Symbolism and Iconography | Sociology

SOCIOLOGY
SOCIOLOGY
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SOCIOLOGY
Define symbolism and iconography and describe the difference between them.
Symbolism is the application of specific figurative symbols and naturalistic pictures or abstract
graphic signs with a common sense in society. These are the use of symbols to indicate ideas and
values, to give them different symbolic meanings than actual senses (Cosgrove, Daniels &
Baker, 1988). Iconography is the more general analysis and representation of themes and
pictorial subjects inside an artistic work. It includes implicated concepts and symbols used to
express the shared sense and past of the community like its documented myths and narratives.
Iconography refers and implies to the icons used in a piece of art (Sachant et al., 2016). The
difference between symbolism and iconography is that the context of symbolism represents the
concept through symbols and underlying meaning related to qualities. The iconography, on the
other hand, is an entire set of traditional or specific symbolic forms that are associated with the
theme or the subject of the stylized art genre (Ben-Shlomo, 2010). Another specific difference
among these two is that iconography includes the exact portrayal of what is represented while
symbolism generally represents a place, idea, and actions. The context of symbolism can be
traced back to the human history origins where the most influential symbol was Egyptian
Hieroglyphs which represented sounds and images. The iconography, on the other hand, had
historical origin in religious figures that depicted important figures.
Describe the use of tribal masks for rituals in different cultures.
Masks were used in numerous social and religious ceremonies around the world for their
expressive ability. Masking practices and ceremonies have significant religious and cultural
significance in China, India, and Africa (Napier, 1986). Although tribal masks itself are exquisite
works of art, they exist in the social culture of the society at a somewhat higher standard. The