1. Semiotics and Photography
How we read the image

2. Semiotics Developed from the works of Saussure / Pierce
Initially language based
Study of signs / social production of meaning by sign systems
Spoken and written language, clothing, gestures, images……

3. Roland Barthes French philosopher and linguist (1915 – 1980)
He felt that society is a construction, perpetuated by signs of the dominant values within its culture.
Developed the field into new areas

4. In particular images / photography
His book Camera Lucida (1980), along with Susan Sontag’s On Photography (1971), is considered a seminal text on photography
(Although, surprisingly the book is more a personal reflection on his relationship with photographs, rather than a semiotic analysis)

5. The Sign / Signifier The spoken word The written word The gesture
The image
Only properly understood by their differences from other signs

8. The signified A concept Not of the real world
Culturally learned attributed meanings
Personal experience impacting upon meaning
There are two types of signified

9. Denotation In photographic terms, what is shown in the image
A photograph of a flag shows a flag
The colour red denotes a certain part of the colour spectrum, and differentiates it from blue or pink

10. Connotation The meanings associated with the sign / image
The connotation of the colour red may be as an indicator of danger, or passion

11. The Power of the Image
This image is one of, if not the most famous image from WWII
It was taken by the photographer Joe Rosenthal in 1945 and won him the Pulitzer Prize. The shot became the most widely reproduced picture in U.S. history
What meaning do we take from this image? What elements contribute to that meaning?

13. Mythic Signs Messages that go without saying
Reinforce dominant ideologies of the culture
Do not raise questions or critical thinking
Could the Iwo Jima image could be construed as a mythic sign?

14. Polysemy We recognise the associated meanings of the sign
This meaning is not fixed
Our own experiences can change the meaning

15. Polysemy Many signs we encounter have many elements
This juxtaposition of elements can allow for multiple significations
This compounds the possibilities the possibilities for polysemy

19. Language Knowledge
Usually you need to understand the language to decode the message.
To decode the written or spoken word in English you must know the language.
In photography there is no prerequisite to understand the language.

20. Photo Edit Software
The development of photo edit software has dramatically increased the ability of the photographer / editor to create meaning
The use of multiple elements can have positive and negative outcomes

23. Challenging myths
The Falling man (taken by Richard Drew) contradicted the dominant cultural myths
Public outcry (the majority?)
Media divisions
Suppression of image
Still causes much debate

24. Conclusion Semiotics – the study of signs and their meanings
Photographs are part of a system of signs which can perpetuate or challenge dominant cultural myths

25. Selected images

30. Lange

31. Byer

32. Cartier-Bresson

33. Salgado

34. Veder

35. Mapplethorpe