New Publication: How Images Mean by Paul Taylor
We are delighted to announce the publication of How Images Mean: Iconography and Meta-Iconography, a new book by Paul Taylor, Curator of the Warburg Institute’s Photographic Collection.
The book builds on Paul’s successful online short course of the same name, which was the first in the Warburg’s Short Course series, launched during the Covid-19 pandemic. That course explored how images acquire and convey meaning, and its key themes have now been expanded into a richly illustrated and accessible volume, available from Paul Holberton Publishing.
How Images Mean approaches images from two directions: iconography and the philosophy of language. Before becoming an art historian, Paul studied analytical philosophy at university, and he has since become an expert on iconography through his day-to-day work in the Photographic Collection. The idea of thinking about iconography using some of the concepts he learned as an undergraduate led to the Short Course and, ultimately, the book. Far from theoretical complexity, How Images Mean is written in a clear, engaging style, in the tradition of Warburgians like Ernst Gombrich and Michael Baxandall.
The subject of the book is what it says in the title: how do images acquire and convey meanings? This question is not discussed in the abstract, but through the discussion of numerous examples, almost all illustrated in colour. The examples come from all five continents; many of the most interesting ways by which images mean are to be found in Africa and Oceania. There is also a chapter devoted to the meanings of photography. The book has two main themes: the relationship of social and iconographic complexity, and the fundamental nature of ‘designation’ in the generation of iconographic meaning. That last clause will be unintelligible to anyone who hasn’t attended the course or read the book, but should (Paul hopes) become clear to anyone who sits down with a copy to follow the argument through.
The book is beautifully designed by Laura Parker and features 138 colour illustrations. Priced at £30, it offers outstanding value for anyone interested in the relationship between image and meaning.
