Semiology of the Visual Image

Semiology encompasses multiple ideas and theories, coined by Ferdinand de Saussure (1857–1913) as the science of how language creates meaning, expanded to encompass how still and moving images create meaning (Danesi, 2006). Saussure posited that meaning is conveyed through “signs” that have two constituent parts, the Signifier (the idea or concept to be communicated) and the Signified (the message as the recipient translates it). This brings to mind the party game Chinese Whispers, the game which relies upon one of the inherent risks in all communication, that the message intended by the transmitter can be misunderstood by the recipient (Yakin and Totu, 2014).

Semiology is a highly prevalent method of analysing the visual image and has attracted the consideration of many social academics and almost as many theories. Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914), an American scientist and mathematician,  developed a theory of the Semiotic Triad which included the “Object” and the Representamen (the contents of the message), and the Interpretant (how the message is interpreted)

Pierce suggested that three signs constituted the relationships within the triad:

·       An Icon: a sign that represents the object by similarity of looks.

·       An Index: a sign that has an inherent relationship to the object it communicates.

·       A Symbol: a sign that has an arbitrary relationship with the object but is conventionally understood. A triangle sign on a lift call button is an example of a Symbol sign.

Within the field of visual semiotics possibly the best-known theorist is Roland Barthes (1915-1980), a French writer and social literary critic (Brittanica, n.d.) Barthes took the basic premise that a sign = Signifier + Signified to develop a way of deconstructing and codifying the messages within the visual image. Barthes' seminal 1964 essay on Semiotics “The Rhetoric of the Image” deconstructs a well-known (at the time) magazine advertisement for Panzani Italian groceries, describing over twelve pages precisely how the advertisement delivers its complex messages to encourage viewers to purchase Panzini products.

In Rhetoric of the Image, Barthes introduces the three messages associated with this advertisement: the Linguistic Message, the Iconic Message, and the Symbolic Message.

The linguistic message in the case of this advert is made within the image, in the form of text on the packets. Linguistic messages can also appear alongside an image, as they do often in newspapers, and are generally constituted as either Anchorage text or Relay text.

·       Anchorage text serves to simplify the recipient’s understanding of a sign when there are multiple possible meanings. Newspapers utilise anchorage text to ensure direct the reader to the desired meaning from a photograph.

·       Relay text is complementary to the text. Rather than directing understanding it is connotative, guiding interpretation.  

The Symbolic sign is defined by Barthes as everything within the image that is not iconic. Symbolic messages can be connotative or culturally deduced.

In 1977 Barthes wrote S/Z, a book which contained a structural analysis of Honoré de Balzac's short story, Sarrasine. In S/Z he introduces a series of semiotic sign definitions which he uses to decode Balzac’s essay. Whilst these signs were directed towards linguistics, they are equally pertinent to an analysis of visual images. Barthes designates these signs as:

Symbolic Codes: Symbolic codes can both denote and connote messages, the denotive codes are easy to understand, and whatever symbol is presented is accepted as intended by the recipient. The interpretation of connoted codes may be influenced by cultural factors.

 Semantic Codes: Semantic codes describe the generally accepted but nonobvious meaning in visual images. These codes are learned over time and from experience. Examples of Semantic codes might include a plume of smoke from a woodland, Red, or Green lights meaning stop or go, or clothing such as a Stetson hat meaning a cowboy.

Referential Codes: Referential codes require a particular point of reference such as culture, age, gender, ethnicity, religion, etc. for them to be understood. Without these references, the meaning may be misread. Referential codes may include items such as traffic signals, and national or cultural dress.

Proairetic Codes: Proairetic codes are action codes that describe the presumption of follow-on actions to those displayed in the image. An example of a Proairetic code might include a diver standing on top of a high diving board.

Hermeneutic Codes: Hermeneutic Codes are also known as enigma codes. These codes describe a sense of mystery. Examples of hermeneutic codes might include shadowy figures or a view through a part-opened door.

In 1980 Barthes wrote Camera Lucida, in which he eschews his earlier theories of deconstruction of the visual image in favour of two new concepts. The premise of Camera Lucida is Barthes' search for a photograph that captures the essence or spirit of his late mother, as he remembered her. The narrative follows Barthes' struggles to find a photograph, reflecting on the emotional effect of photographs.

The two terms that Barthes created to describe this effect are studium and punctum.  Studium encompasses the general effect of the photograph. The studium is easily understood, what is more, this understanding is intuitive and superficially banal. The Punctum is an element of the photograph that pierces the viewer’s consciousness to create a personal link between the viewer and the object or person symbolised within it. The punctum of an image is very personal to the viewer, Barthes example, a photograph of his late mother, is an ideal example. This punctum relies upon his relationship with her, the same photograph would not necessarily have the same emotional effect upon anyone else.

ATKIN, A., 2023. Pierce’s Theory of Signs. In ZALTA, N. and U. NODELMAN (eds.) The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2023 Edition). Available from: https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2023/entries/peirce-semiotics/

BARTHES, R. and R. HOWARD, 2020. Camera lucida. London: Vintage Classics

BARTHES, R., 1977. Image Music Text. London: Fontana Press

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