Semiotics

www.arts-on.de editorials have some experience with studies in the field of semiotics. We'd like to ask whether a semiotical approach to culture and art especially is compatible with iconography. Can both function as instruments for a critical theory of art? (Perhaps, some examples are given in feminist art?). On arts-on.de you'll find a short outline how we look at semiotic's history (unfortunately in german, but main is this: first ideas with scripture and literacy in ancient greek culture - especially Aischylos's nearly explicative in different signs and their functions…, for semiotics on stage we read Fischer-Lichte, in film-theory Christian Metz and feminists, but art ? semiotics as to study is Eco, Umberto, but - most important and beginning with ancient greek, too, of course, the *tradition* of french philosophy of deconstruction: Foucault, Derrida, Irigaray and their deconstruction of psychoanalysis.  Freud in his re-reading of ancient greek-drama (Oedipus a.s.o.) constructed forms of staging the unconscious, with within Derrida became merely a new multiplicity of forms to produce text. To classify them like Eco, Levi-Strauss or Vidal-Naquet, is quite often an endless approach and doesn't necessarily have an explicative result. Thus, if we look (back) at for instance Aischylos' Oresteia, we find just a handful of classified signs all have an important role to play (think of Orest's foot-print Electra finds, or the introductionary sign of light that informs Klytaimnestra about Agamemnon's arrival). Is overwhelming classification in iconography or semiotics thus more a strategy to avoid the inhering semantics? On www.arts-on.com are some articles using iconographical and semiotical methods, f.i. about Caravaggio: http://www.arts-on.com/journal/art1caravaggio.html And we're looking forward to discuss the topic in the new board of arts-on.de/m.i.r.
AND*Again*, don't miss our experiment at 1st june 10 pm at  http://www.arts-on.de/m.i.r. , we'll be working out a virtual party in the communities chat-room. You should be able to participate great events and dance with some changing colours….- if we don't sleep….] See you, UR (ARTS-On.)