model 2
Jacques Macquet, "Objects as intruments, objects as signs' (1993).
Like Gilborn, Macquet offers a three step model of object analysis. Unlike Gilborn, however, Macquet delves into semiotics. Objects are both instruments (with intrinsic visual instrumentality) and signs (they have been ascribed meaning and stand for something else). Objects are also referents (carry meaning through codes to those within a community or culture) and symbols (they signify something apparent across cultural boundaries).
1. Global apprehension
j how is the object perceived?
2. Analytical
j what are the features that suggest its perception?
3. Symbolic Meanings
j what does the object symbolize to cultural insiders?
Macquet’s model has much potential for use with the tattoo. It allows questions such as “what is an object designed to do?” and “what does it symbolize to both those perceiving it within a community and those removed from it?”
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