| Symbols are pictures, objects, written words, sounds or something like that and imply ideas, thoughts, notions, feelings and beliefs. Some of them are very common, such as white rectangle on the red background implying “stop”, others have special significance and stimulate deep emotions. The examples of such symbols are the Star or David in Judaism and the crucifix in Christianity.
We all are surrounded by symbols. Every day we face something that has a symbolic sense. You can find symbols on money, in music compositions, commercials, books, politics and so on. To realize the meaning of a symbol a person should know what this symbol represents. For instance, the Chinese symbol of "yin" and "yang" seems an amusing picture with white and black colors for people that don't know the secret sense of this sign. They may enjoy its design and aesthetic side, but they don't see more than that. On the contrary, if a person knows the origin of the symbol he sees not just a picture, but an idea of deep interdependence of things in our lives.
During the whole history of mankind symbols were vastly used in art. This way, one item on a painting can tell a lot about the concepts of the painter, his view on life and beliefs. To understand the underlying meaning of a book or a music composition we need to pay special attention to symbols. Every now and then we need to learn the professionals' point of view on a definite piece of art to understand the idea of the author. This is due to the complication of the symbols language.
So what are the most widespread symbols in art and what do they refer to?
Amongst the most common symbols used in pieces of art are a book, a candle, a clock and a mirror. A book generally represents transmitting of knowledge and learning. In case you see a burning candle on a painting it is in most cases a symbol of religion or time passing. From the other side, an extinguished candle signifies death and mourning. A clock stands for the time passing. In this respect the well-known painting of Salvador Dali known as “Melting clocks” stands for an idea that nothing in our lives is in keeping with some rules. And finally, a mirror refers to efforts to get the truth, but in some cases it just refers to the vanity.
In this way, symbols are everywhere around us. We just should pay a little more attention to details to see them. |
