Ghosts, Fairy Tales, Haunted Windows, and Humanism
Welcome to your September edition of Signified
Art is a great talking point. Why not start a conversation by forwarding this newsletter to someone you know who shares your love of art?
Boosted! 🚀 Signifier’s consistent quality has been recognised and our editor, Remy Dean, was invited onto the Medium Boost Nomination Pilot team. Although Remy may nominate art, design, and media articles from across Medium, writers submitting to Signifier are more likely to attract his editorial attention. So, if you’re a writer with a story that would sit well in Signifier or a creative wishing to showcase your art in our : six : shot : gallery, you can find guidelines of how to do that at the bottom of this newsletter. ↓
Announcing the September exhibition at : six : shot : gallery
Sri Prabha on ‘Resonator — Reanimator’
“Like Carl Sagan saying, ‘we are made of star stuff,’ the work alludes to all these cosmic things that have happened to make us who we are now — that we can take these elements and go somewhere new to experience something profoundly different. I don’t know what it is, but I want people to experience some state of being that’s going to be unique to themselves but, through the idea of these elements in all the things that we all share…”
Continue reading and see the art at : six : shot : gallery
Recently ‘Boosted’ in Signifier:
‘The Ghost of Oyuki’ and Her Twin
Here, we will consider the representation of Japanese ghosts and how one artist defined the way they’d be depicted for centuries. Perhaps the most distinct characteristic is a lack of legs, where the figure of a ghost fades away before it reaches the ground, implying that they are no longer physically connected to this world. This concept can be traced back to a time when belief in the existence of ghosts was common…
continue reading in SIGNIFIER 🚀
Dürer and Jerome: Being Human
Dürer excelled at pushing the limits of this technology to produce amazing works of art. His engravings are still considered amongst the finest ever achieved and he set a benchmark for all that followed. The renowned Humanist, Erasmus, who at the time was compiling the complete writings of Saint Jerome, commented that in his monochrome engravings Dürer ‘depicts what cannot be depicted — fire, rays of light, thunderstorms’…
continue reading in SIGNIFIER 🚀
‘Dark Beauty and Almost Spectral Luminosity’ — the Art of Harry Clarke
The Geneva Window (1930) was originally commissioned to be installed at the International Labour Court in Geneva at the behest of the Irish government, but was ultimately turned down on grounds of indecency. Figures from Ireland’s literary past are depicted in brilliant deep blues, vibrant reds, and a virtuosic cavalcade of detail. It’s a daring piece of work where history and fiction overlap: mistresses cavort in transparent…
continue reading in SIGNIFIER 🚀
Ferrous Friend or Foe?
Anyone who has seen Disney’s 2014 movie Maleficent will know that iron burns fairies and iron chains can hold a dragon captive. Iron frames were once popular for children’s bedsteads, because it was said that fairies could not approach to snatch or swap the infants who slept upon them. Iron bands around the coffin of a witch or a vampire were believed to prevent them from escaping their tombs. Many classical texts on Qabalistic ritual…
continue reading in SIGNIFIER 🚀
Popular Signifier (ICYMI)
Spotlight on one of our most popular or trending articles…
Kachina Dolls: Ancient Spirits, Modern Art
Kachinas represent the spirits of living things encountered in the real world as well as natural phenomena and sometimes more advanced abstract concepts. They inhabit a realm of varied ancestral ‘ghosts’ who hold essential ancient wisdom and bring blessings to their descendants. Central to some native American belief systems, particularly those of Hopi, Zuni, & other Pueblo peoples, Kachinas are benign elemental spirits…
‘Take a Seat’: from the archives of Signifier
In this regular feature of our Signified Newsletter, we select a few choice articles from our archives linked by a monthly theme. Representing Signifier’s Design coverage, three top articles about iconic chairs…
Walking the Line (off the page and into the world)
Whilst Paul Klee was teaching at the Bauhaus, this concept of taking a line for a walk exerted an unforeseen influence. The Bauhaus metal shop were the first to produce furniture using tubular steel, most notably the chair designed in 1925 by Hungarian architect, Marcel Breuer that became known as ‘The Wassily Chair’ (its design having been approved by Kandinsky). The frame for this chair was, in essence, devised by taking…
Bent into Shape: the Ant Chair
Arne Jacobsen preferred to be known as an architect and believed the design of furnishings and décor was part of the overall remit. He built an impressive international reputation, designing some high-profile public and domestic buildings. He also thought the same design principles should apply throughout the built environment, which aligned him with Bauhaus teachings and the philosophy of many Scandinavian contemporaries…
Are You Sitting Comfortably?
In 1950, Herman Miller launched the Armchair, followed by the Side Chair in 1951. The latter proved more challenging to work out, as it lacked the armrests that provided the necessary rigidity. While the team were working out the issues with the armless Fibreglass Side Chair, Charles Eames became inspired by the honest aesthetics and functionality of steel wire consumer goods such as trays, baskets and even rat traps…
Signifier can only go forward with your support
Medium have recently introduced new algorithms to reward and encourage writers of top-notch content. So, please, remember to tap the ‘clap’ button a few times for articles you enjoy. Commenting, highlighting, and following writers you enjoy also helps signal their value. This is a kindness that costs you nothing but can really brighten a writer’s day, how cool is that!
If you enjoy our thoughtful articles about art, design, and media, but haven’t subscribed yet, please consider doing so via this link — we receive a small referral fee and you get unlimited access to The Signifier publication and Six Shot gallery, plus all the quality writing across Medium. It’s a great deal! (And would also make a great gift for the art lovers in your life.)
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Our Redbubble online store offers three collections of artistically taste-tested objet and there’s even a button badge of our distinctive Signifier/Signified dynamic diagram for all you media theorists and students of semiotics!
If you know anyone who enjoys reading “imaginative fiction at its best”, you can further support our editor and curator by recommending or purchasing their latest novels in the series, This, That, and The Other, written by Remy Dean with Zel Cariad and published by The Red Sparrow Press.
“Bursting at the seams with magic!”
“…will be enjoyed by fans of fantasy of all ages, particularly those who like classics, like the ‘Narnia’ saga.”
Attention, Boost-worthy Writers!
…propose an article for Signifier. The Signifier is a not too complicated, yet not too simplified, look at the evolution of art in short bites and bigger essays taking in art history, design icons, media theories, analysis of great works, think-pieces around art, the signifiers and the signified… from professional writers with art-related backgrounds.
We welcome proposals from Medium writers for suitable articles. Best way to get a feel for what is suitable is to read a range of our articles. The best way to make contact is to leave a comment on a recently published article written by our editor, Remy Dean. (A familiarity with the Signifier publication — demonstrated by following, claps, and comments — is advisable.)
Calling All Artists!
…submit your visual art to The Signifier : six : shot : gallery. Every month we showcase just six images by each artist, or creative entity. These six images are linked in some understandable way — perhaps from the same project, series, or dealing with related subjects. They may be linked by aesthetics, techniques, processes, philosophies, formal or conceptual elements. The six images are accompanied by an artist’s statement that does not necessarily explain the work but lends insight into meaning that informs deeper engagement.
You can read an overview of the gallery’s first two years here.
The art must be the sole creation of the artist, or creative entity, and intended to be viewed as a 2D image. No sculpture or 3D work will be considered at present. No NFTs. Acceptable media include, fine art, photography, drawing, painting, collage, prints, illustration, mixed media, digital, etc. The curator favours concept-driven work that is visually adventurous.
The Six Shot Gallery is hosted on the Medium platform, so the administration and maintenance costs are met by the reader and member contribution, not the exhibitors. Therefore, it will remain free to submit for the foreseeable future and no ‘virtual hanging fee’ is charged. Artists may include a single link to their personal website, agent, dealer or preferred sales site — we charge zero commission for this.
If accepted for exhibition, the six images should not appear elsewhere in the digital realm for the first month of their online exhibition. Exemptions to this rule include social media promoting the exhibition, artists’ personal websites, and any related press coverage. Apart from this agreement, Six Shot Gallery has no further control outside of the scheduled month of exhibition and copyright always remains with the author of the works. Layout and presentation is at the sole discretion of the curator.
The host and curator is Remy Dean and initial contact should be made by leaving a comment on the most recent exhibition showcase published in The Signifier : six : shot : gallery, or leave a private note on a recently published article written by our editor, Remy Dean. (A familiarity with the Signifier : six : shot : gallery — demonstrated by following, claps, and comments — is advisable.)
Please note that there is a maximum of 12 exhibition slots available per annum, so don’t be disappointed or discouraged should your work not be selected.
We look forward to receiving some exciting art from you! There are example exhibitions to see here.
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