A conceptual structure of visual metaphor in the practices and exhibition of a consortium of artists.

摘要

This study investigated visual metaphors in the practices and exhibition of artists in an attempt to understand how artists create meaning. Inquiry into metaphor arose from the field of rhetoric and has a tradition of study in linguistics. How, then, does metaphor become visual? And how do artists use them? Theories of visual metaphor often align with theories of linguistic metaphor. Yet cognitive views of metaphor suggest linguistic media may not be the only or best starting point for understanding visual metaphor. This study determined if there was a conceptual structure to the creation of visual metaphors by artists that closely aligns with the cognitive view of metaphor. This study also included questioning the place of metaphor in art education.; This was a qualitative study involving the practices and exhibition of eight artists using verbal, visual and written data. Artists participating in the study were identified through consortial, opportunity sampling. The artists were interviewed in their studio spaces as well as in the gallery where the exhibition took place. Data were treated through processes involving phenomenographic methods and conceptual modeling. The results of the study demonstrated that the consortium artists' practices involved metaphoric expression in the production of artworks. Artists drew on a wide range of domains for the creation of visual metaphors that fit within the following categories: life to art and back; art practice in the social web; relationship to artwork and viewers; and metaphor and the art practice. These categories of domains were used to form a conceptual structure of visual metaphor.; This study impacts characterizations and research of visual metaphor by evidencing the contributions of artists' practices. The visual metaphors emerge from an immersion into the issues and materials through a continual process of reflexivity. The conceptual structure of visual metaphor suggests that doing art enables the artist to dialogue with the self through a medium, to come to know the self, the self's relationship to the world and relationships within the world. Acknowledging this means there are practical implications for art education in developing curricula, engaging students and teaching.