A new pictorial reference book for artists and designers, with over
400 images from sources ranging from Greco-Roman art to Benjamin
Franklin and Wes Anderson - Symbols offers a fresh approach to
understanding symbolism in the visual arts.
Symbols are embedded everywhere in our global visual culture, from oil
paintings to biscuit packaging, monuments to mass-produced ashtrays.
Designers and California College of the Arts instructors Mark Fox and
Angie Wang recognize sources both historical and contemporary, high and
low, revealing the narrative riches of symbolism found in a range of
media and across times, places, and cultures.
Whether human or animate, natural or man-made - each symbol (from sun,
moon, lightning, and serpent to lozenge, spiral, and swastika) is
illustrated with both classical and archetypal examples and often
surprising contributions from textiles, fine art photography, ceramics,
African sculpture, ancient coins, modern architecture, Native American
crafts, European heraldry, Soviet propaganda, bookplates, film stills,
military insignia, and much more. A beautiful, visually arresting
compendium that both informs and inspires, Symbols is a vital resource.
