Symbols and Signs, 1993 - 2003

Languages of seeing and interpretation

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An orthography is a set of conventions for writing a language.  The recognition of graphic imagery is made at two levels: syntactic and semantic. 

 

A keen interest in how we see and read images led me to explore semiotics.  Semiotics is frequently divided into two branches: 1) the pragmatics, relating to logic, and 2) the semantic, addressing meaning.  I wanted to create relationships to vision, interpretation, and ultimately our understanding by examining how images, seen as symbols and signs, can evoke personal thoughts and feelings

 

My developing interest with vision afflictions intersected a fascination with the interpretation of visual systems and how these systems are ultimately perceived and interpreted. Understanding and communicating the structure of complex pictorial systems, such as art, is truly effective only if there is a recognition of that understanding and context of the specific visual language.  It requires a depth of perception and a type of visual formalism.  This includes a signification of the relations between signs and how they are perceived, interpreted, and what they evoke. This in turn creates a direct connection between the notion of truth and belief in relation to semiotic systems of meaning.