The Semiotics of the Digital Image

Author(s): Patricia Search

Source: Leonardo, Vol. 28, No. 4 (1995), pp. 311-317
Published by: The MIT Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1576196
Accessed: 15-01-2018 14:56 UTC

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Leonardo

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SPECIAL SECTION

The Semiotics of the Digital Image

Patricia Search

ABSTRACT

Western formalism
postmodernist theory do
C ontemporary art criticism is deeply rooted in the postmodernist period, these vide an adequate frame
modernist and postmodernist theories. Modernism, whichworks merge discrete concepts interpreting many form
drew on the formalist theories of artist Ad Reinhardt and critic into fluid, integrated statements. art. Using artwork from

This paper examines the sem- 1950s to the present, t

Clement Greenberg, was a period of art-for-art's-sake that
shows how the semiotic
called for "pure painting" that was free of "illustration, distor- iotics of the digital image within of the digital image def
tion, illusion, allusion or delusion"[1]. For Reinhardt and the context of philosophical de- visual aesthetic in whic
Greenberg, the physical dimensions of the medium defined velopments in mathematics and become interpretations o

"pure painting" and "pure sculpture." Modernist artists such as physics. In these fields, causality bols, and multiple level
graphic encoding take o
Reinhardt stripped their paintings of three-dimensional (3D) and deterministic logic have been sive characteristics simi
illusions and embarked on academic studies that emphasized replaced by "descriptive" math- guistic syntax. The auth
"the flat surface, the [rectangular] shape of the support, the ematics and scientific theories of ines the semiotics of th
properties of pigment" [2]. This aesthetic gave rise to abstract relativity and quantum mechan- image within the contex

expressionism, color-field painting and minimalism. ics. The concepts behind these sophical developments i
ematics and science.
With his formalist theories, Greenberg sought to establish new scientific models of reality
objective criteria for the evaluation of art based on the inter- are also an integral part of the se-
action of form and medium. Modernist theory, however, was mantic-syntactic structure of the
highly deterministic, with only one approach to evaluating the digital image.
aesthetic quality of artwork.
As formalism reached a peak in the 1960s, body, perfor-
THE VISUAL LOGIC
mance, pop and conceptual art rejected the modernist doc-
trine and ushered in the era of postmodernism, which chal-
OF DESCRlIPIVE GEOMETRY
lenged all restrictions on form and aesthetics. For many Geometry is one of the oldest branches of mathematics an
theorists, the fragmented pluralism of postmodernism led to the architectural framework for computer graphics. The term
"... depthless styles, refusing, eluding, interpretation" [3]. geometry is derived from Greek words meaning "earth measure
Out of this aesthetic chaos, new forms of art emerged, in- ment," and early Euclidean geometry used deductive method
cluding works that use computer graphics as an integral part to study flat surfaces (plane geometry) and rigid 3D object
of the design process. However, much of this art is criticized (solid geometry). These linear, static methodologies were
for its lack of aesthetic quality, with critics maintaining thatbased on sets of unproven assumptions called axioms, whic
the work merely imitates earlier art forms. In many instances, were derived from perception and experience [4].
the critical theories of modernist and postmodernist discourse Mathematicians gradually realized that if these intuitive as
define these evaluative criteria. Reminiscent of the modernist sumptions were replaced by abstract terms devoid of precon
doctrine, many writings highlight characteristics of the digitalceived meaning, the resultant type of formal system wou
medium-such as kinetics, interaction and networking, simu- provide a more flexible structure for evaluating spatial rel
lation, virtual reality, and numerical analysis-as the principletionships. In 1637, Descartes developed a branch of analytic
criteria for defining and evaluating the aesthetics of digital
art. Critics often misinterpret works that do not exhibit these
attributes as artwork that could have been done in another Fig. 1. Eudice Feder, Separation, Calcomp plot, 12 x 18 in, 1980.
medium without the use of electronic technology. Artists such as Feder use precisely controlled linear modulations
rather than perspective projections, to define spatial relation-
This approach to evaluating digital art overlooks the
ships. () 1980 Eudice Feder. All rights reserved.)
semiotics of the digital image, in which symbols become inter-
pretations of symbols, and multiple levels of graphic encoding
take on discursive characteristics similar to linguistic syntax.
As this conceptual environment of symbols and text replaces
tactile and kinesthetic interaction with the artwork, new forms
of creative expression codify form, space, action and time into
diverse levels of abstraction. Unlike the fragmented visions of

Patricia Search (artist, educator, researcher), Department of Language, Literature,

and Communication, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, U.S.A.

This paper was presented at the Fourth International Symposium on Electronic Art
(FISEA 93), Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A., 3-7 November 1993.

O 1995 ISAST LEONARDO, Vol. 28, No. 4, pp. 311-317, 1995 311

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geometry that used algebraic equations
to visualize points, lines and forms, thus
raising the study of geometry to a new
level of abstraction by detaching it from
its perceptual base. However, Cartesian
geometry, like Euclidean geometry, was
still founded on deterministic logic and
deductive reasoning.
The 1800s brought new philosophical
and scientific inquiries into the relation-
In 1926 Niels Bohr developed the
the syntactical components of geometric
space and then synthesize those relation-
theory of complementarity to describe
ships into an integrated system. the antithetical duality of physical forces
that appeared in quantum physics [13].
Light, for instance, is both a wave and a
METASTRUCTURAL MODELS
particle. However, light reveals only one
IN PHYSICS attribute at a time, and the scientist de-
termines that attribute by the type of
Like early Euclidean geometry, classical
measuring device used in an experi-
physics was built on deterministic logic
and reductionist theories that limited ment. Scientists also learned that mul-

ship between optical truth and interpre- the interpretation of physical forces tiple
to forces such as gravitation, nuclear
tation. Mathematicians reevaluated tra- forces, and electromagnetism can oper-
strict causation. Newtonian mechanics,
for instance, was built on the reduction- ate simultaneously in the same place
ditional assumptions about space. New
theories evolved that further under- [14]. In this multidimensional model,
ist theory that time and space were rigid
scored the need for geometric systems
and constant. Newton described time physicists discovered the "quantum
that were not based on the intuitive
andper-
space as follows: leap," the fact that electrons can move
ception of space and time. In 1854,Absolute,
for True, and Mathematical
between orbits and simultaneously ap-
example, a German mathematician
Time ... flows equably without regardpear in another orbit without traversing
to any thing external .... Absolute the intervening space [15]. The linear
named Georg Riemann postulated that
space could be curved-a theory Space,
that in its own nature, without re-
dimensions of strict causation that char-
gard to any thing external, remains al-
Einstein later used to develop relativity. acterized classical physics were replaced
ways similar and immovable [8].
Riemann's research, along with the work by a matrix of interactive relationships.
of other mathematicians in the nine- The world of quantum physics raised
According to classical physics, reality
was of
teenth century, required new methods an objective truth and the scientist
as many questions as answers. There was
defining and visualizing spatiotemporal no longer any such thing as "objective"
was a passive observer looking on. How-
ever,
concepts. The linear determinism of Eu-in science, as in mathematics, theo-
reality. Relationships were defined by the
riesby
clidean geometry was slowly replaced of indeterminism eventually re- participation and interpretation of the
mathematical models that described observer.
placed the basic unit of Aristotelian Scientists and mathematicians

logic, the syllogism, which is based of

multidimensional, abstract relationships. onthe time learned that they could no
The dynamic interaction of these the spa-
"if-then" proposition. With the longer
in- rely on intuition and experience
troduction
tiotemporal descriptions was reflected in of relativity and quantumto define physical forces. They needed to
new mathematical terms such as between- build a flexible, abstract framework for a
physics, a new scientific model of the
virtual world with tentative truths.
world emerged in which dynamic inter-
ness, translation, reflection, projective and
inversive models, and hyperplanes. actions replaced static, linear forces.
In the 1960s, with the help of com- In his theories of relativity, Albert THE SEMIOTICS OF THE
puter graphics, mathematicians bridged Einstein demonstrated that space and
DIGITAL IMAGE
the gap between symbolic descriptions time are not absolute [9]. Both space and
time are multidimensional forces that
and perception by using patterns to visu- Mathematicians and physicists demon-
alize logical processes and simultaneous
defy the limitations of perceptual strated
inter- that we cannot rely on our percep-
relationships. Mathematician Lynnpretation. At the speed of light, for tual
ex-interpretations as accurate descrip-
Steen describes mathematics as a "sci- ample, time encompasses both tions
the of reality. Instead, we must raise our
present
ence of patterns" with abstract levels of and the future. In effect, "time
intuitive knowledge of space and time to
visual encoding in which "theories ceases to change because it contains all
a higher level of abstraction that defines
emerge as patterns of patterns" [5]. In
change" [10]. Spatial representationsthe
also
dynamics between human perception
merge at high speeds. As space is and
this new descriptive geometry, percep- com-reality. Once we identify these inter-
tual references symbolize dynamicpressed,
pro- multiple views of objects areactive
pos- forces, we can create multidimen-
cesses and interrelationships that sible from a single perspective because
sional models that integrate mathemati-
planes
change over time. Logical analysis is aug- and volumes become one [11]. cal laws and interpretation into virtual
mented by the perceptual, holistic syn-Quantum physics continued to de-
extensions of the physical world.
thesis of visual patterns. According to this pluralistic and highly abstract
velop Psychologists call this process of rede-
mathematician Jacques Hadamard,model im- of spatiotemporal interaction. fining perceptual knowledge "reflective
Quantum theory emerged in 1900 abstraction."
ages are important to provide a "simulta- when Computers have made it
physicist Max Planck demonstratedeasier
neous view of all the arguments" [6]. that for mathematicians, scientists and
energy comes in discrete units (rather
The visual logic of descriptive geometry artists to use this process to visualize and
enables mathematicians to understand than a continuum) called "quanta," a
construct new knowledge beyond the
term
the structure of a problem and then derived from the Greco-Latin word
re- boundaries of logic and expectation. In
for "how
construct and improve their intuitive un- much" [12]. Traditional obser- digital art, the result is a new visual aes-
vations about the physical world broke thetic that echoes the philosophical per-
derstanding of numerical relationships.
Multiple levels of perceptual encoding
down in the microscopic world of quan- spectives of modern mathematics and
create a model for describing "those
tumas-
mechanics. Scientists needed new physics in several semiotic structures:
theories
pects of visual modes of thought that ap- to explain the indeterministic
* Metastructural Dynamics
pear to lie beyond the analogy ofand
merehighly interactive nature of sub-
* Cognitive Mapping
sight" [7]. Mathematicians can analyze
atomic units. * Visual Logic.

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 This paper discusses each of these di- The medium of light in computer Zotz [1985]) and my own artwork (Gossa-
mensions of the digital image and cites graphics also transforms the spatial mer di- Lights [1986]; Coloratura 100 [1988];
examples of representative artwork [16]. mensions of lines and planes. For ex- Kaleidoscope [1992]) represent this type
ample, in works by Ben Laposky (Oscillon of visual model (Color Plate A No. 2). In
40 [1952]; Oscillon [1956]) and Kathleen these images, geometric objects anchor
METASTRUCTURAL Dolberg (Gossamer [1984]), transparentthe work in the logical dimensions of
filaments of light create flowing shapes space and time, while perceptual trans-
DYNAMICS
that engulf the surrounding space and formations challenge the limitations of
In computer graphics, terms such as blur 3D the perceptual boundaries between experiential reality.
model, renderingand simulation suggestlines,
an surfaces, 3D space and infinity.
artificial retreat from reality. However, The medium of light also defines differ-
COGNITIVE MAPPING
artists actually use these techniques ent to levels of linear and surface space in
the "virtual sculptures" of Michael
visualize scientific interpretations of real- The mathematical models of descriptive
ity by creating metastructural environ- O'Rourke. In images such as Manhattan geometry, relativity and quantum me-
ments that expand the intuitive dimen- Invitation (1987), O'Rourke creates a chanics
vi- emphasize interactive webs of
sions of space and time into abstract sual interplay between light and spacesequential
by and simultaneous events. In
models of a dynamic, virtual world. juxtaposing definitive geometric lines many forms of digital art, perceptual and
Using an architectonic system and of objects with diffuse areas of modu- cognitive processes define a matrix of
mathematically defined forms, colors, lated colors (Fig. 3). temporal relationships, resulting in a
compositions and perspectives, an artist The reflective and refractive qualitiescomplex network of associations.
can control the hierarchy of geometric In some artwork, this multidimen-
of light also enable artists to visualize the
spatial relationships in and between sional
relationships and redefine the geometric ob- structure visualizes the geometric
syntax of space and time. Bruce
jects. In Yoichiro Kawaguchi's anima-
syntax of experiential space and time.
The use of geometric coordinates tions
to Hamilton and Susan Hamilton, for ex-
(Origin [1985]; Ocean [1988]),
highly reflective and transparent sur-
specify spatial relationships has shifted ample, use computer graphics to create
the artistic focus to linear and surface faces display the surrounding environ-conceptual drawings for sculptures like
projections rather than perspective pro-ment, transforming organic forms into Tetrad (1984), Metamorphosis III (1987),
jections. Working with subtle changes mirrored
in and Scarab (1989). In these works, math-
visions of space within space.
attributes of lines such as width, color,The images embrace space and time ematically defined proportions create a
texture and position, artists transform geometric balance between lines, planes,
from all directions, rather than limiting
the planar dimensions of linearity into textures and color (Fig. 4). The math-
the vantage point to a unique perspec-
volumetric extensions of space. This type tive. Space becomes all-inclusive andematical
n- syntax of these sculptures not
of "linear space" is an integral part dimensional,
of as in the works of Barb- only visualizes logical, sequential pro-
works by artists such as Eudice Feder adillo and Molnar. cesses, but also provides a syntactic filter
(Separation [1980]; Permutations [1980];Time-in particular, the spatial repre- for simultaneously mapping multiple
Wind-Warn [1985]), Herbert Franke sentation of time-establishes a concep-perspectives in space and time.
(Serie 1956 [1956]; Grafik I [1956]), and tual link between the physical and virtualOther artists use a dynamic, visual-lin-
A. Michael Noll (Ninety Computer-Gener- dimensions of these metastructural mod- guistic syntax to construct interactive
ated Sinusoids with Linearly Increasing Pe- els. Time is defined as an infinite exten- webs of associations. In Random Ransom
(1986) and Indicted Invited (1988), Tom
riod [1965]). These artists use precise, sion of space and form through the
geometrically controlled lines to create mathematical abstraction of lines, anglesLeeser extracts images and text from
multiple levels of perceptual space (Fig. and curves. The geometric syntax of the their original sources and integrates
1). Tony Longson's work adds a physical fractal image is an excellent example of them into a "media archeology" that
dimension to this concept of linear this temporal link between the physicalchallenges their original meanings and
space. Longson creates line and "tonal" and virtual dimensions of reality. Incontext [17]. Paul Berger creates digital
drawings on multiple panels of Plexiglas, other artwork, such as Kawaguchi's art, photographs that visualize the cognitive
then overlaps the panels to create 3D time is defined by reflective and trans-networks of information in a database.
constructions (Group Theory Grid [1968]; parent objects that visualize the passageIn works like Print-Out (1988), Berger
Square Tonal Drawing #2 [1980]). of light through space. In these images,uses photocopied lists of database en-
For other artists, surface rather than layers of visual data define multidimen-tries as backgrounds for photographic
linear projections shape the metastruc- sional arrays that visualize simultaneousportraits [18].
tural dynamics of space and time. In Un- and sequential levels of spatiotemporal In interactive works of art, narrative
titled (1975) by Manuel Barbadillo and in perception. intention increases the complexity of
Vera Molnar's series Hypertransformations The metastructural dynamics of the cognitive mapping. The viewer expects
(1973-1976), geometric progressions digital image integrates structure and to construct meaningful relationships
define randomly shaped, interlocking control into a spatiotemporal con- and must continually redefine the webs
planes of color with ubiquitous perspec- tinuum that defines an infinite, virtual of interaction between expectations and
tives and orientations (Fig. 2). In these space. This visual dichotomy is especially reality. Abbe Don explores these issues
works, the two-dimensional (2D) space evident in artwork that juxtaposes the in We Make Memories, an interactive pro-
becomes all-inclusive and folds into it- definitive geometry of 3D objects with gram that allows viewers to create stories
self, much in the way that the curved
subtle gradations of texture, color, trans- by experimenting with the associative
parency or reflection. The computer
space of modern geometry and physics links between content, structure and
does. paintings of David Em (Redbal [1980]; context [19].

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2018 14:56:06 UTC of the Digital Image 313
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
 In the digital work, a semantic-syntactic
network of images, text and sound directs
Fig. 2. Vera Molnar, actions and expectations. The viewer con-
Hype , ansformations, structs a system of relational codes that
silkscreen, 20 x 20 becomes an integral part of the interpre-
in, 1974. In
tation of the work. Multiple levels of per-
Molnar's prints,
ception and cognition may exist within
geometric progres-
sions transform individual symbols. James Johnson, for
two-dimensional instance, creates artists' books that make
planes into inter- use of symbols that integrate visual and
locking spaces with linguistic semiotics. Using computer
multiple orienta- graphics,Johnson designed a "Skeletons"
tions. (C 1974 Vera
font, which is derived from silhouette
Molnar. All rights
reserved.) drawings of skeletons. In the book Dead
Air (1991), he uses this font to form
words that complete phrases beginning
with the word "dead," such as dead wrong
and dead last [20]. Another of his books,
entitled Index (1992), maps pictures of
unusual objects to individual letters of
the English alphabet. Johnson uses this
pictographic alphabet to create visual
compositions that are "subject to verbal
structures" [21]. The title of each compo-
sition indicates the corresponding verbal
Fig. 3. Michael meaning (Fig. 5).
O'Rourke, Manhat- The work of artistJim Rosenberg adds
tan Invitation, another level of inquiry to these visual-
diptych/ linguistic maps. He uses "word clusters"
Cibachrome trans-
to experiment with the syntax of words
parencies, 48 x 60
that occupy the same point in logical and
in, 1987. By inte-
grating geometric
physical space. In his interactive program
lines and objects Intergrams (1990), a group of phrases is
with diffuse areas indecipherable when the phrases overlap
of colored light, each other in the same space. However,
O'Rourke creates
moving the computer mouse over the
"virtual sculptures"
cluster discloses individual phrases and
that expand the di-
mensions of linear hides the remaining ones, revealing the
and surface space. meaning of the cluster [22].
(C 1987 Michael The use of symbols to map perceptual
O'Rourke. All rightsand cognitive associations is an impor-
reserved.) tant dimension in the semiotics of the

digital image. Like recursive patterns in

mathematics, symbols become interpre-
tations of symbols. Thorne Shipley con-
ducts theoretical research in "pattern
Fig. 4. Bruce and matrix vision" [23]. His work inves-
Hamilton and Susan
tigates the different levels of perception
Hamilton, Scarab,
and cognition that are defined by visual
29 x 50 x 19 in,
1989. In the patterns or textures in linguistic mes-
Hamiltons' sculp- sages. Unlike Johnson, who maps syn-
tures, balance and onymic associations between words and
proportion create a images, Shipley is exploring what he
geometric syntax terms "heterological message duality" or
that defines simul-
taneous relation-
"message multiplicity" [24]. He illus-
trates this concept using words that are
ships in space and
time [32]. (? 1989 typographically constructed from other
Bruce Hamilton words. For example, in one of his illus-
and Susan trations, the text for the word "yes" is re-
Hamilton. All rights peated in a pattern that forms the shapes
reserved.) of the letters in the word "no." Similarly,
the text for the word "you" forms the
shape of an "I," and the word "will" cre-
ates each of the letters in the word

314 Search, The Semiotics of the Digital Image

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"won't." When these typographical con-
structions appear in phrases such as "No,
I won't," the visual patterns within each
word communicate a secondary mes-
sage-"Yes, you will" [25].
Future research and investigation will
expand the semantic-syntactic dynamics
of these types of cognitive maps. As art-
ists continue to explore the potential of e^w^~~~~~~~~~~~Iw
interactive multimedia in artwork, they
will find new ways to add levels of sensory
interaction to the layers of relational en- Ie@

coding that exist in these cognitive

maps. Artists will also learn how to inte-
grate the linguistic patterns of user inter-

I
faces and programming languages into SltlZ

visual symbols, adding still more inter-

pretive links to the semiotic structure of
the digital image.

VISUAL LOGIC

I
Just as writing fostered the development
of abstract thinking with the implemen-
tation of symbols and sounds to desig-
I\ I IA
nate thoughts, the mathematical syntax
of computer graphics defines another
Fig. 5. James Johnson, LineIdeaNetsEasy
level of abstract thinking called visual
the English alphabet, Johnson creates
logic. However, unlike writing, which semiotics. (? 1994 James Johnson. All
separates data from interpretation, this
new abstract symbolism uses visual per-
ception to synthesize data and interpre- lines in the cube. Mohr uses the 12 lines late mathematical models into lines and
tation into an integrated whole. that make up a cube to create a new vi- forms in space (Fig. 7). The software en-
Artists, like mathematicians and scien- sual language that "disrupts the symme-ables them to explore the relationships
tists, use visual patterns to improve try their between algorithmically defined numeri-
of the cube" [26]. In prints and paint-
intuitive understanding of logicalings andsuch as P-26/2 Inversion Logiquecal functions and the drawing process:
perceptual relationships. Many artists, (1969), P-155 Cubic Limit (1974-1976),"At the time the programs were written,
for example, use computer graphics andto we thought of the transforms and the
P-306 Divisibility I (1980-1983), indi-
investigate the logical and intuitive vidual
di-lines form discrete units of infor- interactions of the instances. Now we

mensions of design. The grid, which mation and define a visual syntax that think of the whole drawing as a picture
postmodernists rejected as a symbol of
signifies the sequential steps in the per- of a single line in a high dimensional
structural control, has resurfaced asception an of geometric forms and space. space" [27].
intuitive symbol of the underlying struc- At the same time, Mohr's designs formMargot Lovejoy uses mathematical
ture of spatiotemporal procedures. an integrated whole in which black and symbols to visualize the roles that per-
Daniela Bertol's collage Bending gray and lines establish contrasting layers ception
of and logic play in the interpreta-
Twisting: Hypothesis #3 (1988) uses perceptual
a events that disrupt the
twisted geometric grid to visualize the sequentiality
al- and order of the math-
Fig. 6. Andrew Glassner, Celtic Knot Study I,
gorithmic dynamics of space and time. ematical logic. phototypesetter plot, 1986. In his Celtic
The grid is also an integral part of An- Artists also use the visual logic of com-
Knot series, Glassner uses computer graph-
drew Glassner's Celtic Knot series (1986),puter graphics to explore the intuitive ics to visualize the logical and intuitive di-
black-and-white drawings that investigate synthesis of logical events. By juxtapos- mensions of process and procedure.
the geometry and form of Celtic ing knot text and images that symbolize pro- (? 1986 Xerox Corporation. All rights re-
served. Courtesy of Andrew Glassner.)
weaving (Fig. 6). Glassner uses an invis- cedures or actions with images that rep-
ible grid to create a visual pattern resent that the end results of those actions,
symbolizes the spatiotemporal relation- the artist constructs an interpretive dia-
ships involved in the perceptionlogue and that visualizes the temporal trans-

Cc
comprehension of this intricate weaving formation of ideas. For Colette Bangert
procedure. and Charles Bangert, this dialogue be-
Some artists use design techniques to gins with the development of computer-
create a multidimensional syntax that graphics software. In works like Large
articulates the interaction of perception Landscape: Ochre & Black (1970), Grass
and cognition. For more than 20 years, Series (1979-1983), Circe's Window (1985)
Manfred Mohr has been using computer and Katie Series (1986-1987), the
graphics to analyze the relationships of Bangerts use original software to trans-

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Search, 14:56:06
SemioticsUTC
of the Digital Image 315
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
 tionships. Digital images can assume
many characteristics of linguistic syntax
without jeopardizing their perceptual
immediacy. The high level of abstraction
in this visual system transcends the con-
straints of verbal language. The visual
logic of the digital image shares many of
the conceptual attributes of "meta-
phorms," visual metaphors that Todd
Siler creates to describe the temporal
and procedural relationships between
objects or ideas. For example, Siler uses
the following metaphorms to symbolize
the complementary relationships be-
tween art and science: parallel lines, spi-
rals, intersecting planes and woven fab-
ric. Siler defines a metaphorm as a
"means of implying the likeness between
things," and he describes the power of
metaphorms as follows:
In metaphorming something, we can
traverse the constraints of logic and
Fig. 7. Colette Bangert and Charles Bangert, Katie Series: Field Greyed, computer plot, col- verbal thought, transferring or relating
ored inks on paper, 8 1/2 x 11 in, 1986. The Bangerts use mathematical algorithms to ex- from one object to another a new
plore the underlying structure of line and form. (? 1986 by Colette Bangert and Charles meaning, pattern, or set of associa-
Bangert. All rights reserved.) tions. Like the language of pure math-
ematics, which can describe abstract n-
dimensional processes and forms, the
symbolic language of metaphorms is
also multidimensional. It operates si-
multaneously on many planes of asso-
ciations, nuances, and meanings [29].

CONCLUSION
Modern mathematics and physics dem-
onstrated that we need to develop ab-
stract models of reality that are flexible
enough to accommodate the shifting dy-
namics of a wide range of variables, in-
cluding the subjective decisions and in-
terpretations of the observer. In order to
build flexible models that can change
with new perspectives and observations,
we need to understand differences as

well as interactive relationships between

these variables. As Marvin Minsky points
out in The Society of Mind,

We usually like to think in positive

terms about how various parts of sys-
Fig. 8. Margot Lovejoy, Azimuth XX, projection installation, 12 x 12 x 8 ft, 1986. Byjuxta- tems interact. But to do that, we must
posing two-dimensional representations of space with three-dimensional objects, Lovejoy first have good ideas about which as-
visualizes the logical and intuitive dimensions of spatiotemporal perception. () 1986 pects of a system do not interact.... In
other words, we have to understand in-
Margot Lovejoy. All rights reserved.)
sulations before we can comprehend
interactions [30].

tion of space. In 2D works such as Azi- (1986), for example,juxtaposes 3D geo- For mathematicians, scientists and art-
muth I (1983) and Azimuth II (1983), geo- metric forms existing in "real" spaceists, computer graphics provides a pow-
and
metric shapes, angled lines and architec- time with 2D projections of linearerfulper-tool for visualizing the insulations
tural drawings create a visual and interactions of a multidimensional
spective grids (Fig. 8). Lovejoy describes
syntax that signifies the perceptual her work as "the struggle to control,system.
and rep- The digital image integrates the
cognitive processes involved in the inter-resent, and construct meaning in the
structural control of analytical processes
pretation of 2D representations of space. 'gap between art and life'"[28]. with the holistic powers of perception
Lovejoy's 3D installations integrate and is
The visual logic of the digital image interpretation. Artists are abandon-
physical space and time into the visual highly modular. Visual symbols can ingbe the predictable, deterministic logic
logic of spatial perception. Azimuth XX
rearranged to create new syntacticalof the modernist period and the ran-
rela-

316 Search, The Semiotics of the Digital Image

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dom, irrational infrastructures of post-
modernism. In the digital image, the ge-
ometry of mathematics and the logical
syntax of programming languages create
a conceptual framework for synthesizing
References and Notes 23. T. Shipley, "Pattern Processing: A Further Ratio-
nalization of Sight," Leonardo 8, No. 1, 27-39 (1974).
1. A. Reinhardt, Ad Reinhardt, exh. cat. (New York:
24. T. Shipley, "Visual Textures as Impressionistic
Betty Parsons Gallery, 1947) n.p. and Linguistic Messages: The Communication of
Aesthetic, Scientific and Stylistic Information,"
2. C. Greenberg, "Modernist Painting," Arts Yearbook
4 (1961) pp. 103-104.
Leonardo 26, No. 2 (1993) p. 127.

complex webs of interactions. 25. Shipley [24].

In the future, new technology will al-
ter the semiotics of the digital image.
High-definition television, for example,
3. I. Hassan, "Pluralism in Postmodern Perspec-
tive," in C. Jencks, ed., The Post-Modern Reader (Lon-
26. A. Seidman, Printmaking: At the Speed of Thought,
don: Academy Editions, 1992) p. 197. exh. cat. (Philadelphia, PA: The Print Club, 1989)
4. There were five Euclidean axioms: (1) Things
n.p.

will modify established perceptions in that are equal to the same thing are also equal27.toSeidman [26] n.p.
one another; (2) If equals be added to equals, the
space and time. High-resolution displays
28. P. Prince, "Things to Come," in The Second
wholes are equal; (3) If equals be subtracted from
will place an added emphasis on detail equals, the remainders are equal; (4) Things that
Emerging Expression Biennial: The Artist and the Com-
and text and increase the prominence of coincide with one another are equal to one puter,
an- exh. cat. (Bronx, NY: The Bronx Museum of
other; (5) The whole is greater than the part.the
SeeArts, 1987) p. 7.
background imagery. As the size of digi- C. Reid, A Long Way from Euclid (New York: Thomas
tal displays approaches the scale of ac- Y. Crowell, 1963) p. 27. 29. T. Siler, Breaking the Mind Barrier (New York:
Simon and Schuster, 1990) p. 31.
tual walls, the syntactic structure of the 5. L.A. Steen, "Science of Patterns," Science 240, No.
image will become an integral part of the 4, 611-616 (1988). 30. M. Minsky, The Society of Mind (New York: Simon
and Schuster, 1986) p. 319.
surrounding architectural space. In ad- 6. J. Hadamard, The Psychology of Invention in the
dition, the electronic dissemination of MathematicalField (New York: Dover, 1945; 1954) p. 31. Minsky [30] p. 277.
77.
art, coupled with interactivity and col- 32. For a full-color reproduction of this illustration,
laborative networking, will increase the 7. T.G. West, In the Mind's Eye (Buffalo, NY: see Digital Image-Digital Cinema, SIGGRAPH '90
Art Show Catalog, Supplemental Issue of Leonardo
temporal dynamics of the digital image. Prometheus Books, 1991) p. 209.
(1990) p. 97.
All of these developments further 8. I. Newton, Principia: The System of the World (Berke-
mandate the need for a new design dis- ley, CA: Univ. of California Press, 1934) Vol. 1, p. 6.
Glossary
course-perhaps based on an interac- 9. Einstein developed two theories of relativity: (1)
tive audiovisual language-that reflects the special theory of relativity (1905), which de- axiom-a self-evident proposition or rule that does
scribed the electrodynamics of moving systems and not require demonstration or proof.
the dynamic structure of the digital im- (2) the general theory of relativity (1915), which
age. Artists, mathematicians and scien- described gravitational force. betweenness-in geometry, a relation connecting
certain sets of three points. That is, given that
tists are no longer concerned with a 10. L. Shlain, Art and Physics: Parallel Visions in points A, B and C are in "the relation of between-
single view or interpretation of reality. Space, Time and Light (New York: William Morrow, ness," it is possible to define various relationships
Instead, the emphasis is on using digital 1991) p. 125. concerning A, B, C, in which B is a point between A
and C. For example, ABC may be points on lines
technology to modify perspectives and 11. Shlain [10] p. 127. AB and BC that are perpendicular to each other, in
restructure information. Models of real- which case B will always be between A and C.
12. T. Ferris, Coming of Age in the Milky Way (New
ity, defined by abstract descriptions York:
of William Morrow, 1988) p. 286. descriptive geometry-the use of pictures or dia-
tentative truths, are subject to constant
13. Shlain [10] p. 23.
grams, as opposed to algebraic or arithmetic meth-
ods, to visualize spatial relationships.
reevaluation. The ensuing dialogue be-
14. Ferris [12] p. 293.
tween logic and perception leads to an hyperplanes-a figure in hyperspace (space with
more than three dimensions) corresponding to a
eternal quest for new perspectives-a
15. Ferris [12] p. 288.
plane in 3D space.
quest that Minsky describes as the inter-
16. Many of the works cited in this paper can be
found in ACM SIGGRAPH Art Show Catalogs and inversive mode-in geometry, figures derived from
action of two types of complementary
ACM SIGGRAPH Art Show Slide Sets. the use of inverse functions (two mathematical op-
knowledge: "We search for 'islands of erations that can be performed in succession on a
consistency' within which ordinary rea-
17. M. Lovejoy, Postmodern Currents (Ann Arbor, quantity
MI: to reproduce that quantity).
Univ. of Michigan Research Press, 1989) p. 154.
soning seems safe. We work also to find projective model-geometry that creates a one-to-
and mark the unsafe boundaries of 18. Lovejoy [17] p. 190. one correspondence between the points and lines
in two geometric figures.
those domains" [31]. 19. A. Don, "We Make Memories, "Leonardo 24, No. 1
The semiotic structure of the digital(1991) p. 88. reflection-in mathematics, a geometric relation-
ship describing points equidistant from each other
image visualizes these complementary 20.J. Johnson, "Skeletons, Leonardo 25, No. 1 (1992) on either side of a line that is perpendicular to a
forces and helps us understand the limita- p. 94. given line.
tions of perception and reason, thus en- translation-the displacement of a point, line or
21. J. Johnson, Artist's Books, bookwork catalog
abling us to transform those "unsafe"(Boulder, CO:JamesJohnson, 1993) n.p. object in space.
boundaries into new knowledge and in-22. J. Rosenberg, "Diagram Poems, Intergrams,"
sights about the complex world around us. Leonardo 24, No. 1 (1991) p. 90.

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