Iconography: Symbol Writing or The Use of Symbols for Meaning
I showed Cam the artwork entitled American Alphabet by artist Heidi Cody. Each letter of the alphabet from A to Z is represented by the first letter of a well-known American product logo. For Example: A is from All Laundry Detergent, B is from Bubblicious Bubble Gum, C is from Campbell’s Soup, and so on. We talked about the identity of these products from popular American culture. Then I showed him the video Looking Past Symbolism: Meaning in Dutch Still Life Painting presented by Smarthistory.org. We learned about symbolism: the use of symbols or images to signify meaning and concepts. Then I asked Cam to think about a still life that he will curate that has objects of significance and meaning to him and then to draw it. I gave him the rest of the class to sketch.