what makes an image iconic?

d53c54ed.jpg
 
It's the subject that usually iconic.
 
According to Roland Barthes, in his essay Rhetoric of the Image, the iconicity of an image is either

a) uncoded: i.e. the literal representation of a thing, such as a cat, tomato or car.

b) coded: i.e. the symbolic meaning of the image, such as cuteness, freshness or speed.
 
Musicman said:
According to Roland Barthes, in his essay Rhetoric of the Image, the iconicity of an image is either

a) uncoded: i.e. the literal representation of a thing, such as a cat, tomato or car.

b) coded: i.e. the symbolic meaning of the image, such as cuteness, freshness or speed.
Click to expand...

He has too much time on his hands.
 
FruitFlakes said:
He's also an awesome theoretician.
Click to expand...

Not on that showing. Or maybe I have lots of iconic images.

Is he actually talking about photography :thinking:
 
You're inferring differently from that quote - he's simply taking various iconic images and reducing them to their core values, which are either a) being a photo of a subject that is universally recognised or b) being able to evoke an emotional response or being able to capture a certain zeitgeist. I think his examples of a cat or a tomato are a bit misleading though, he's working with their universality as images rather than their actual importance as a photographic subject. I also feel that he's wrong that it's an 'either' scenario, as many iconic images possess a universal subject and the ability to evoke a feeling. Also he wrote a whole book on photography. :p
 
Last edited:
Musicman said:
According to Roland Barthes, in his essay Rhetoric of the Image, the iconicity of an image is either

a) uncoded: i.e. the literal representation of a thing, such as a cat, tomato or car.

b) coded: i.e. the symbolic meaning of the image, such as cuteness, freshness or speed.
Click to expand...

I think I prefer John Szarkowski's premise that images are either windows or mirrors
 
Those are jaw-droppingly brilliant images, but is there just a whiff of...sanitization in the selection?

Where is Nick Ut's shot of the girl in Viet Nam? Jeff Widener's `tank man` from Tiananmen Square? The 9/11 impact? And many of the most iconic images in photography are nudes - where are these?

"The people, places, and moments that have shaped history" Getty say in the header.

"With some of the most important ones missing because were afraid of offending the soft-minded" they could have added.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top