Gesture in Painting: Problems in Semiology (Chastel)

I think a lot about semiotics. I think about the events that formed them, the repetition that subscribed them to a law of visual language. I find amusement in modern gestures captured in contemporary imagery, especially that of the feminine performance and how those mimic gestures depicted in classical portrait paintings of women. Gestures painted by men who only knew to look for such things. I think about how to exploit these, to poke fun at them, to point them out for the silly performances they are. They remind me of my Polly Porn Star paper action figures, replete with hipthrusts, pouty faces and a stuck out posterior, real signifiers for an idea of what a woman is. And like the Italians who mimicked their classical paintings, we too mimic as though it is the very essence of a woman.

While driving to the SAIC campus, I noticed the throngs of people walking across the street in front of my car. Many were holding phones and wearing earbuds in their ears. It was interesting to see how others had dressed given the heat and weather of the day.

While walking to the building 280 I noticed a Grove of ginkgo trees. Reminding me of my undergraduate campus, a place that makes me feel comfy and at home.

 While walking through the Art Institute of Chicago, I observed a family in front of me likely from Germany by their language and accent as a brother and sister squabble over silly things. I could smell their perfume as I did not recognize it. Most likely from a foreign country.