Iconic Realism and Cultural Hybridism: Sydney Owenson, Imre Madach, and Arthur Griffith:

  


Below is an abstract from my paper presented at the New England Conference for Irish Studies Regional Meeting, held at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, MA: 

Sydney Owenson's and Imre Madach’s use of iconic realism in their writings explore cultural hybridism in nineteenth century Ireland and Hungary. In her 1840 book, Woman and Her Master, Sydney Owenson makes the following observation: 

Society has become complicated more rapidly than philosophy and legislation can follow; the actions of man upon man, and those of the species upon nature, have multiplied faster than observation can co-ordinate, or reason control; until a positive advance has assumed the appearance of a relative retrogradation. (WHM, p. 15)

Through her national tales, Owenson presents characters entwined with Irish political history, that illustrate strength in cultural identity. 

Likewise, Imre Madach, the nineteenth century Hungarian poet-playwright, questions societal expectations in his dramatic representation, The Tragedy of Man. Madach moves his audience through a journey of social outcry against parochialism in his depictions of Adam, Eve and Lucifer, entangled in episodic adventures that transcend historical boundaries through radical, textual dissent against the provincial establishment.  Madach deliberately places Adam and Eve in opposition to Lucifer to illustrate that by confronting distraction and authority, one engages in a journey of self worth by gaining key elements of self-knowledge.

In his 1918 book, The Resurrection of Hungary, Arthur Griffith writes, “Ireland’s heroic and long-enduring resistances to the destruction of her independent nationality were themes the writers of Young Hungary dwelt upon to enkindle and make resolute the Magyar people” (xxiv). Griffith’s association of Ireland and Hungary illustrates that writers, such as Madach and Owenson, living within the parochial constraints of both of these countries, use the power of the dissonant pen to motivate their readers to understand cultural hybridism and consider positive cultural transformation.

Saint Teresa of Calcutta and Iconic Realism

Saint Teresa of Calcutta, photo from Google Images

After reading an older article about Saint Teresa of Calcutta, I realized that her selfless acts of love among the diseased and poverty stricken exemplify iconic realism. As a Catholic nun, she epitomized the concept of purity in mind and body. Yet, there she was, providing comfort to a population from which many would rather turn away. Through her presence in this challenging setting, she demonstrated the necessity for and beauty of human compassion. 

Her memorial day is September 5. 

One of my favorite quotes from this brilliant woman is as follows: 

"We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.”

'Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress' by Dai Sijie and Iconic Realism

The novella, Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie presents teenage students, who taste all that is forbidden in a 're-education' camp in the remote hills of China during the Chinese cultural revolution of the 1970's: music, literature, love, and freedom. Dai Sijie writes this beautiful tale as both a novella and a screenplay. Placing the intensive longing for education in a communist environment where knowledge was prohibited, he illustrates through the use of iconic realism that creativity and the hunger for knowledge of self and the world perseveres within the human spirit.  

Wisdom from Saint Seraphim of Sarov and the Great Outdoors

Saint Seraphim of Sarov, monument in Kurskaya Oblast, Russia.

I've always enjoyed observing and interacting with the wildlife that surround me. I whistle with the birds, hoot with the owls, clear dead leaves, branches, and twigs for the sprouting flowers and other vegetation, readying them for the bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds soon to arrive. Each season can be a joyful time of the year.

Through the wisdom of Saint Seraphim of Sarov, we can learn to live in harmony with the world around us by observing the creatures who share our Earthly experience with us. As far as iconic realism goes, we humans, who have been blessed with spirit and the ability to discern life with a high level of intelligence, can learn how to live well from the 'lesser,' yet often wiser, creatures as we appreciate the outdoors, juxtaposed with the homes of the wildlife.  

His feast day is January 2. To learn more about Saint Seraphim, click HERE .

Words of Wisdom from Saint Seraphim of Sarov

Drink water from the spring where horses drink. The horse will never drink bad water.

Lay your bed where the cat sleeps.

Eat the fruit that has been touched by a worm.

Boldly pick the mushroom on which the insects sit.

Plant the tree where the mole digs.

Build your house where the snake sits to warm itself.

Dig your fountain where the birds hide from heat.

Go to sleep and wake up at the same time with the birds – you will reap all of the day's golden grains.

Eat more green – you will have strong legs and a resistant heart, like the beings of the forest.

Swim often and you will feel on earth like the fish in the water.

Look at the sky as often as possible and your thoughts will become light and clear.

Be quiet a lot, speak little – and silence will come into your heart, and your spirit will be calm and filled with peace.

Sydney Owenson's Application of the Semiotic Theory of Iconic Realism

My Book

 

The following is from the first chapter of my book: 

Woven from the threads of disenfranchisement and enchantment, Owenson's writing captures the semiotic essence of the philosophically and politically inspired Romantic era, in which the grand is intentionally written to be grander in terms of style, topics and themes, where literary characterizations align with political forces to challenge the core of that which comprises a civil society.

The field of semiotics defines the significance of meaning in terms of its relative interpretations by Owenson’s audiences. Based on its historical and philosophical frames of reference, an audience assigns a variety of interpretations to any piece of literature. As Mario J. Valdés asserts, “The meaning we construe to any statement or any text is tentative; indeterminacy is controlled by a system of signs we accept as determinate in order to establish a temporary identity to the text.” [1]

In alignment with this thought, Owenson’s readers interact with her as author and interpret the material independently of each other, yet in a way that is inclusive of the history and culture of all parties. These inclusive qualities of specific communities comprise the basis for the establishment of certain elements to be identified as iconic.

Iconic representation of literature within any community develops from that community’s awareness of the connection between the writer’s endeavour and human consciousness. When the community understands that each writer is contributing to the possible transformation of thought, fresh ideas offer the possibility for growth in the potential for change. 

Reform occurs when the community also understands the historicity of the artists’ renderings in correlation with the current status of the community’s mind-set. Eventually, the cultures within a community, inclusive of the writers and those who comprise the audience, form a semiotic alliance that incorporates the language, philosophy, and history of the culture. Once these elements align, a tolerance emerges that provides opportunity for innovation.... (pp.18-19)

[1] Mario Valdés,  Hermeneutics of Poetic Sense: Critical Studies of Literature, Cinema, and Cultural History (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998) p.15.

Iconic Realism and Commercial Use

(Image from Google Images)

A few years ago, I had viewed a TV commercial for a national American bank. The ad began with footage of an adorable, well-fed, happy baby, followed by a series of events that could affect this baby during his/her lifetime, placing the iconic image of innocence juxtaposed with the risks of adult decisions, bringing the audience to the recognition that their savings would earn wonderful dividends if placed in this bank. 

In another commercial, a hybrid automobile is placed in the middle of a lush, wooded glen. Little by little, the writers narrate the environmental benefits of owning this car. Again, the placement of an icon for modern society in the middle of the natural environment makes a statement about the cultural movement for earthly stewardship (as well as the adaptability of that particular car to a variety of terrains).  

However, they never mentioned the cost of maintaining such a vehicle. Hmmm... food for thought in another commercial perhaps...

Indeed, the use of iconic realism is a creative means to sell a product!

James Joyce's 'Ulysses' Character, Molly Bloom, and Iconic Realism

The Character of Molly Bloom in James Joyce's Ulysses

I took this photo of actors in Dublin on a June 16th, re-enacting James Joyce's Ulysses.

In James Joyce's Ulysses, he illustrates the semiotic theory of iconic realism through the character, Molly Bloom, placing her in 1904 Dublin, to inform his reading public that there is a need for cultural transformation regarding English Common Law. 

Below is an excerpt from my book on this example of the semiotic theory of iconic realism, pages 93-94. 

Those who have read the final chapter of Ulysses will recognize my added little tribute, which is not in my book. Yes 

 

Yes, James Joyce uses outspoken behavior by Molly to reveal his personal, hopeful desire for Ireland, one that seeks to declare independence from the established English Common law. This law states that ‘a husband was responsible…for the behavior and ‘discipline’ of his wife and had the right, for due cause, to chastise his wife with a stick as thick as the thumb.’^[1] Because Joyce grew up amid this turbulent gender reconfiguration during the late nineteenth century, the residue of the strict, Victorian regulations of female behavior appear within his characterizations. Molly is exotic, born of a British lieutenant and a Spanish Jewess and has a normal childhood, which is highly unlikely, as this type of mixed marriage is not one, which would have survived well in the late nineteenth century. 

 

Yes, she moves to the mainland Ireland, where she meets and marries a man who is Irish-Hungarian. Joyce places Molly’s birthday on the same day as the Virgin Mary’s recognized birth date by the Catholic Church, September 8. However, Molly becomes the antitheses of the Virgin Mary, pure of sin, for she is powerful in her earthly relationships and lacks the spiritual elevation associated with the Blessed Mother. Obviously, no matter how hard he tries, Joyce cannot dissociate himself from the teachings of his Catholic faith. Several times during her soliloquy, Molly references Catholic traditions, such as saying the ‘Hail Mary’ prayer.

 

Yes, Joyce illustrates iconic realism through the character of Molly as a female representative of the defiant nature of an Ireland in the growing industrial age. She embodies the elements of Victorian womanhood: beauty, talent, motherhood, faith, struggle, and even scandal, yet she also explores the social and emotional complexities with which women must deal during this era. Indeed, Joyce’s depiction of iconic Molly Bloom, placed in an iconic Dublin, Ireland of 1904, brings attention to his audience of the need for cultural change. Yes

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^[1] Henke, Suzette and Elain Unkeless (eds), Women in Joyce (Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1982). p. 120.

 

James Joyce's 'Ulysses,' Winds of War, and Iconic Realism

Winds photo from Google Images

Inhaling and expelling of air exists in James Joyce's Ulysses chapter, Scylla and Charybdis, with the obnoxious expelling of high verbiage between Stephen Daedalus and the other scholars. Here, Joyce employs the use of linguistic empowerment of those who 'have' against those who 'have not'…or very little. Joyce, through Stephen, refers to those who do not understand the human spirit as the ‘vegetable world.’ He decides to stay firmly planted in the present, as Harry Blamires states, “through which all future plunges to the past” (Blamires 77). Here, Joyce reveals an interesting foreshadowing of worldly events with which only the current reader can relate, for within 25 years of his writing of Ulysses, the world will revisit Joyce’s own recent experience with WWI through WWII. 

How does this foreshadowing illustrate iconic realism? Joyce reveals highly intellectual ideas through intelligent characters who have issues communicating with those less intellectual, in other words, those who may view their world with a more common sense approach. Through this juxtaposition, Joyce actually pokes fun at the 'highly educated' as a group of snobs who have trouble relating to the majority of society. Ulysses was written between WWI and WWII, and much miscommunication was occurring in the higher echelons of governments worldwide. Joyce breathes his own consciousness through Bloom’s passages through time. He creates his personal ‘winds of war’ as he journeys through the dissonant aspects of his life between the dates, 1918-1920 and thus presents his own mental and emotional transformation. 

Blamires, Harry, The New Bloomsday Book: A Guide through Ulysses, Routledge, New York: 1997.

Happy Flag Day, 14th of June

Happy Flag Day! 

See the history of the United States flag in a quick video HERE.

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 in this way: 

1. He illustrates through the placement of a swan in the midst of the duck family, that one may experience cruelty and humiliation even with those with whom one is familiar. 

2. However, when one looks inward and sees God's child returning the gaze...

3. One can realize individual truth, and therefore, discover possibilities associated with self growth, and make decisions based on talents, skills, knowledge, individual purpose, and God's unceasing, nurturing  Love.  

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

Emily Dickinson and Iconic Realism

Portrait of Emily Dickinson painted by William Rock

Chinese calligraphy painted by Huang Xiang 

Click HERE to go to their site. 

(Calligraphy is from Dickinson's poems: "The Soul selects Her Own Society,"

"My Life Closed Twice Before Its Close" and "Presentiment")


Calligraphy Translations:
 

The soul selects her own society,

Then shuts the door;

On her divine majority

Obtrude no more.
Unmoved, she notes the chariot's passing

At her low gate;

Unmoved,

an emperor kneeling

Upon her mat.
I've known her from an ample nation

Choose one;

Then close the valves of her attention

Like stone.
I never saw a Moor

My life closed twice before its close;

It yet remains to see

If immortality unveil

A third event to me,
So huge, so hopeless to conceive,

As these that twice befell.

Parting is all we know of heaven,

And all we need of hell.

Presentiment

is that long shadow on the lawn

Indicative that sun goes down

The notice to the startled grass

That darkness is about to pass

By displaying the countenance of this reclusive poet in the midst of so many cultural icons, these two artists, Huang Xiang and William Rock, illustrate iconic realism of Emily Dickinson's poetry. In this painting by William Rock and the calligraphic representation by Huang Xiang, the iconic presence of Emily Dickinson's simplicity that this honorable position illustrates is iconic realism. 

The poet and her own poetry surrounding her are iconic. Yet, one would not normally see a portrait of Emily Dickinson, surrounded by Chinese calligraphy. This combination illustrates the impact on human cognizance and the importance for humanity to look inward because through Dickinson's travail, enlightenment has been revealed to many. Moreover, the use of blue and purple bring to mind the spirituality that surrounds this poet's expression: in her eyes, around the 'upper floor' of her mind, and in her heart.

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 order, 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 coalescence.

To hear me read this, please click HERE.

William Butler Yeats' "Easter 1916" and Iconic Realism

 

I took this photo whilst driving into the town of Sligo, Ireland.

Easter 1916

by William Butler Yeats

(To hear Liam Neeson read this poem, click HERE.)

I have met them at close of day   

Coming with vivid faces

From counter or desk among grey   

Eighteenth-century houses.

I have passed with a nod of the head   

Or polite meaningless words,   

Or have lingered awhile and said   

Polite meaningless words,

And thought before I had done   

Of a mocking tale or a gibe   

To please a companion

Around the fire at the club,   

Being certain that they and I   

But lived where motley is worn:   

All changed, changed utterly:   

A terrible beauty is born.

That woman's days were spent   

In ignorant good-will,

Her nights in argument

Until her voice grew shrill.

What voice more sweet than hers   

When, young and beautiful,   

She rode to harriers?

This man had kept a school   

And rode our wingèd horse;   

This other his helper and friend   

Was coming into his force;

He might have won fame in the end,   

So sensitive his nature seemed,   

So daring and sweet his thought.

This other man I had dreamed

A drunken, vainglorious lout.

He had done most bitter wrong

To some who are near my heart,   

Yet I number him in the song;

He, too, has resigned his part

In the casual comedy;

He, too, has been changed in his turn,   

Transformed utterly:

A terrible beauty is born.

Hearts with one purpose alone   

Through summer and winter seem   

Enchanted to a stone

To trouble the living stream.

The horse that comes from the road,   

The rider, the birds that range   

From cloud to tumbling cloud,   

Minute by minute they change;   

A shadow of cloud on the stream   

Changes minute by minute;   

A horse-hoof slides on the brim,   

And a horse plashes within it;   

The long-legged moor-hens dive,   

And hens to moor-cocks call;   

Minute by minute they live:   

The stone's in the midst of all.

Too long a sacrifice

Can make a stone of the heart.   

O when may it suffice?

That is Heaven's part, our part   

To murmur name upon name,   

As a mother names her child   

When sleep at last has come   

On limbs that had run wild.   

What is it but nightfall?

No, no, not night but death;   

Was it needless death after all?

For England may keep faith   

For all that is done and said.  

 

We know their dream; enough

To know they dreamed and are dead;   

And what if excess of love   

Bewildered them till they died?   

I write it out in a verse—

MacDonagh and MacBride   

And Connolly and Pearse

Now and in time to be,

Wherever green is worn,

Are changed, changed utterly:   

A terrible beauty is born.

Specific poetic elements within Yeats’ poem, Easter 1916, illustrate my theory and explore the individuals specifically mentioned in his poem: MacDonagh, MacBride, Connolly, and Pearse. He lists these individuals to emphasize the political relevance of each person in the historical year, 1916. Yeats employed iconic realism within the multiple analogies contained within the lines of this poem, illustrating the cultural transformations that concerned the Irish citizens during the decade:1913-1923.

Throughout Easter 1916, Yeats places ambivalent characters in roles that align with various specific cultural hierarchies to elicit a challenge for his reading audience to align their mind-set with revolutionary deliberation. His characters possess multiple symbolic implications in his effort to fortify his stance on the duality of consciousness within Irish culture in 1916.  

Thus, Yeats places iconic illustrations of simplicity whilst he alludes to ancient complexities. His connections produce poetry that both inspire and enflame. Moreover, his revolutionary speech originates in his characters, who speak in terms with which most of his reading audience would be able to comprehend, terms that deal primarily with nature and its course. Finally, Yeats weaves his poetry to blend the linguistic patterns and cultural customs of his homeland in Sligo, Ireland, with the political events of 1916 and ancient cultural icons as he repetitively states, "A terrible beauty is born."

Shakespeare's 'Venus and Adonis' and Iconic Realism

"Venus and Adonis" by Francois Lemoyne (1729)

Iconic realism is evident in William Shakespeare's epyllion, "Venus and Adonis." He places these two beings of different mortalities in a lush setting, similar to the Garden of Eden, but the goddess of Love finds it impossible to obtain the object of her desire, for his own desires and eventual mortality triumph. Through his representation of this immortal creature in conjunction with a mortal setting and circumstances, Shakespeare uses the goddess of Love to elucidate for his readers the importance of suffering as a vital aspect of the human experience.

Painting of William Shakespeare by William Rock

Chinese Calligraphy of Hamlet's Soliloquy by Huang Xiang

Listen to the John Blow musical rendition (1683) of this tragic tale below.

Performance: Concerto Copenhagen 

Semiotic Themes

I took this photo in Dublin, Ireland.

The following is an excerpt from my first book: The Theory of Iconic Realism:

Content of material represented through literature, art and music contains the linguistic configurations associated with language in addition to visual and auditory stimuli: 

In literature, content consists of language, represented by words on a page that convey meaning to the audience. 

Artistic content varies from materials, such as paint, rock, metal, fabric, or other physical substances, with the subject matter originating in the human experience. 

Musical compositions include content that incorporates any form of resonance to which the auditory mechanism responds.

For instance, thematic representation of creative expression incorporates the history, language and culture of the artist in relation to individual purpose of expression with an audience. A musical composition contains a specific theme. This theme can then repeat every time a musician performs the piece. However, the theme will elicit variations based on instrumentation, acoustics, and musicians actively attempting to recreate the original sound. 

A new aurally thematic expression results from this interpretation. Likewise, a work of art will receive the eyes of multiple viewers. Each person adapts his/her life experience (historicity) to the interpretation of the rendered artistic theme, thus altering the original thematic construct of the artist. Hence, an artist's theme is in a constant state of evolution, no matter which art form has been presented. (Lakatos 22-23)

Iconic realism in Salvador Dali's Art

Salvador Dali's  Melting Clocks 

(from DuckDuckGo Images)

As you gaze upon the art by Salvador Dali, you will note that he uses iconic realism in most of his surrealistic renderings. He will place a recognizable figure in a position in which this figure is not expected to exist. In his own words, he describes these objects as "...nothing more than the soft, extravagant, solitary, paranoiac-critical Camembert cheese of space and time... Hard or soft, what difference does it make! As long as they tell time accurately..." Through his placement of the figure in this unrealistic setting, he creates a realism that brings awareness of an aspect of culture that needs to be reformed, perhaps, our perception of time and how we use it.  

Carl Jung's the "Collective Unconscious" and Sydney Owenson's Characters

From my doctoral dissertation (2nd book), pp. 80-82:

The mind interprets the experiences of life based on past physical and emotional responses to specific stimuli. When one is subjected to adverse stimuli, opportunities cease to function as positive motivations for continued success. On the other hand, when there are decisions that have been made to the improvement of one’s life, those become focal points for active, varied and positive participation in daily experiences. Therefore, in making decisions, one determines aspects of life in which to participate based on a collection of past experiences. The more positive experiences collected by an individual, the more likely she will make decisions of calculated risk to increase the potential of a success pattern. Carl Jung further explains this process: 

Instincts are impersonal, universally distributed, hereditary factors of a dynamic or motivating character, which very often fail so completely reach consciousness…Moreover, the instincts are not vague and indefinite by nature but are specifically formed motive forces which, long before there is any consciousness, and in spite of any degree of consciousness later, on, pursue their inherent goals. [1]

In the case of Owenson’s characters, they rely on the support of other characters to feel confident to pursue their hearts’ desires. The rhetoric of her narratives and poetry is dependent on the image created by Owenson’s linguistic model; hence, the created image needs memory constraints to provide her readers with familiar figures inherent to the meaning of the text. Even though the psychological elements are experienced within the mind, desire is expressed through various forms of communication, which include body language, speech and the written word. In addition to character development, Owenson uses rhetorical manipulation to explore her desire for the English government to engage peacefully with Ireland.

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[1] C.G. Jung, The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious, translated by R.F.C. Hull (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1990), p. 43.

Literary Resonance, Revolution, and Iconic Realism in Sydney Owenson's novel, _The Wild Irish Girl_

Photo from insert of the 1888 publication of The Wild Irish Girl by Sydney Owenson

Iconic realism intones throughout Sydney Owenson’s national tale, The Wild Irish Girl, written from a unique and insightful cultural point of view shortly after the British Act of Union 1801.

Sydney Owenson engages in the construction of iconic realism through her interface with the concept of literary harmony elicited from the initial resonance of Irish revolution. She creates characters as iconic representatives of the mind-set existing in her historical reality. They speak in their native Irish Gaeilge in opposition to standard English, leading her audiences to literally hear a recognizable semblance of truth. This truth can then become a basis for future writers to harmonize with the transitioning, historical significance of human consciousness.

Such resonance, which distinguishes between intense reality and strength of the human spirit through iconic realism, echoes within Owenson’s novel. By means of her characters and their circumstances following the British Act of Union 1801, Owenson demonstrates the necessity for humankind to relate to one another on a realistic rather than a symbolic level. 

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 the 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. 

                                            

Music Therapy and Iconic Realism

The Eastern Meadowlark

photo from DuckDuckGo Images

Whales from the Tennessee Maritime Museum

Google Images

Click the titles below to hear examples of this kind of therapeutic music:

1. The Lark Ascending by Ralph Vaughan Williams: 

2. Songs of Whales and Dolphins (This is a long video, 1 hour, 17 minutes)

As the mind correlates all sensation with memory, restful auditory stimulation, so closely connected with the synapses of the cerebral cortex, can transport an individual to the aspect of memory that lowers respiration, allowing for calm, deep breathing, and individual focus on the natural processes within a calm state of mind. How does this relate to the semiotic theory of iconic realism? This form of music therapy, aiding in the rejuvenation of an individual’s respiration and peace of mind, can also open one's mind to move in a more positive direction in one's own life experience. 

Another example exists in the vocal expressions of whales singing under the depths of the ocean. This has been used by environmentalists to bring attention to the plight of aquatic species of animals. This use of whales, when placed in accompaniment within a contemporary musical environment outside the parameters of the ocean depths, is an example of iconic realism. In such a case, the aural experience of the sea echoing on shore provides the audience with a dichotomy that brings awareness to the dilemma of the whales and their neighbors in the deep sea. 

Harriet Tubman and Iconic Realism

                                                                      (Photos from Google Images)

Harriet Tubman, aka "Moses of the Underground Railroad"

Harriet S. Tubman: Born Araminta Ross, c. March 1822, Dorchester County, Maryland, U.S.A. Died: March 10, 1913 in Auburn, New York, U.S.A.

During the early nineteenth century, when slavery was prevalent in the southern United States, a woman named Harriet Tubman had actually escaped to the north via the “Underground Railroad.” She decided to do something to help the enslaved individuals find freedom in the northern states and even further north in Canada and earned the title of "Moses" of the Underground Railroad. Eventually, she worked as an agent for the Union during the Civil War. (American Biography Channel)

Harriet Tubman illustrates the theory of iconic realism in that she was a former slave, physically weakened by the actions of a former slave owner, yet she rose above her horrific circumstances to become a woman on whom many relied to make their way to freedom. Not only that, but the actual government that established the Fugitive Slave Law of 1793, ended up hiring her as an agent for the Union Army during the American Civil War. 

Here, we have an iconic figure, placing herself in an environment not usually associated with such a woman, placed in that precarious environment in order to bring about a cultural transformation. In this case, that would be freedom for the enslaved. The most current recognition of this amazing woman is that it has been proposed to have her image representing the United States of America on the new 2030 dollar bill, but at this writing, I'm not sure if that will occur or not. 

Click on the link below to view a short biography of Mrs. Harriet Tubman:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmsNGrkbHm4

Bluebirds and iconic realism

Once, I went for a walk down my street. It felt wonderful to be walking passed the farms again after a long cold spell. The goats, sheep, llamas, cows, horses all seemed to perk their heads up and smile at me as I treaded once again upon the familiar path. It was brisk, for I live in New England, and winter didn't want to give up its stronghold just yet. However, over my head flitted two beautiful bluebirds, their brilliant blue feathers glistening in the bright, early Spring sun. At this moment, I realized why these are my favorite birds, and I knew this walk was a blessing.

Then, it occurred to me. These bluebirds were another example of iconic realism, for bluebirds are iconic associations with joy, summer, and general calm. They were flying from tree to tree, realism. Yet, it was so bitterly cold outside. This juxtaposition brought to my attention the cultural dilemma of the importance for us humans to maintain appropriate stewardship of our world. So many beautiful, valuable, fragile creatures' lives are at stake. 

Thank you, Dear Lord, for this lovely lesson!

Sydney Owenson (Lady Morgan): "Woman and Her Master"

From my paper, presented at an American Conference for Irish Studies Southern Regional Meeting, held in Atlanta, Georgia:

The substance of my second book aligns my semiotic theory of iconic realism with the philosophical framework of the 19th century Irish author and poet, Sydney Owenson (Lady Morgan). Regarding creative expression, writers such as Sydney Owenson have had the opportunity to incorporate human experience in their art by tapping into the consciousness of humanity on multiple sensory levels. In her 1840 book, Woman and Her Master, Owenson makes the following observation: 

The acquirement of a physical elevation, in expanding the sphere of vision, and opening new and vast regions to the sense, obscures and diminishes the individual details comprehended in its grasp; so that intellectual and moral elevation, which has opened to the mind’s eye the wider fields of scientific research and of social combination, has caused the relative value of the smaller facts presented to its apprehension to be either overlooked, or mistaken. (WHM, p. 15)

Owenson’s writing demonstrates my semiotic theory of iconic realism in the following three ways:  

1. She juxtaposes the Romantic concept of nature’s influence on humanity’s intellectual actions with the reality of political and societal constraints through her characters’ struggles with self-awareness. 

2. Through this conflict, Owenson personifies the dichotomous nature of glory in which her birth nation struggles with true autonomy and its native glór [1] to be heard.

3. She enlightens her readers to the possibilities of making positive change happen with their own lives and possibly those within their communities by linking the sensory paths of consciousness with appropriate and positive action.

[1] Glor is the Irish term for sound, voice.