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Iconic images, symbols, and archetypes: their function in art and science

Authors :
Frances R. Westley
Carl Folke
Source :
Ecology and Society, Vol 23, Iss 4, p 31 (2018)
Publication Year :
2018
Publisher :
Resilience Alliance, 2018.

Abstract

The relationship between art and science is one of contrasts and commonalities. We look at one commonality between art and science: the central role of iconic images. We argue that iconic images are the touchstone symbols in both art and science and provide similar functions for both. We propose that these iconic images provoke an openness and a receptivity to our deepest emotional capacities and a connection between those and the dynamics of the broader social-ecological systems in which we operate. Such iconic images may also act as attractors that provoke the emergence of increasing levels of intellectual and aesthetic self-organization, not only at an individual level, but also in terms of larger social, scientific, or artistic fields. Finally, through a combination of this attraction and this connection, iconic images may play a role in transformation.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
17083087
Volume :
23
Issue :
4
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Ecology and Society
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.224f084d7f5647e586b57a4881e31c3f
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-10495-230431