1. Semiotics

2. Semiotics is the study of signs and sign systems What is a sign? Anything that can represent a thing or idea is a sign

3. Literal sign that tells the viewer to “stop” The word DOG = Language is a form of semiotics

4. ICONINDEXSYMBOL

5. Icon An Icon is a sign that resembles its object This is an icon that represents George Washington The viewer knows this because it resembles Washington’s appearance

6. IN SOME CASES, WE HAVE THOUSANDS OF ICONS TO REPRESENT ONE INDIVIDUAL

7. Index An index is a symbol that is physically connected to its object This clock has indexical meaning – when we see it, we understand that it is a symbol for time We also know that a clock tells the time In this way, the symbol is directly connected to the object

8. “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire” – this expression is an example of indexical thought The smoke coming from a burning building is an index for the object that it’s linked to: fire.

9. A photograph of a person, place, or thing is always an index. It not only represents its object, but is actually connected to it in time and space.

10. Symbol A symbol is an arbitrary representation of an object This symbol has been selected to represent a Volkswagen It only has meaning because we understand the alphanumeric system (more symbols) and it has been attached to VW vehicles

12. Symbol? Index? Icon?

13. Why is all of this important? When trying to understand images from other cultures or periods of time, we have to decode the systems of signs in order to make meaning out of what we see.

14. Nineteen Maya Numerals & 20 Day Signs 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Nineteen Latin Numerals and Calendar

15. Let’s take a look at this painting and see if we can use our knowledge of language and semiotics to make meaning out of the images and text. By Melesio Casas El Paso, Texas1970

18. Chicano Park – Street Murals San Diego, CA

19. Detail from Aztec Codex “To understand the world of today Hold it up to the world of long ago”

20. Sculpture found in the funeral chamber of an Aztec Emperor

21. Feathered Serpent from the Quetzalcoatl temple in Teotihuacan, Mexico

22. Why do you think all of these ancient symbols were incorporated into a contemporary image?

23. Why include a yin yang and swastika when pre-contact Mexican symbols looked like the one’s to the right?

24. Long live the strike!

26. What’s the mural about? What do the signs and symbols tell the viewer? What can we tell about present-day Chicano culture by looking at this mural? Chicano culture in the United States is informed by both present-day Mexican culture and present-day American culture….