Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Representational, Abstract, & Symbol


     This image is of a jewelry holder designed in the form of a turtle. The jewelry holder is an example of the representational due its recognizable form of an animal, the turtle. Based on our experiences we have seen what turtles look like, therefore making this image easy to distinguish such an animal. As the representational depicts an image containing a lot of detail, we are able to see here the distinct features of what we know makes a turtle. The representational turtle form is used both as an expressive and functional design. Its functional purpose is to hold jewelry while its expressive purpose is to look aesthetically appealing.


     This is an image of a landscape viewed from possibly a window. The landscape art is an example of the abstract because it has taken all the details from the representational and simplified it. The simplification is much like distillation in which all the unnecessary details were taken out to emphasize the important features. Here we see the sun and the surface area of the land. The abstract has broken the image down into the basic elements. Here we can see the basic elements of shape, line, color, and direction. Therefore we can see the abstract understructure of the landscape. We see the composition compared to the detailed representational.

 

     This is an image of a well-known symbol, the peace sign.  The peace sign is seen as symbolic as it is both simplified and abstracted in order to conveniently get the message out towards the viewers. The peace sign in its basic structure is shaped as a circle. Generally shapes come associated with an attached meaning. Here a circle is a sign of protection, warmth, and endlessness which fits accordingly to the idea of peace. It is also seen as an iconic symbol as it comes with a certain amount of cultural history. It actually consists of the letters "N" and "D", meaning nuclear disarmament. As far as cultural history goes, the peace sign originated with the British nuclear disarmament movement.

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