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September 29, 2005
Semiotic Analysis of Painting
The television set in this painting is very old fashioned, perhaps around the time frame of the 50's. The shoes also seem old and practically unused, almost forgotten altogether. The black telephone is very old fashioned as well, because it has a dial in which you have to spin it so that it will coordinate with the correct number. There is also a dust broom in the corner, which looks as though it has been used for cleaning. The chair is just pretty much propped against the old television set, while the plate is just perfectly placed on top of it. The objects appear to be inatimate, which gives the painting its stillness. Every one of the objects in this painting seems to have a particular place and purpose. Also in the reflection of the television set, their appears to be a moonlight beach with the sun having been set on the horizon.
I think that this painting is a metaphor for the average everyday life of a person. The different shoes are metaphors for work and play. The blue ones represent work and coming home after a long day. This is why those shoes are on the floor, because they are being discarded. The broom is there to symbolize work as well. The other red sneakers represent play and relaxation, which is why they are represented on the top of the television, along with the chair. The telephone and plate are also metaphoric of rest. All of this images form one continuous flow from left to right (top to bottom), except for the shoes and broom which are further away on the floor. The moonlit beach is a metonymy for relaxation, and an escape from the everyday life. All of these objects are illuminated by light, which means that they are just an idea, while the darkness in the background is closed around these objects.
I think that the painter is trying to say that relaxation is an escape from reality and the contemporary world. Sometimes people need to let go of work and preocupations and focus on something that calms them. This is the metonymy of the beach, because everyone regardless of what culture their from, knows that the beach is one of the ultimate ideas of relaxation or an escape from work and stress. This painting shows that we should all have some kind of imagination, becasue imagining is the ultimate escape.
I really enjoyed this painting.
--Yasmin
Posted by lcisperez at September 29, 2005 06:21 PM
Comments
What do you make of the fact that the TV reveals a scene of nature which, if you are watching TV, you would never see....
Posted by: Ellen Grabiner at September 29, 2005 09:24 PM
I think that it represents an escape from the artificial, and focusing on natural aspects of life. This is important since the scene in this picture seems to focus on man-made objects and not nature itself. Nature is something distance in this painting.
--Yasmin
Posted by: Yasmin at October 2, 2005 07:55 PM