Iconography

Encyclopedia Britannica defines Iconography as: The science of identification, description, classification, and interpretation of symbols, themes, and subject matter in the visual arts. The term can also refer to the artist’s use of this imagery in a particular work. (1)

Throughout history, artists and their works have almost counted on some sort of iconography to push their message across the line from indifference to understanding. Not only artists, but also people with a background in the civil rights movement, when you think of Civil Rights for example what pops into your head? An Image of Martin Luther King Jr.? Malcom X? Rosa Parks? Or some phrase or statement that they have made that well echo through the annals of history, anything can be iconic from words, to a photograph to a person and their entire belief system. But today I, specifically want to focus on the secular iconography people and artists have used to make their message heard. We’ll start with Andy Warhol, the first thing you think of when you hear his name? Campbell’s Soup and Marilyn Monroe? Or General Mao Zedong? All huge world altering icons to this day. Campbell’s soup during the time period, have an amazingly successful stretch during the time period that Warhol was producing his iconic artworks. During this period Campbell’s broke 1 Billion dollars in sales for the first time, opened 11 new factories all over the world, as well as other new facilities. (3) Though this may not have been entirely a result of Warhol’s works, it absolutely had some impact on bringing the product to a larger stage and informing the public that this company is growing and buy our product. Recently Campbell’s used this iconography to help sell soup again, by replicating Warhol’s colorful soup cans on the actual cans themselves to help drive sales and to celebrate an icon embodied in the cans and the artist himself.

Art historian Erwin Panofsky asked a question “How are we to decide where symbolism begins?”...