Jeanne d'Arc and Iconic Realism

        

                    

                                                                                     Jeanne d'Arc's Death at the Stake,                                    

                                       by Hermann Stilke (1803–1860)                            

For All Saints Day, I present to you my patron saint, Jeanne D'Arc. I've chosen this painting 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. New perceptions of a creative work shape newly actualized interpretations of the original work of art, which eventually become accepted interpretations by a community. Once the community recognizes these interpretations, the iconic becomes a reality.

     Through the establishment of an iconic figure within the mind-set 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. Jeanne d'Arc illustrated iconic realism in that she was a woman dressed in armor as a medieval man would be, leading French armies for God. In this role, she was able to win freedom for France even though it cost her life. Thus, warring for freedom led to her own spiritual freedom.  

Walt Disney's 'Fantasia: Night on Bald Mountain, Ave Maria, and Iconic Realism

When the Walt Disney studios created the classic film, Fantasia, I wonder if they knew that future generations would be able to view their artistry via the technology of today. This scene directly follows "Night on Bald Mountain" where satanic forces pervade this same space. In the "Ave Maria" segment, the Disney artists have drawn realistic scenes of a pre-dawn woodland. The fervor of the night transforms into a peaceful daylight, conveyed through Franz Schubert's "Ave Maria" and a silent parade of 'saintly' images carrying torches. The placement of these individuals passing through this fertile woodland illustrates that humanity finds enlightened strength in an inner peace.

 Click here to view video of Disney's 'Ave Maria' from "Fantasia"

(Photo from Disney film, Fantasia, Google Images)

Click here to view Disney's "Fantasia" Final Chapter, Part 2 (Night on Bald Mountain) 

Icon of an Apple and Iconic Realism

(I took this photo of my MacBook Air.)

From my book, The Theory of Iconic Realism: Understanding the Arts through Cultural Context  p. 25:

As a community determines the identity of a symbol, its structure becomes more eminently definable as interpretations transform this signifier into a more singular representation, an icon. For example, at one time an artistic rendering of a bitten apple might lead one to associate it with the Biblical story of Eve in the Garden of Eden or perhaps a ripened fruit, ready for the preparation of an apple pie or some other edible delight. 

However, since the latter part of the twentieth century, within the mobile global community, a bitten apple signifies an international computer enterprise, an icon for technological innovation. Hence, a community determines multiple associations with a symbol and gradually, through consistent development, will move this symbol to its prominent association as a recognizable icon for the duration that the icon remains a visible entity within that community. 

How does this illustrate the semiotic theory of iconic realism? 

1. We begin with a simple, iconic fruit, the apple, with a bite out of it. 

2. This natural, simple fruit is placed as a symbol of one of the most technologically forward-thinking corporations. 

3. This placement causes an audience to understand the link between the everyday experience of life and its connection with advancing technology. 

National 9/11 Memorial, New York City and Iconic Realism

Photo from http://michaeljamescasey.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/natl_memorial.jpg

Twenty-four years have passed, and the National 9/11 Memorial in New York City now receives the prayers and reflections of thousands of friends and relatives of those whose lives were taken on September 11, 2001, some of whom still remained buried at this sacred site. The extensive monument bears the names of each victim, around two waterfalls flowing where the two towers of the World Trade Center once defined the skyline of New York City.

This memorial illustrates iconic realism in that the designers have strategically placed the genesis of a woodland paradise, surrounding the Towers’ footprints, now flowing with tranquil waters in the midst of one of this planet's most vibrant cities. The massive garden, with its delicate waterfalls constructed on the site where immense devastation, despair and death occurred, now transpires with a perspective of renewal, hope and life, a memorial that transcends the horror and brings awareness of cultural perseverance combined with the healing strength of elevated consciousness. 

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I wrote this poem the afternoon of September 11, 2001 in Danbury, CT, 65 miles north of the horror, yet close enough to know that the same clouds passing above me just passed over the horror. The wispy clouds almost looked like angels floating above and away from the madness below. Silence… except for the industry of nature.

September 11, 2001

Bellowing clouds of madness

devour cavernous streets

filled with masses 

seeking freedom

from a spumous potion of death.

Silent plumes in an azure sky,

Blessed by the prayers

of three thousand Angels,

newly formed and gliding overhead,

mollify this tableau of horror.

As evening approaches, 

silent stars fill the night firmament. 

No airplanes fly in this night sky.

Delicate crickets chirp; katydids begin to sing.

Strong airy wings of a soaring bird reveal 

a Love that can never die...

Freedom prevails.

© Jeanne I. Lakatos  2001

Iconic Realism from the 19th Century to the 21st Century: Help to Devastated Areas

Sydney Owenson (Lady Morgan)

Writers such as Sydney Owenson have had the opportunity to incorporate human experience in their art by tapping into the mindset 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 as a means to enlighten 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. 

Often, this can occur when one uses a particularly negative situation, places a positive force within that scene to bring attention to a need for transformation. Recently, this was evident in the area devastated by Hurricane Helene. Many grass-roots organizations were actively engaged in helping the individuals in the Southeast United States. Where were the so-called beneficial government forces? Iconic realism at its best. Those who actually cared could be seen helping, working, making a positive change in the midst of devastation. I think Sydney Owenson would be pleased with those local, grass-roots organizations.