Semiotics

Semiotics is the language of signs and symbols. It is made up of denotation and connotation, it also  relies on a meaning gathered by an agreed social consensus.

Above is a political illustration drawn by Chris Riddell, it depicts the liberal democrats joining the coalition. At the time there were negotiations as to whether they would form the coalition, the last piece was the electoral reform referendum. The illustration portrays Nick Clegg as little red riding hood going into the forest where the big bad Tory grassroots awaits. The fact that Nick Clegg is little red riding hood gives the connotation that he is just a naive child, running into something that he isn't ready for. While the Tory grassroots is represented as the big bad wolf that intends to eat up little red riding hood.

The way that Clegg has been drawn a child shows him to be as vulnerable and as trusting as one. In the drawing  he wears yellow riding hood instead of the traditional red to signify that he is the leader of the liberal democrats and in this represents them all. The basket he carries is labelled  electoral reform referendum. As it is actually in the basket it gives the idea that it is something lovely and for the benefit of others like the cakes for the grandmother in the story.

It is also implied by the electoral reform referendum being in the basket, that the big bad wolf wishes to steal away the basket from little clegg riding hood. The significance of the Tory grassroots being represented as the big bad wolf  is that of a symbol based on the many stories and now as a general idea of the big bad wolf being strength, power and malicious intent. The big bad wolf is known amongst fairy tales for preying on children, those who are vulnerable or weaker than him and destroying anything that gets in the way of what he wants, like in the three little pigs. As its the Tory grassroots wolf and the Nick Clegg little red riding hood, it reinforces the idea of the big bad wolf taking advantage of the naive, susceptible liberal democrats. Even the way the wolf is leaning the tree with his arms crossed implies that it is lying in wait, ready to surprise and attack the liberal democrats as they prance into the coalition with apparent trust. The crossed arms is a well known symbol for hostility and aggression.

There is also the incredibly basic and traditional symbolism of light and dark, of good and evil within this illustration. It quickly and concisely gives the impression that we, the viewer, should mistrust the evil wolf hiding in the shadows. While the light side further places Clegg into the appearance of being good, pure and of nativity. As Clegg is striding into the darkness it implies that the liberal democrats are going into something bad, into something dark where they'll have to give up what they believe in. They'll have to give up on the electoral reform referendum.  
  

A comparison

In this I shall be comparing The Uncle Sam Range (1876) and Daddy, What did you do in the Great War? (1915) by Savile Lumley.

In the Uncle Sam piece, what will initially strike you is its frank, unabashed patriotism. The floors, walls and curtains are the stars and stripes that make up the American flag, all of which are done in the bold red, white and blue to match. This flag theme even continues into the outfits of the parents in the room, one of them being Uncle Sam himself and the other is what must be his wife. Judging from the way that the wife is just in the background serving food while the father figure, Uncle Sam, is in the centre, foreground surrounded by his children and dinner guest suggests that the advertisement is designed with men in mind. It basically says to the viewer, with this cooker you had everything, the subservient wife, the adoring children, important dinner guests and even a slave to actually do all the cooking. It says that with this cooker you will be the undisputable ruler of your household and you will be truly American. Even the children sat at the dinner table are a representation of America as being best. The children are labelled Dixie, the west and England, while the dinner guest is the whole world, with a long list of dishes that are supposedly what people from all over the world eat. For example under the heading Ireland it says potatoes and has various ways that the Irish would eat them, including raw. The patriotism in this ad goes on to show that it has been a hundred years since the American Revolution and gives off the impression that it is almost your civic duty to buy their oven.

While the patriotism in the British piece is shown less obviously, with just the red roses on the curtains, the royal symbol on the armchair and the royal guard toys, the message of the poster is just as strong if not stronger. The most important information about this piece is that it was pre conscription and with that in mind it also gives off an impression of civic duty. However what it uses more than a feeling of civic duty is a feeling of guilt, emasculation and potential regret. It tells a story of a glorious victory which is put into children’s history books and will allow veterans to entertain and amaze their children with feats of bravery. The stare of the father indicates how those who miss out on this opportunity to be a part of history, will forever regret it and eventually when they have this otherwise idyllic life, achieved by said Great War, their children will lose respect for them, when they could so easily have done something to make their future children proud.

While both rely on patriotism, to make their point and to convince people that it’s what they wanted all along, they go about it very differently, The war poster uses a much more subtle idea of patriotism to convey its message while the American one states that you can’t be truly American without their cooker. 

Five designs that I love

Chris Riddell

This is one of my favourite illustrators, I love how he can draw to fit the purpose. In his beautiful, fantastical, detailed drawings he can really engage the audience, he makes you want to see and explore the worlds he shows. In the reverse for his children's books simplifies his drawings right down while still managing to keep the essence of his work. He also does political cartoons which is where you can really tell how good he is at conveying the concept.

Teagan White

Sometimes I think that her work can seem a little twee, when it comes to her children's illustrations, because of this I tend to really prefer her drawings that are of animals over those of children. In the animals she gets the balance just right, making it cute rather than overpoweringly so. What  I really think makes her work great is her line detail on the animals but I think they lack the narration that makes others so interesting.

David Roberts

David Roberts has the same ability as Chris Riddell to engage the audience, his pieces have a real sense of narrative to them. I find his black and white illustrations particularly  beautiful and intriguing.

Jon Klassen

Jon Klassen's work is relatively recent to me, I grew interested in seeing more of it after reading one of his children's books. He has a wonderful capture of light and dark which is possibly why I enjoy them so much. He also has that same narrative as the other two.

Luigi serfini - Codex Seraphinianus

I have not seen any of his other work but I love the encyclopaedic nature of this book he created. He created  a whole language for his book and said that he wanted his alphabet to convey the sensation that children feel in front of books they cannot yet understand, I also believe that in doing so he ensured that the reader would focus on the drawings themselves. As well as the language he created a parallel world and everything it contains. What I particularly love about this is the varying stages of strangeness  and how with no legible text you become so very curious for answers you will never receive.