December 12 2018

Coaching Meeting with Arne Scheuermann
: Iconography & Iconology & Rhetorical Design Analysis

Iconography

  • Understanding motifs (elements) while taking in consideration culture, framework of society, history, religion, etc...
  • requires knowlesge of literary sources, and understanding of history, context, religion, etc...

Rhetorical Design Analysis

  • 1- Pre-iconographic Analysis = Done!
  • 2- Search: Interpretive action: derive/assumed affects from it (trained assumption/educated guess)
    within your culture (Western Culture Rumiyah magazine)
  • 3- Looking at mistakes where it is contradicted (in terms of effects they are making)
  • Look at conflicts in aims ---> possibilities
    Example: "aiming at heroism but they didn't manage" to...
    USSSR ---> heroisim (in perfection) WHEREAS IS ---> mediocre technique of imagery (innner imagery = perfection | actual image = not perfect)
  • Maybe: look at imperfect photos (instagram, snapchat,etc...)
    compare to
    jihadi photographs
    similarities ?
    conflict with society
  • Next Corpus depends on findings
  • Stick to imagery.
  • Look at other extremist imagery (selfies in Spanish / Catalan conflict, for example. | Armed branch in Northern Ireland | Body builders
  • Mid-January (Monday 14th): Bring written results to the VIRAL meeting: 5 main finding after our Skype meeting.
  • What is the interpretive area I would like to explore?
  • Do I remove old men's photos? No.
  • Look at young and old. And certain role the old men could play in the eyes of young men.
  • Study of the portraits of young men and old men in the renaissance time.
  • Maybe: young man look up to at old men in terms of wealth and old men look up to young men in terms of style? (room for an educated guess)
  • Educated guess: The whole lifespan is dedicated to jihad (if old men and young boys are joining, then why can't you?

Iconology

  • A method of interpretation in cultural history and the history of art used by Erwin Panofsky and Aby Warburg.
  • It uncovers the cultural, social, and historical background of themes and subjects in the visual arts.
  • It examines the symbolic meaning on more than its face value by reconciling it with its historical context and with the artist's body of work.
  • Tries to reveal the underlying principles that form the basic attitudes of a nation, a period, a class, a religious or philosohpical perspective, which is modulated by one personality and condensed into 1 work (for example).
  • "Why an artist chose a particular subject at a specific location and time and represented it in a certain way.
  • Social-historical concentration.
  • From other sources looking at the realm outside the design sphere.
  • What is the importance of the future? And why is it important (look at religious theory, political theories)
    Example: idea of progress in the Arab World.
    Military culture
    Islamic viewpoint
    Islamic patriarchy
  • --->To reattach my findings with society.
  • What is this image telling me aboout this kind of Islam? Their beliefs? the fighters? the audience that is looking at these images?