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ISSN (Print: 2537-0154, online: 2537-0162)
International Journal on: The Academic Research Community Publication
pg. 1
http://www.ierek.com/press
The Iconographic Method Applied in the Design of Products with
Cultural Demostration in the Creation of the Tourist Destination
Daniel Marcelo Acurio M.1, Santiago Alejandro Acurio M.1, Cristina Páez Quinde2,
Daniel Sánchez Guerrero3, Ruth Infante Paredes2, Marcelo Núñez Espinoza2
1Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador Sede Ambato.
2Facultad de Ciencias Humanas y de la Educación, Universidad Técnica de Ambato. Email (mc.paez,
ruthinfantep, marcelownuneze)
3Universidad Estatal Amazónica – Puyo.
Keywords
Iconography; culture; popular
festivities, Corpus Christi,
touristic destination;
Abstract
The popular festivity known as Corpus Cristi is a clear manifestation of culture in
Ecuador. It is considered a crosscultural expression of the cosmovision and
iconographic symbolism of religious fusion making an
evident imaginary connotation of the population. Where evident, catholics are of a
vernacular world and end up being a praise in honor of the favors received from the
Body of Christ and the indigenous roots of spirituality. It represents gratitude for
the successful harvests obtained in the year by the Pachamama and Taita Inti. The
present study aims to provide furnishings with designs of this festival, the park
13 de abril in Pujilí, which is also commonly known by locals as
the Danzante Park. The methodology used was an analysis of the artistic
projects developed by Panofsky where the work is reinterpreted from a designer
perspective. This method is used to propose a method of
extracting the iconographic and iconological elements of cultural demonstrations
resulting in the innovation of the canton. Taking advantage of the values and
cultural heritage of the nation and showcasing its aesthetics, a greater flow of
visitors to the area is ensured as well as the dynamics of the local economy.
1. Introduction
Iconography has been considered, both, from a scientific point of view (Porebski, 1969) and an artistic one
(Panofsky E. , 1987) as a technique of description and classification of images understood as a visual
representation. For Panofsky, there is a connection between an iconic work of art and a morphological and
semantic component. In Mieczyslaw Porqbski’s study of Polish art, images contain informative elements that
bring meaning. The Panofsky method, although widely applied, runs the risk of finding un-coded content or
unintended meanings within the images (Bialostocki, 1973). An icon is commonly defined as a sign that
maintains a relation of resemblance to the represented DRAE (Mitchell, 2015). However, and although this
definition intrinsically includes the semiotic sing significance as an element that brings meaning to the
represented form (Zhang & Sheng, 2017), it still gives greater prominence to its form in the relational sense with
the represented object. In other words, meaning of the represented object is the only given thing. Thus, to
represent a real object, such as a cup, an icon must resemble the shape of that cup. That, nonetheless, excludes
meanings associated with the icon of that cup that could mean the proximity of a coffee place; a geographical
area traditionally associated with its production or a place of recreation in which you can chat and enjoy a
relaxed atmosphere even though coffee or another beverage that is served in a cup is not consumed. The
cognitive processes studied by Olson & Bialystok (2014) show that a new observed image is contrasted with a
set of previously acquired concepts that activate mental processes of assimilation and interpretation that
associates concepts acquired with the image.
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For this reason, and for the purposes of the present work, the broad definition of icon is adopted as a “discursive
unit, spatially delimited (by a real or virtual framework) within the appearance of the signals, which may indicate
one or several referents (Colle, 1999). Understood as a discursive unit, the icon gives rise to a form of "codified"
visual language with an ease of comprehension that allows the expression of a variety of emotions through the
intentional inclusion of aesthetically pleasing "indicators".
Considering the level of meaning associated, levels of iconicity have been proposed. In addition to their own
description, they are associated with their pragmatic functions (Villafañe, 1985). The eleven levels are shown in
Table 1 as follows:
Table 1. Eleven levels of iconicity
Degree
Level
Description
Function
11
Natural image
Restores all properties of the object. Is
perceived directly in the natural state
Recognition
10
Scale three dimensional
model
Restores all properties of the object. Is
perceived directly but not in the
natural state
Description
9
Stereoscopic record images
Restores form, color and position of
the object. Is indirectly perceived
artificially
Description
8
Color photography
Highly restores the positional
relationship and color in a two
dimensional plane
Description / artistic
7
Black and White
photography
Resets the relationships between form
and position in a two-dimensional
plane
Description / artistic
6
Realistic painting
Reasonably resets relationships
between form and position in a two-
dimensional plane
Artistic
5
Nonrealistic figurative
representation
Does not reestablish relationships on a
two-dimensional plane but
identification still occurs
Artistic
4
Pictograms
Only the shape and not the other
relations or sensitive characteristics are
restored
Information
3
Motivated schemes
The sensitive features are removed and
only organic relationships are
represented
Information
2
Arbitrary schemes
There are no sensitive characteristics
or organic relationships generally
indicative
Information
1
Nonfigurative
representation
Their sensitive properties and
relationships are abstracted, their
meaning is not evident
Artistic
Latin America and Ecuador have great cultural diversity (Kent, 2016). Since pre-Hispanic times, there has been an
adaptation of elements of the people with whom they relate that required achieving a unique symbolic language in
which great importance is given to the natural motifs from the vision of divinity and a symbiotic relationship. We
find common motifs of birds, mountains, flowers, rivers, and more that adorn their clothing and personal objects
(Leon, 2014). Over time, these elements and their “icons” have been losing their presence and meaning, becoming
a commodity that often devalues cultural identity reuslting in a misconception of underdevelopment or social
marginalization.
It is of social, touristic and economic interest to take advantage of these elements by giving them an air of
modernity (Johnston, 2013). Assuming the permanent construction and reinterpretation of our cultural identity is
not only understood as the reservation of ancestral elements representative of an indigenous nationality, but also as
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inputs for the construction of the future tradition (Larraín, 1994). At a graphic level in product design, in Latin
America, (Restrepo, 2013 & Newman, 2015) a road that has been transported in Ecuador, where industrial
production prefers to leave aside cultural contribution, has been left at an artisan level. Since it does not have
resources, little chances of innovation are left in the creation of products and relating them to cultural aspects, with
an exception to the field of costume design.
From this perspective, incorporating a broad theoretical reference of iconographic studies developed in the field of
plastic arts will allow a methodological reference that will help professionals in determining aesthetic elements
from this broad cultural background. It should also give them an opportunity to take advantage when it comes to
the design of products that promote local development based on its own iconic elements, finally, strengthening the
identity itself.
Although it is true that the study of artistic works has profound methodological proposals such as the case of
Bilderatlas Mnemosyne raised for the iconological study by Abraham Moritz Warburg, better known by Aby
Warburg, that considers a heuristic analysis of works of art and their relationship with religion, poetry, worship,
and more. In his analysis, he investigates a variety of documents by constructing 82 panels which form part of his
plan and provide a detailed meaning of the work in his own words: "der liebe Gott steckt im Detail" (Tartás &
Guridi, 2013). It is no less true that the method developed by his follower, Erwin Panofsky, provides more
methodological rigor in a time that appropriately separates the scope of iconography as a study with a purely
descriptive scope that regards iconology as an interpretative study. For this reason, it serves as a firm base that
allows the development of a method that focuses on the design and constitutes innovation.
2. Methods and Materials
As per the previous discussion, it is imperative to feature the method proposed by Panofsky, which is summed up
with a simple example that is mentioned such as a person greeting another by taking off his or her hat. In this
simple action some levels, as follows, can be found:
- Primary or natural meaning in which only basic forms can be determined. In the example there are forms
that shape the person greeting (factual significance) and their basic postural relationships that indicate their
mood of greeting (expressive meaning).
- Secondary or conventional meaning: At this level, the conventional meaning that is socially accepted is at
stake. Therefore, it is of unequivocal interpretation. In other words, the conscious recognition of taking off
the hat implies a salutation. It is derived from the medieval custom of taking off the helmet in a sign of
confidence, thus, it demonstrate the knight’s peaceful intentions.
- Intrinsic meaning or content: While the previous levels are purely phenomenological, ie perceived by direct
inspection. This level involves an inner knowledge, a description about the personality of the individual who
greets as well as the underlying motivations and interests in the act of greeting. This would only be possible
by investigating the individual from different points of view and in different environments. It becomes a
synthesis of these individual attributes (Panofsky E. , 1987).
Thus, it clearly distinguishes levels of analysis:
- Pre-iconographic; Corresponding to primary meaning and it is based on practical experience, familiarity
with objects and events. It can be corrected by a study of the way, in which in different historical conditions,
objects were expressed by forms (style history).
- Iconographic; corresponding to the secondary meaning and which is based on a knowledge and familiarity
with specific themes and concepts. It is corrected by a study on how, in different historical conditions, the
themes and concepts were expressed through objects and events (history of types).
- Iconological; corresponding to intrinsic significance. It is based on familiarity with the essential tendencies
of the human mind, which can be improved by a study of how, in different historical conditions, the essential
tendencies of the mind were expressed through themes and concepts Specific (history of symbols).
(Panofsky, Studies on iconology, 1998)
3. Results and Discussion
In recognizing the stages of this method, it is reasonable to see that, in of product design where the basic outlook is
commercial in nature, the required level is the first because what is being conveyed to the consumer is an image of
aesthetics that encloses a factual and expressive meaning of the product that generates familiarity and
attractiveness. That also includes a social meaning according to the environment where the product is introduced
(secondary meaning). However, its results, unlike arts, are difficult to apply and have little commercial value when
trying to capture an inner, symbolic, non-factual image and translate it into an object of consumption. However,
this is not impossible given that there are certainly a few consumer products that have marked not only identity and
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social acceptance, but have become cultural referents as well. For methodological purposes, it refers to the levels
of sensitive perception.
In accordance with Panofsky's model, the levels of interpretation (Table 2) can be presetentative for elements of
the cultural symbolic language, taking into consideration that this aesthetic interpretation aims at its application in
a consumer product without being completely artistic or informative. According to the level of iconicity proposed
by Villafañe, the product of the analysis must be located according to its complexity between a nonrealistic
figurative representation and a pictogram. Thus, the levels are addressed as shown below:
Table 2. Levels of interpretation
Level
Purpose
Technique
Correction method
Pre
iconographic
- Recognize the basic sections that
make up the object of study and its
position (expressive meaning)
according to its visual weight.
- Simplify its basic forms.
- Observation
- Anecdotic
register
- Photographic
collection
Form simplification
(geometrization,
abstraction)
Iconographic
- Recognize its socially accepted
meaning, it is a question of
determining the meaning of the
cultural manifestations by the
consensus of the experts
- Introduce in the basic geometries
morphological and chromatic
elements that contribute the level of
secondary or conventional
significance.
- Interview
- Survey
Principles of design
(repetition, radiation,
gradation, etc.)
As indicated, the aesthetic elements obtained must be of a basic level of complexity as to make their introduction
into the product design feasible. It does not have to affect the functional performance and, at the same time, the
cultural contribution has to be appreciated by its aesthetic component.
A first approximation was presented when the Park and garden were equiped for the re-evaluation of the iconic
identity of Corpus Christi (Montenegro, 2014). The basic elements of the dancers of Corpus Christi, a festival of
Pujilí in Cotopaxi by agreement No. 647 of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports and Recreation of Ecuador,
were constituted as an intangible good belonging to the cultural heritage of the Nation.
In order to get a broader view of the origin and evolution of the feast of Corpus Christi, some authors with
important information are quoted:
Corpus Christi comes from Latin "Corpus" which means "Body" and "Christi" which is translated as "of Christ".
Therefore, "Corpus Christi" means "The Body of Christ".
This feast came from the end of the thirteenth century in Liege, Belgium. It was created by a Eucharistic movement
whose center was the Abbey of Cornillon founded in 1124 by Bishop Albero de Liege. Among the various
eucharistic customs that this movement began there are: the exposition and blessing of the Most Holy Sacrament,
the use of the bells during the elevation at Mass and the feast of Corpus Christi (Herrera & Monge, Corpus Christi,
Intangible Heritage of Ecuador, 2012).
On the other hand, a series of events occurred and they contributed to the establishment of the feast of Corpus
Christi. One of them was the Eucharistic revelations of St. Julian of Retine, prioress of a monastery near Liege.
Another event was the miracle of the Bolsena Forms, as well as the miracle of the Corporal of Daroca (the hosts
had become real flesh and could not be separated from the corporal or liturgical cloth that enveloped them due to
the coagulated blood). The liturgical cloths were taken (to the pope) Urban IV, who stimulated by this and aware of
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the necessity to fight heresy of Berengario, established in 1264 the celebration of Corpus Christi in all the Church.
(Pope) Clement V confirmed it in 1311 and since then it spread throughout the Catholic world (Valiente, 2011)
In the case of Ecuador, this celebration of religious and cultural origin came to our territory with the Spanish
conquerors who checked that the indigenous peoples had several festivities. One of them was Inti Raymi that
includes important characters like performers who dance in honor of the Sun in June (Figure 1). This month
coincides with the religious celebration called Corpus Christi. This fact produced that the priests decided to
incorporate the indigenous dancers in the catholic celebration.
In the colony, the indigenous feasts were gradually integrated into the Catholic holidays since, for the natives, it
was not so easy to accept the imposition of the precepts of the Catholic Church.
According to Luis Moreno, the current popular feasts of Corpus Christi are survivors of the Inti Raymi, heliolatric
ceremony of the ancient Kingdom of Quito.
Corpus Christi is a festival of important national significance that originally was a purely indigenous celebration.
Over time, it was combined with the Catholic religious festival integrating elements and characteristics that were
highlighting the popular manifestations of Ecuador that remain alive in the country (Herrera, Corpus Christi,
Intangible Heritage of Ecuador, 2011)
With the above, the knowledge of the feast of Corpus Christi is amplified and the proposed method is applied.
Figure 1. Corpus Christi Dancer
From which the proposed method is applied as follows (tables 3-4):
Table 3. Pre iconographic level
BASIC
SECTIONS
REGISTER
SIMPLIFICATION
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Table 4. Iconographic level
BASIC
SECTIONS
SOCIALLY
ACCEPTED
SIGNIFICANCE
MORPHOLOGICAL
ELEMENTS
CHROMATIC
ELEMENTS
Sunlight.
The four most
important or
representative
festivals of the
indigenous world
- Inti Raymi
- Pawkar Raymi
- Coya Raymi
- Cápac Raymi
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It represents the flora
and the fauna, the
anthropomorphs and
zoomorfos that live in
the area.
Decorative element.
It represents the flora,
fauna, and the
richness of the place.
The Rainbow.
Based on this simplification, the design of the product is applied. The product is urban furniture (figures 2-6):
Figure 2. Bench
Figure 3. Garbage container
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Figure 4. Fence
Figure 5. Lamp
Figure 6. Bench, garbage container, fence and lamp
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4. Conclusion
Cultural manifestations are perceptible elements of a wide spectrum of a social, religious, intellectual, and
effective group. They are expressed through their music, dance and other elements that are feasible to collect in
order to decorate the design of environments, clothing and other products.
The method of iconographic description, applied as a description of visual components of a cultural
manifestation, allows the extraction of representative elements that can be reinterpreted for application in the
setting of parks.
The chromatic and morphological application in the design of products cannot fully absorb the richness of the
cultural manifestations nor, in the aesthetic aspect, the depth of its meaning. Therefore, the simplification
proposed to the iconographic - iconological method of Panofsky is suitable to extract a basic meaning that
endows the product with identity and revalues the under study cultural manifestation.
The aesthetic contribution of the park makes it possible to boost tourism in the sector, thus allowing a cultural
and innovative contribution to local production that translates into economic benefits due to being a place of
interest in the locality.
Finally, this methodological proposal is an academic contribution that allows the designer to take advantage of
the variety of cultural manifestations of Ecuador and Latin America as a source of aesthetic construction.
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