| Symbols constitute pictures, objects, sounds, written words or something else and represent ideas, concepts, attitudes, beliefs and feelings. Some of them are commonly used, like white rectangle on the red background signifying “STOP”, others have particular sense and stimulate deep emotions. The examples of such symbols are the Star or David in Judaism and the crucifix in Christianity.
We're surrounded by symbols. Every day we face with something that has a symbolic sense. You will see symbols on money, in music compositions, books, commercials, politics etc. To realize the significance of a symbol a viewer needs to know what this symbol implies. For instance, the Chinese yin and yang symbol seems an amusing image with white and black colors for people who do not know the secret meaning of this sign. They may enjoy its aesthetic side, but they do not see more than that. Quite the contrary, in case a person knows the origin of the symbol he or she sees not only a picture, but an idea of deep intercommunication of things in our life.
During the history of humankind symbols were widely used in art. This way, one object on a painting can speak volumes about the situation, the thoughts of the painter, his views on life and beliefs. To understand the secret meaning of a book or a music composition we have to be very attentive to symbols. Every now and then we have to read critics on a definite piece of art in order to understand the idea of the author. This is because the language of symbols is rather complicated.
So what are the most popular symbols in art and what do they represent?
Amidst the most common symbols applied in works of art are books, a candle, clocks and a mirror. A book as a rule stands for learning and knowledge. If you see a burning candle on a picture it's in most cases a symbol of time passing or religion. On the other hand, an extinguished candle implies mourning and death. A clock refers to the time passing. On this point the famous painting of Salvador Dali known as “Melting clocks” stands for an idea that nothing in our living complies with some rules. And at last, a mirror represents efforts to find the truth, but in some cases it just represents the vanity.
In this way, symbols are everywhere around us. We just need to be a little more attentive to details to see them. |
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