Understanding Iconography
Sandra Michelli
Art 101
Feb 17, 2013
Timothy Brown

Understanding Iconography The two works of art I chose are, Rebellious Silence, by Shirin Neshat and The South Ledges, Appledore by Childe Hassam. Though these are two totally different works of art, I found them both interesting and compelling. They both showed different images and roles of women in society. When creating a piece of art, the artist has four roles to consider or fill. These roles are; the artist helps to show the world in a different way than others might see it, they create a visual record of the time period and area they are in, they make objects that have a given function and are ordinary look more appealing and lastly the artist gives meaning to ideas, thoughts or feelings that are considered immaterial. When an artist creates a piece of art with the role of showing you something you see often in a different way, they are trying to get you to think out of the box. Look at a common scene or items and see it, not for what it is, but for what it could be. While the artist who is trying to show you how to see a common thing or place in a different way, the artist who is trying to fill the role of expressing their time period or the place they are recreating are trying to help show you exactly what they are seeing and they are seeing it. They are trying to bring their visions to you just as they are. The third role of the artist, giving common objects more appeal or meaning, is sometimes hard see right away. The artist will take a common object, a coffin for example, as Kane Kwei did, and draw various images on the coffin to make it look more decorative but also using images that have meaning to the person being buried or to their family. The last role can be difficult to achieve for some. The artist is trying to show how they might feel about a given idea, object or feeling they have. Sometime it takes the viewer time to realize the thoughts being conveyed because they own feelings might get in the way. An open mind is sometimes needed to see this role in some pieces of art.

When I first look at the piece of artwork, Rebellious Silence, I feel that Shirin Neshat is trying not only to show us how she feels regarding Muslim women but also how she feels about war. The rifle, a symbol of war, splitting her face in half is what lead me to think this. After looking at the piece of work longer, I realize that though I know Muslim woman wear a black garment to cover themselves from head to toe, I do not know the meaning of this garment. In order to understand the painting more, I would have to understand the meaning of their garb and the inscription written on her face. After reading the chapter in our book, I now realize that the black garment is meant to cover the Muslim woman so she is not seen as a sexual object but as an equal to the men. Also, in Islamic culture, words mean more than images, therefore the words written on Shirin Neshat’s face is considered an art form also. The Iconography of Rebellious Silence is the writings on the face. This handwriting is a symbol of the main form of Islamic art. All of these facts are how the fourth role of an artist is being portrayed in the painting, Rebellious Silence.
Though the role of an artist is sometimes easy to find in some forms of art, it can also take some research, thinking and consideration and overall open mindedness to see. Had I simply gone by what I was seeing in the piece of work, Rebellious Silence, I would have missed the real meaning of the black garment, and the fact that Islamic art, values handwriting over images. I now realize that seeing art is not enough, We must also realize what we are seeing and think outside of the box at times in order to see the symbolic meanings.