Semiotica

p

q

BY

JUSTIN ADIL

論 文

INFORMATI O N as

E X T R E M E L Y

Human Beings,

we are

distinctly

IMBUE MEANING

to

-AND-

EXCHANGE This tendency we humans have is not simply a random learned behavior, but in fact an evolved trait that is

COPY - AND TRANSFERRAL

IMPORTANT

TO

US

as a

species BECAUSE IT ALLOWS US ...

ĂŠ TO

INTERACT

WITH

OUR ENVIRONMENT

AND

EACHOTHER

IN

U N P R E C E D E N T E D

WAY S

One often cited example of this relationship between human beings and what are called memes [ from the Latin word meaning to copy ] involves our early ancestors. Specifically, it refers to our uncanny ability to critically analyze our environment and use newly acquired information to improve our own fitness [ an individual’s ability to survive and subsequently spread their genes into future generations ].

This example is that of early man’s ability to further sustain itself using advancements such as creating fire or clothing in order to adapt to new [ often colder ] environments.

Natural selection would dictate that an organism will adapt to a changing environment by allowing less fit populations to die out and allow more well equipped creatures to survive and thrive, increasing that species ability to survive under harsher conditions over several successful generations.

This natural process, however, occurs over deep instances of time [ millions of years ] and therefore cannot immediately benefit an individual, or even a few generations after that individual.

Through information transferal, however, an individual can overcome the limitations of their evolutionary history, by simply copying behaviors/phenomena that may be of immediate benefit.

For example, human beings are greatly limited by our heritage, being predominantly hairless creatures from the sub Saharan plains with few mechanisms to defend against vastly colder environments.

This being said, ancient man did not need to allow evolution to take its course and provide us with thick fur when an individual can simply infer that a creature is warm because of its fur, then proceed to kill that creature and wear its fur as clothing in order to survive. The copying of such behavior from human to human then becomes a basic element of culture, and this survival tactic is passed down through information-transferal from generation to generation. Elements of culture such as this have served to greatly increase our prevalence as a species, as well as our rapid development of technology and other such constructs.

Human beings imbue, interpret, and discover meaning through the creation and interpretation of signs. By interpreting signs and their implications, human beings have proven to be extremely prolific as a species, utilizing these signs to establish a shared experience or to exchange ideas.

signs

Our ability to transfer information to future generations through elements of semiotics [ language, iconography, etc. ] is what allows us to progress.

This is especially true with regards to technology, as each successive generation sustains itself and builds upon the knowledge of the previous generation, culminating in the recent exponential growth in technological development that has taken place over the course of the last century.

In a very general sense, the term sign denotes any form of decipherable information. To us as human beings, this refers to anything that we can interpret as having meaning. This suggests that all forms of communication, and comprehension of information, are entirely reliant on our ability to identify and interpret signs.

Within the context of cultural dispersal, the success and prevalence of both written and spoken language are products of this innate ability that human beings possess.

The place and importance of information dispersal within this new context reveals the role of the designer to be more consequential than generally recognized.

This implies that artists and designers are the taste-makers of informationdispersal, and therefore play a vital role in this essential aspect of human culture. It is the responsibility of visual communicators, such as designers and artists, to use visual language properly, effectively, and responsibly.

TH E BA SICS

SOU R C ES

OF

MEANING

I N F O R M AT I O N

Although The

IS

Way In Which by an

identical environmental stimulus THROUGH IDENTICAL SENSORY CUES

INDIVIDUAL

is entirely

subjective and

DEPENDENT

all recipients are

responding

SIGHT SMELL TOUCH -AND-

TA S T E

to

on the

recipient This is based on the assumption that we all perceive our environment in a relatively similar fashion, given that we all share relatively similar sensory mechanisms

CULTURAL VS There is, however, much ambiguity regarding the way in which we convey meaning to one another.

All expressions of meaning in spoken and written communication are vague, and only succeed if the recipient of information makes the associations necessary to discover the intended meaning.

This draws attention to the fact that there are two distinct sources of meaning, natural and artificial.

Natural sources come from observing environmental phenomena.

This type of information is discovered, rather than designated, and is presumed to exist in an objective state. In contrast, artificial sources of meaning come from the need to transfer information, and are a direct result of the individual cultures in which they are created.

There can be also be ambiguity regarding whether or not a sign is the result of objective or subjective phenomena, as some signs come from observing a natural occurrence but analyzing its significance with a distinct cultural bias.

EXTERNAL STIMULI

The Sun produces a sensory stimulus that is received by the brain through the eyes

INTERNAL CONCEPT

SUN The stimulus is then processed by the brain and converted to an internal concept

PR O D U CTIO N

OF

MEANING

ALL - sENSORY - EXPERIENCE

BEGINS

with a b i t of

s But the impression of this object or event is immediately converted to an internal abstraction once this information is received and processed by the brain.

The version of this object or event that exists within the mind is immediately adulterated by the subjectivity of the observer.

O S RY N E

ph

enomin a

OF THE

OBSERVER

Numerous factors will dictate the way in which this internal abstraction is formed; everything from nuances in brain chemistry to an individual’s life experience prior to the point of interaction will influence this internalization.

Because of this inevitability, one cannot directly experience objective reality, rather we are subject to our own onceremoved interpretation of the world based on our ability to receive and interpret signs. By filtering sensory cues through the personal lense, an internal [ and highly subjective ] reflection of our environment is reproduced in the mind. All objects and interactions that we may potentially encounter in the physical world will bring with them specific implications and connotations.

This process can generally be described as the production of meaning. Human beings produce or discover meaning by receiving specific information from one of the sensory inputs. With the example of language, the observer will either hear a vocal utterance or see a visual cue that is meant to convey information. The sensory phenomena is then decoded, during which the observer attains some degree of information by associating the sensory cue with a preconceived notion of an object, event, or concept that exists within the physical world.

This interpretation of signs carried out by the individual is presumably based on a mixture of information stored within the brain [ past experience ] and genetic programing [ instinctual responses and predetermined behavioral tendencies ].

OBJECTIVE R E P R E S E N TAT I O N

The Sun as it is universally seen from terrestrial Earth

SUBJECTIVE REPRESENTATION

An anthropomorphic depiction of the Sun produced by a specific culture

C LASS IFI C ATIO NS This

R E L AT I O N S H I P

between a

can manifest itself in

CUE

+

GIVEN

SEVERAL

:

OF

SIGNS

These are the three main classifications of

signs:

Characterized by the nature of the relationship between the sign, object/event, and concept

FIRE An icon refers to a sign that establishes a relationship with the object or concept it is referencing by directly resembling it.

Any pictorial representation of a concept, no matter how abstract, can be classified as an icon.

For example, a sign for a gender - specific bathroom is an icon that represents a male or female human being, even though it is an abstraction.

A symbol indicates a sign that is fundamentally arbitrary. The form that the sign takes has no direct resemblance or logical connection to the object or concept that it is referencing other than the collective agreement [ within a given culture ] that the symbol has a given set of implications and connotations.

An example of a symbol would be a stop sign that one might encounter while driving, as it bears no resemblance to the actual action of stopping, yet most drivers are well aware of its implications due to prior experience.

Indexical signs indicate a direct logical connection between two particular objects or concepts without necessarily resembling or referencing each other.

Examples of this include footprints acting as an indexical sign for animals, or smoke being an indexical sign for fire.

The history of human evolution is not just one of how homo-sapiens developed complex sensory mechanisms or problem solving skills, it is also a history of obsession over meaning and communication. Determining the significance of natural signs can be extremely important to survival, and this is a trait that has definitely been naturally selected for.

For example, the presence of smoke on the skyline is a varied and consequential sign to decipher because of its possible implications. Smoke can signify the presence of fire, and by extension human encampments and civilization. Smoke can also signify danger if the source is a forest fire.

Similarly, interpreting artificial signs can be just as necessary for survival.

As social creatures, we often depend on our ability to communicate and cooperate to survive, whether this is for hunting purposes or simply to establish and perpetuate elements of culture.

This suggests that our obsession with imbuing meaning has its origin in our evolutionary history, and undoubtedly dictates the aesthetic and stylistic tendencies we exhibit today. This is a notion that is widely condemned by anthropologists and others who tend to exoticize and individualize nonwestern cultures, choosing to focus on distinctions between these cultures rather than on commonalities.

In order to observe the application of these universal tendencies, we need examine artistic trends that have their roots in ancient impulses, but still persevere in a modern setting due to the pre-programmed nature of these aesthetic tendencies.

ARCHETYPES

- AND -

AESTHETICS

A s E E M I N G LY UNIVERSAL

TENDENCY

exhibited by is the

human beings

PROVOCATION of an

emotional OR

INTELLECTUAL

w h e n exp C O N F R O N T E D res w i t h a work of Artistic sion within the observer

Response This involuntary response, and the pleasure we derive from experiencing it, may be functionally equivalent to our general affinity towards eating certain foods, engaging in sexual activity, or any other pleasurable activity that we are driven to pursue. The pleasure associated with eating sweet or fatty foods is an evolutionary adaptation for nutritional purposes just as the pleasure of sex is an adaptation for procreation, and so early humans that enjoyed engaging in these activities were more likely to endow future generations with their genes.

Evidence that supports the inclusion of artistic affinity in this category of evolved behaviors comes from a study that places emphasis on one particular subject that human beings tend to appreciate universally: fertile and habitable landscapes.

The landscape [ and the fertile and pastoral landscape in particular ] has endured as a remarkably prevalent element throughout the history of human representation, but the true nature of its pervasiveness had not been addressed until the completion of an aesthetic study conducted by the National Institute during the early 1990s.

Utilizing the results from a thorough and internationally administered poll, the National Institute intended on revealing the specific aesthetic preferences exhibited by inhabitants of varying geographic and cultural origins. What the study ultimately revealed is that individuals from various parts of the world exhibited a remarkable degree of consistency when expressing their aesthetic preference, regardless of cultural specificity.

This means that the image of the fertile landscape, with its access to water and other resources, may evoke a pleasurable response from most individuals because it is extremely beneficial for us to gravitate towards this particular scene. Just as with the other programmed responses we discussed earlier, being receptive to this type of landscape made our ancestors more likely to survive than those who did not exhibit this behavior.

The factors most consistent amongst the data collected included dominant colors, forms, and subjects within a given artistic representation. According to an overwhelming number of participants, the elements that comprised the most frequently desired representation were shades of blue, paired with green, combined within a landscape that preferably incorporated water, animals, and other human beings in the composition.

This type of landscape also seems to mirror the valley areas around which most civilizations first rose. An example of this can be seen in central and eastern Africa, where areas such as modern-day Kenya bare mountainous regions that encircle lush river-valleys and lakes that sustain countless human beings to this day. This description is also consistent with the Indus Valley region of the Indian subcontinent, which produced one of the first sustained urban civilizations. The fact that so many of our nomadic ancestors sought out and successfully settled within these regions is a testament to our predetermined attraction to this archetype.

The fact that completely separate groups of people, with presumably different cultural biases, exhibited this identical preferred composition reveals to us that this type of scene is a universal archetype, one that indicates a preferred environment.

G REEK ART There is

- AND -

AESTHETIC THEORY

THE

much evidence to suggest that

were

THE

UNI VER SAL ITY that exists within our

cOnsciOus of

AESTHETIC sensibilities

Much of Greek philosophy concerns itself with the discussion of human nature, attempting to establish trends in the artistic tendencies and aesthetic sensibilities that we, as human beings, tend to exhibit.

Aristotle and Plato, both of whom can be considered harbingers of western thought and culture, implied that human nature and the arts are inseparable affairs. Although their attitudes towards artistic creation were at odds with one another, both philosophers propose this intrinsic link between our culture and our nature.

For example, Plato often condemned artistic creation as a dangerous aspect of human existence, citing its ability to evoke latent emotions and desires by exploiting our natural tendencies. He went so far as to recommend that the arts be banned as a form of recreation due to this sensitivity we all seem to have towards works of art.

Aristotle, on the other hand, recognized the unprecedented opportunity that the arts seem to present with regards to revealing our natural tendencies. He believed that they granted insight into human nature itself, and therefore should be considered a valid source of knowledge.

Aristotle approached the subject of artistic creation in the same way that this publication approaches Semiotics, by considering the relationship between human cultural pursuit and natural human tendencies. He referred to these contributing factors as nomos, which designates cultural constructs, and phusis, which designates natural constructs. These two areas of existence converge within the creation of art, culminating in a product that attempts to capture some aspect of human experience. Aristotle refers to this end product as mimesis, which designates something that is imitated from somewhere or someone.

“For it is an instinct of human beings from childhood to engage in mimesis…it is through mimesis that he develops his earliest understanding; and equally natural that everyone enjoys mimetic objects. A common occurrence indicates this: we enjoy contemplating the most precise images of things whose actual sight is painful to us…”

Beyond his musings regarding the factors that influence artistic expression, Aristotle also infers that the desire to imitate emotion and experience through this behavior is something that is innate in human beings.

This provides a clue as to how and why this particular trait may benefit the human species from an evolutionary standpoint. Our readiness to engage in acts of representation exists as a consequence of our need to problem-solve in a cooperative fashion. As Aristotle asserted, it also allows us to adapt to our environment and acquire necessary skills from the point of infancy, as man develops his earliest understanding from childhood. If language and representation are the conduits for communicating information, then over time natural selection will favor those individuals who are both proficient in, and receptive to, information exchange through semiosis. After millions of years, our proficiency at communication has become immensely refined, and our affinity for representation deeply engrained.

PRO PO RTIO N S The word symmetry has its roots in the Greek term sum metria which translates to
same measure. A fifth century B.C. Greek sculptor, Polykleitos, is said to have been the first to have utilized the term.

Many biologists believe that bodily symmetry and proportional relationship are unconscious cues utilized by many organisms to assess the biological fitness of a potential mate. If this tendency is present in human beings, then it may explain our aesthetic inclination towards symmetry and balance within compositions.

An example of this principal is shown in the behavior of the common Swallow, a classification of bird that displays a forked tail. It has been shown that females base their choice of mate predominantly on the level of symmetry displayed in the male’s tail. Asymmetry and disproportion can be caused by interference with normal development, possibly due to poor nutrition or viral infection during early development.

This implies that symmetrical organisms are formed properly because their immune systems were effective at warding off viruses and other pathogens during this period, and so they offer the prospect of offspring with equally strong immunities.

It is then logical to assume that our attraction to symmetry and proportion in representation and composition is a direct result of this programmed need to assess viability in potential mates. One proportional relationship that has shown to produce an attractive composition is known as the Golden Ratio, which is represented by the approximate number 1.618 [ although the actual number is irrational and extends indefinitely ]. This ratio was formally introduced by Greek mathematician Pythagoras, and describes any proportional relationship that is consistent with this irrational number. The intrinsic nature of this relationship in human thought and behavior is described eloquently by Swiss designer and architect Le Corbusier, most wellknown for his role in the development of the international style of design.

- AND -

SYMMETRY

“Rhythms apparent to the eye and clear in their relations with one another. And these rhythms are at the very root of human activities.

They resound in man by an organic inevitability, the same fine inevitability which causes the tracing out of the Golden [ Ratio ] by children, old men, [ the unlearned ] and the learned.”

Due to our innate attraction to this relationship, artists and artisans throughout human history have both consciously and unintentionally approximated the ratio in their work. Numerous historians and have identified the presence of the golden ratio in Egyptian architecture, Sumerian and Greek vases, Chinese pottery, and Cretan and Mycenaean artifacts from as early as the Bronze Age. The specific expression of this ratio most commonly incorporated into artistic composition is the Golden Rectangle, which describes a rectangle with a length roughly one and one half times its own width. A spiral pattern produced by the golden rectangle, commonly referred to as the Fibonacci Spiral, is comprised of self-similar sections, meaning that each successively smaller part of the whole is similar to all other sections. This makes it the pattern produced by the golden rectangle a rudimentary fractal.

The term fractal describes any pattern characterized by self-reference on all levels of scale and complexity. This means that fractals are produced out of potentially infinite self-symmetry, with each subset of the pattern repeating itself to form all levels of the greater whole. Evidence of how fractal self-symmetry has manifested within diverse areas of artistic representation endures to this day; one principal example of this being found in the art and architecture of various indigenous cultures of the African continent.

Ron Eglash, known for his extensive studies in ethno-mathematics, reveals fractal symmetry to be at the core of various design components including craft-making, counting systems, and the design of homes and settlements amongst these specific cultures. He cites the presence of these patterns in the architecture and urban planning in the city of Logone-Birni, the villages of the Mandara Mountains, and in areas of Cameroon and the Ba-ila settlement of southern Zambia. These areas exhibit this self-symmetry in a consistent manner, with the Golden Rectangle fundamentally integrated into the design and compartmentalization of both individual buildings and entire communities. This means that these structures implement self-similar shapes in the rooms of the building, the building itself, and the clusters of buildings in the greater village, in mathematically predictable patterns.

Whether or not this self-symmetry is completely intentional is disputed, but its presence indicates a level of complexity that eluded most western conceptions of African artistry until recently. Ron Eglash himself addresses this, stating:

“When Europeans first came to Africa, they considered the architecture very disorganized and thus primitive...

It never occurred to them that the Africans might have been using a form of mathematics that they hadn't [ formally ] discovered yet…”

While examining natural forms of meaning sheds light on the commonalities that exist within information exchange, studying the variations produced by cultural diversity examines our profound relationship with symbols and other methods of communicating meaning that may extend beyond our genetic programming.

Through the anthropological examination of various cultures, we can discuss the ways in which human beings generate different signs, and the roles that these signs play within that distinct culture. This addresses the complex ways in which objective information can be filtered through a specific cultural lense and translated into a representation that is unique to the civilization in which it was produced.

In this way, human civilizations tend to be rich with intricacy regarding methods of conveying meaning and establishing exclusive systems of visual language.

Often, one cannot appreciate the nuances and variations in communication that exist within a given culture without being completely immersed in that particular culture’s way of exchanging information and cooperating with one another.

S PECIF IC STYLES

WITHIN

CULTURE

Unlike the Greco-Roman approach towards sculpture, which placed value on attempting to achieve and maintain a standard that reflected their conception of idealized archetypal forms, the Kwakwaka'wakw natives of modern-day British Columbia embraced the subjectivity of their representations, going so far as to anthropomorphize and individualize the objects and concepts that they were representing.

the

is

arguably

the

M O S T

R E P R E S E N TAT I V E of this

COMPLEX

stylistic

Tr a d i t i o n

In Kwakwaka'wakw society these poles are positioned outside family houses where they display the family's crests, and sometimes convey social information such as family history, wealth, and rank through the specific sequence of icons and symbols. This stylistic distinction of forms also serves a functional purpose, as the aesthetic choices made by the artist tend to reflect whether or not the figure being represented is an ancestral animal or a spiritual deity.

This subtle stylistic distinction reflects a dichotomy that exists within Kwakwaka'wakw culture and their annual calendar, with their year divided into two distinct sections: the secular season of summer followed by the sacred season of winter.

The secular period is devoted to the celebration of ancestral animals, while the sacred period is for celebration of spiritual deities. In conjunction with this annual division, the Kwakwaka'wakw artists developed stylistic cues to distinguish the ancestral animal figures from their spiritual counter-parts when depicted in sculptures or on clan crests. For each ancestral animal that is depicted, its spiritual counter-part exhibits a more exaggerated form of the Kwakwaka'wakw style; distorting certain features to signify that figures place as a deity.

VA R IATIO N

OF THE

SYMBOL

The word symbol is derived from the Greek term sýmbolon, which literally means thrown together. This is suiting, considering the arbitrary nature of the relationship between the symbol and the object or concept that it is referencing.

Because of this relationship there are many reoccurring symbols across various cultures that are visually similar, even identical, but express completely different connotations and implications.

The effectiveness of these symbols as visual indicators is entirely reliant on the observer to familiarize themselves with the specific relationship between the signifier [ symbol ] and the signified [ object or concept ]. Without this prior experience, the symbol could not function as an element of visual language. This also applies to most written languages, as each individual letter and grouping of letters acts as its own visual indicator of an abstract concept.

T wo l i n e s i nte r s e c t i ng t h at m ay i mply a ny t h i n g f rom rel ig iou s devot ion to me d ic a l a s s i s t a nc e dependi n g on t he c ontex t i n wh ic h

it 's fou nd .

One prevalent example of variation in intended meaning is that of the cross symbol. Two lines intersecting that may imply anything from religious devotion to medical assistance depending on the context in which it’s found. Even within a specific area of meaning, countless variations can exist that further specialize and individualize the symbol and the extent of its implications.

§

Xe-

Many ambiguous relationships have been drawn between this symbol and concepts that have four distinct elements, due to the four line segments within the form. Examples of this include connections between the cross and the four elements of water, earth, wind, and fire, as well as the four cardinal directions of North, South, East, and West.

The Crucifix is a symbol of the Christian faith. Although the form of the cross imitates the device on which the religion’s messiah was killed, the symbol itself designates a wide range of dogmatic implications that extend beyond its origin.

The three points at the top of the shape also symbolize what is known as the holy trinity, and the cross itself is meant to represent concepts associated with Christianity such as sacrifice, redemption, and salvation.

The Veve of Legba is a cross symbol of the Vodou faith that signifies the creator deity known as Legba. He is the gatekeeper to the spirit world and he acts as a bridge between the corporeal and incorporeal realms; it is also thought that he can fluently speak all human languages.

The Ankh is a cross symbol with a looped form at the top that existed in ancient Egyptian culture. It is representative fertility, as well as the notion of eternal life-afterdeath, and in the Egyptian hieroglyphic language it is the character for life.

X

The Roman numeral X is the twenty-fourth letter in the Latin alphabet. It represents the number ten, which itself is a symbol meaning a collection of ten distinct items.

A slight variation in the Crucifix, the invertedCrucifix originally referenced the killing of St. Peter, who was hung upside-down on the cross. The symbol more recently signifies Satan-worship, and opposition to the authority of the Christian Church.

By simply rotating the original symbol by 180 degrees, the intended meaning is completely reversed.

This No Smoking sign is variation of an internationally utilized symbol that represents a limitation or ban placed on the act of smoking. It depicts representation of a cigarette to symbolize the act of smoking, and a cross placed over this cigarette to convey Smoking: Don’t Do It.

The Red Cross is a symbol of an international humanitarian movement that was originally based on the cross of the national flag of Switzerland. Through this association it has come to represent medical assistance and first-aid in many areas of the world.

CU LTU RA L SURVIVAL The endurance of distinct cultures and the importance that many societies seem to place on transferring cultural information to successive generations

evokes the question: Why is it that human beings place such emphasis on preserving the culture from which they came?

Just as with the distinct desire to pass on one’s own genetic information, preserving your cultural identity and ensuring its endurance may also be a matter of survival. The prevalence of a given species is based almost entirely on its ability to survive in a specific environment, and that species’ endurance implies that evolution has selected for specific traits that improve the organism’s viability in that particular environment. This implies that an evolutionarily fit species is a direct product of its environment, and by extension the various conditions that dictate which organisms thrive, or fail to thrive. If the same logic applies to human culture, which is undoubtedly influenced by the environment in which it is produced, then our affinity for maintaining cultural heritage may be an evolved trait to ensure the success of future generations.

Cultural pursuits may seem to some as arbitrary behaviors perpetuated through ethnocentrism, but many behaviors we have preserved through information transferal are actually unconscious survival skills. Alcoholic beverages are present in most human cultures because alcohol is an antiseptic and prevents bacteria from thriving in water. It is also thought that the consumption of pork is condemned in some societies, including Islamic and Judaic cultures, because it comes from an animal that would naturally contains harmful parasitic organisms. Myriad examples of cultural behaviors that have evolutionarily beneficial implications exist in human history, giving credence to the notion that information exchange is an evolved trait that allows us to adapt to different environments and ensure that these adaptations will be passed on just as our genes might be.

記号論 As human beings, we are distinctly driven by a desire to imbue meaning and exchange information. This tendency in humans is not simply a random learned behavior, but in fact an evolved trait that is extremely important to us as a species because it allows us to interact with our environment and each other in unprecedented ways.

This publication attempts to explore this phenomena through a discussion of Semiotics, as well as the role that Semiotics plays in our past, present, and future.