A Profound Lack of Symbolism and Coded Communication in Art Today
Well-known artists, now long since gone, frequently utilized symbolism and coded communications in their work. Picasso and Da Vinci immediately come to mind.
There are many reasons artists included symbolism or embedded messages in their paintings: some used art as a form of cryptograph; others used symbolic code to hide esoteric secrets; some to further their careers, to promote a person or a cause, or to communicate covertly with like-minded individuals.
For the most part, art today lacks this substance, intrigue and mystery. Many of the greatest paintings of all time were created with obscurity as their foundation.
Where has the creative edge of intrigue and masterful-mystery in art gone? Are modern day artists not as talented or creative as their predecessors? Are artists today simply attempting to cater to a creativity-numbed, cookie-cutter, great unwashed society?
This post was written as a challenge to artists – an invitation to sit in front of the easel today and create something entirely unique; a painting full of mystery, intrigue and obscurity. Let the next piece you paint include both symbolism and coded communication. Allow yourself to create your masterpiece.
Here is a collection of works from artists on DiscoveredArtists.com who are “pushing the envelope” with symbolism and covert messaging. Can you decipher their code?
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Absolutely agree with you that there’s been a great lack of symbolism in Contemporary Art.
Perhaps that is because Conceptual Art by definition tends to make any use of symbolism rather difficult as the whole of the work is a symbol for the idea it provokes.
Yet Conceptual and Word Art helped lead to my work, which is Post Conceptual Art. I am founding a new theory of Post Conceptual art and then a branch of that known as UnGraven Image. Both use symbols as strokes. The meaning is not inherent in the narrative (which can also use symbols as Da Vinci did). The meaning of a Post Conceptual artwork is inherent in its strokes.
Thanks for this blog.I had not actually considered the ongoing non Post Conceptual Art lack of symbolism previously.
Judy Rey Wasserman
On Twitter : @judyrey
Thank you for your comment, Judy. Words of wisdom. We’ve been following you on Twitter for a while now.
What is your overall sense of selling artwork online? We sell a great deal of work, but are always looking to increase sales for all of our artists.
Do you have any thoughts on the Internet and its role in the future of art sales?