Reading Response: Image Icons.

Image Icons (36-72)

This article discuses the significance and nature of icons. The difference between an Icon and an image is the difference between connotative and denotative meaning. The article defines icons as an image that holds great cultural significance. The denotative meaning of an image is the literal visual information captured withing the frame. The connotative meaning is the cultural significance attached to that visual information. The article gives the example of the famous photograph of a young man standing up to a line of tanks in Tienanmen Square, Beijing. The photograph's denotative meaning is a young man standing in front of a line of tanks. The images power comes from it's connotative meaning. It is a picture of an individual standing up against impossible odds. An unarmed man could not possibly pose any threat to a tank. It could roll right over him without suffering any damage whatsoever. At the time, it was interpreted as a powerful image of rebellion and fearless individualism in the face of injustice and impossible odds. The photo has no universal value, but to our culture it represents ideals we have come to embrace.

A picture is said to be worth a thousand words. This makes sense considering the great significance we attach to certain images. In a way, images become part of our language. We use them to communicate ideas and information. An icon is an image that holds the same value of meaning for a large group of people. It's connotative value is the same for an entire culture, making it as much a part of their language as a world or phrase.