis Warren: The Muse of the American Revolution

Mercy Otis Warren was born in 1728 in Boston, Massachusetts. Her father was a successful businessman and an acquaintance of John Adams and his family and circle of friends. Warren observed the intensity with which her contemporaries had to live in order to receive the dignified respect that any human being would rightly expect to receive. Within her plays and essays, she included the concept of human rights advocacy and relevant themes of independence, juxtaposed with iconic characters and structures to bring awareness to her audience of the need for social and political transformation.

For example, in her 1773 play, The Adulateur, Warren described the issue of individual rights through the speech of her main character, Brutus:

            The change how drear! The sullen ghost of bondage

            Stalks full in view—already with her pinions,

            She shades the affrighted land—the insulting soldiers

            Tread down our choicest rights; while hoodwinked justice

            Drops her scales, and totters from her basis.

            Thus torn with nameless wounds, my bleeding country
            Demands a tear – that tear I’ll freely give her. 


[1] Mercy Otis Warren, The Adulateur, Act I, Scene I, Boston: New Printing Office, 1773.

        

Sydney Owenson's National Tales: Politics and Iconic Realism

The O'Briens and the O'Flahertys by Sydney Owenson (Lady Morgan)

Photo from Google Images

An amazing coincidence exists in the writings of Sydney Owenson and current political possibilities.  

From my book, pages 116-117: 

Owenson utilizes dialectal variations in her national tales, aligning her personal philosophy with both her British and Irish reading audiences. In her national tale, The O’Briens and the O’Flahertys, she incorporates French, Italian and Latin in the dialogue between aristocratic parties, such as Lady Knocklofty, creating a linguistic image of a tray of fondant-covered 'treats, sweet.' Yet, conversations with O’Brien entail elongated monologues that bear some resemblance to political pamphlets, as her character espouses his political determination: 

Now that the whole world is in movement, that nations are alive to their own interests, and reflect on their own affairs, the education, which the public gives to itself, absorbs and neutralizes the instruction prepared for it by governments and hierarchies, whenever the results of both do not coincide. Open or secret, the confederacy to govern by misleading must fail…To govern the age in which we live, ambitious spirits must place themselves at its head; and to control opinion, they must advance it. (The O’Briens and O’Flahertys, p. 233)

Here, she conveys the historicity of her own background as she converses with the audience through her characters’ intellectual dialogue, bringing her readers into the heated debates of issues, which deal primarily with the human struggle for dignity and self-expression. 

Owenson echoes these thoughts in many of her works through the use of iconic realism, placing her characters in iconic roles, and creating situations in which they must interact contrary to the common perception of these individual roles. Often, her aristocratic characters contend with hardships felt by the common man and woman.  Through utilizing coping strategies not normally associated with aristocrats, these characters then learn that their cultural differences can evolve into tolerance. Even their linguistic disparity develops into a semiotic inclusion that Owenson employs to bring about enlightened cultural interpretation and eventual acceptance.

Einstein's Theory of Relativity and Iconic Realism

painting by William Rock, Chinese calligraphy by Huang Xiang

“The eclipse of May 29, 1919 confirmed Einstein’s theory that the light could be bent by the gravitational force of the sun. An English expedition in the area of the eclipse have actually measured the deflexion of starlight from the sun. The data of the expedition was presented to a special joint meeting of the Royal Astronomical Society and the Royal Society of London on November 6, 1919." 

(Dr. Ljubo Vujovic, Secretary General, Tesla Memorial Society of New York)

This scientific event held at the conclusion of WWI illustrates iconic realism in the media. Albert Einstein, an icon of the scientific community, received confirmation of his theory of relativity through data collected by an English expedition. The manner which this event illustrates the theory of iconic realism is the juxtaposition of representatives from Germany and England, countries who were enemies during WWI; yet, they were present at a scientific conference, which led to a united elevation of scientific awareness.

Ironically, twenty years later, this same peace activist urged President Roosevelt to begin research into the production of the atomic bomb as a means to bring a quick end to Nazism and WWII. And we all know the rest of that narrative.

Work cited: 

Vujovic, Dr. Ljubo. Albert Einstein (187901955). Tesla Memorial Society of New York. http://www.teslasociety.com/einstein.htm

Sociolinguistic Style of Sydney Owenson's Writing and Iconic Realism

Sydney Owenson (Lady Morgan)

From both my second book and an ACIS Mid-Atlantic/New England Regional Conference presentation:

Iconic realism is the placement of a realistic and iconic figure juxtaposed to another realistic iconic example to enlighten an audience of the need for cultural transformation. Sydney Owenson (Lady Morgan) uses her personal experience and historical research to demonstrate revolutionary rhetoric through application of character role reversals, class discrepancies, and linguistic variations, all of which illustrate the need for societal transformation within various regions of nineteenth-century Ireland. 

For example, in the preface of her essay entitled, Absenteeism, she highlights the need for both the English and the Irish to be mindful of their patriotic responsibilities: 

“Notwithstanding the intense interest which is felt throughout all England concerning Ireland and Irish affairs, notwithstanding the frequent debates in parliament, and more frequent pamphlets and volumes published on points of Irish politics and economy, the prevailing ignorance on these subjects still operates powerfully in maintaining prejudices the most unfounded and the most fatal, and in retarding those measures of wisdom and of justice without which Ireland can never be happy; or the British Empire secure.” (Absenteeism pp. ix, x)

In this statement, Owenson demonstrates the commonality between the authority, England, and the respective community of Ireland, as she begins with the phrase, ‘notwithstanding the intense interest which is felt…’ She engages in the assertive use of negative phraseology linked with a deferential passive voice to unite the divergent intentions of England and Ireland. 

Her decision to carefully select the grammatical configuration of passive voice hints at her concern over absenteeism and indicates that she is stepping back to show respect for authority while she remains specific in her focus on the negative effect that this course of action has on the Irish citizenry.  She concludes this paragraph with a series of negative phrases that focus on the dire consequences if both Ireland and England do not consider the elimination of cultural bias. 

Through her sociolinguistic style of including Irish language and political tones with her enlightening observations of the English treatment of the Irish, she creates a sense of balance in a revolutionary manner that clashes with various societal levels, using iconic realism to juxtapose history with societal expression to bring about an awareness of the need for societal cohesion. 

Artistic Reception and Iconic Realism: Graffiti

Artistic Reception of the semiotic theory of iconic realism: 

1. The concept of meaning incorporates various levels of audience responses, directed by the artist, who uses literary, artistic, or musical design as a means to reach audience’s  sensory receptors. 

2. These develop into individual interpretations of a work of art and a deeper understanding of the conceptual elements. 

3. Variations of interpretation result from the reader, viewer or listener who responds to the material from disparate historical or social experience. 

4. Thus, the function of semiotic representation is the reflection of the society in which both the artist and the audience reside.

5. When an artist places an icon in a realistic, non-standard setting, the audience takes note, participating with the artist in a way that introduces  awareness of the need for cultural reform. This application is what I have termed, Iconic Realism.

All of above photos from Google Images

Graffiti is an excellent example of iconic realism.  Here, you will see some examples of graffiti found around New York City. If you look closely, you will notice the juxtaposition of iconic ideals with cynicism, reflecting a mind-set present in an inner city truth, painted on the exterior walls of buildings in one of the world's most significant cities, New York City, New York. These art renderings bring into focus significant dichotomies within our society. 

Riders of the MetroNorth train pass by such examples of graffiti on a daily basis, look out their windows, and subconsciously receive these forms of transformative art. This occurs not only in New York City, but globally. 

                                            

Brian Eno's Ambient Music and Iconic Realism (Click here to view and hear video of Eno's Earth, "An Ending")

A photo of a nearby lake at sunset

From my first book on the semiotic theory of iconic realism: 

Some musical composers apply electronically produced music with natural sounds from the environment to provide the audience with a real association, such as wildlife, bodies of water, seasonal sound sources, and weather phenomena. This particular form of musical presentation, known as ambient music, for its affect on the ambience of one’s surroundings, is often recorded for health facilities. 

  

An example of such musical composition is the healing music of composer, Brian Eno, and his 1978 release, Ambient I: Music for Airports. In the liner of this album, Eno writes, “My intention is to produce original pieces ostensibly (but not exclusively) for particular times and situations with a view to building up a small but versatile catalogue of environmental music suited to a wide variety of moods and atmospheres.”[1] This form of incorporating musical sounds with nature provides the added aesthetic of stimulating the senses with a portion of reality to which the audience relates through memory, transporting an individual to an aspect of memory, aligning the audience with the composer’s perception of reality. 

In his musical composition, Earth, An Ending, he provides the audience with a reality that heightens awareness of the possibility of positive cultural change either within an individual or within Earth’s community as a whole.

[1] Eno, Brian. Music for Airports/Ambient 1. Liner notes. PVC 7908 (AMB 001), 1978.