Contemporary Iconology and African Sacred Symbols
CONTEMPORARY ICONOLOGY AND AFRICAN SACRED SYMBOLS
Sophia Oduol, 2011 sophiaoduol@gmail.com Introduction
The awareness of the power of iconography in communication can be traced back to the earliest civilizations of mankind. Production of type was through scratch marks made on flat surfaces using sharp objects. Twentieth century records show well developed type from Mesopotamia, Chinese calligraphy, Egyptian Hieroglyphics and Phoenician alphabet.
How do you make any sense of history, art or literature without knowing the stories and iconography of your own culture and all the world's main religions? Polly Toynbee (1947).
Contemporary Iconography is significant because it brings attention to civilization within the African continent. African countries have sacred letters and symbols that have been used to communicate written messages. Many of these remain undiscovered by the mainstream theorists. Saki Mafundikwa in his book ‘afrikan alphabets’, has made presentations on African letterforms, and he continues to unearth innovative and little understood symbols.
This paper aims to explore how the Ancient African sacred writings have been reborn in to contemporary iconology. The study is placed in the context of the history, meaning, deciphering and transformation of Iconography. A conceptual framework is constructed, based on critical theory from arts disciplines, notably from the history of African Sacred symbols from the Igbos and the Adinkra. The icon is a primary denotation or representation. Iconology is an interpretation that calls on the unconscious. Intermingling of the icon and the African sacred symbols is considered.
This paper finds that written communication has now transformed into informal, colloquial icons, where everyday communication can occur through a sign rather than speaking. These signs are conclusively a replica of ancient African sacred symbols. The visual framework reveals a changing iconology where symbols may be
Sophia Oduol, 2011 sophiaoduol@gmail.com Introduction
The awareness of the power of iconography in communication can be traced back to the earliest civilizations of mankind. Production of type was through scratch marks made on flat surfaces using sharp objects. Twentieth century records show well developed type from Mesopotamia, Chinese calligraphy, Egyptian Hieroglyphics and Phoenician alphabet.
How do you make any sense of history, art or literature without knowing the stories and iconography of your own culture and all the world's main religions? Polly Toynbee (1947).
Contemporary Iconography is significant because it brings attention to civilization within the African continent. African countries have sacred letters and symbols that have been used to communicate written messages. Many of these remain undiscovered by the mainstream theorists. Saki Mafundikwa in his book ‘afrikan alphabets’, has made presentations on African letterforms, and he continues to unearth innovative and little understood symbols.
This paper aims to explore how the Ancient African sacred writings have been reborn in to contemporary iconology. The study is placed in the context of the history, meaning, deciphering and transformation of Iconography. A conceptual framework is constructed, based on critical theory from arts disciplines, notably from the history of African Sacred symbols from the Igbos and the Adinkra. The icon is a primary denotation or representation. Iconology is an interpretation that calls on the unconscious. Intermingling of the icon and the African sacred symbols is considered.
This paper finds that written communication has now transformed into informal, colloquial icons, where everyday communication can occur through a sign rather than speaking. These signs are conclusively a replica of ancient African sacred symbols. The visual framework reveals a changing iconology where symbols may be