>>> Seminars on Observing and Studying Art
Lecture
A figurative representation can be an allegory when it has certain characteristics. It may bring together several elements drawn from sensory reality, such as the winged lion, which combines an eagle and a lion. Colour and departures from realistic representation can also have allegorical value: they convey meanings beyond the simple reproduction of what is seen.
An allegory may be understood as a metaphor in which the meanings conveyed by an image, music or words go beyond the literal perception of reality. A painted bottle can seem sad, threatening or radiant. These expressive possibilities show how varied the allegorical values of a human creation can be, and how difficult they may be to interpret for people unfamiliar with the context in which the allegory arose, as happens with allegorical representations of the past. Unlike a symbol, an allegory does not reduce reality to a synthesis: it gathers and multiplies experiences, condensing events lived at different times and in different places. Dream images are allegorical too. The seemingly unusual way dreams transform the experiences of the day follows patterns that are studied during the seminar.
Seminar
The seminar examines the characteristics of allegories and the different functions they perform for individuals and society. A central part of our work is the allegorical interpretation of a painting, a story and our own dreams. When registering, participants will therefore be invited to write down and bring an account of one of their dreams so that the principles of allegorical analysis can be applied.
Seminar topics
Who it is for
The seminar includes extensive visual material (photographs, diagrams and drawings) and is intended for people working in the visual arts, as well as anyone interested in the interpretation and application of Gestalt psychology and visual communication. Maximum attendance: 30 participants.
Duration
The seminar lasts 16 hours over Saturday and Sunday, plus a two-hour lecture on Friday evening.
Cost
The fee for each seminar is agreed with interested participants.
Download workshop information sheet (PDF, Italian)
Preview of the lecture
Allegory as a Magnet
The allegory of an experience, an era, a personal biographical event or a civilisation condenses many experiences into one. In our own lives, many memories have been lost, yet certain images have the power to evoke an entire period. Remembering such an image brings back the meanings associated with it. This is an allegory: it contains information that our psyche has condensed in order to remember. We could say that allegory enables the psyche to conserve energy by gathering into a single form those features that matter for our survival and well-being.
Allegory refers not only to the past but also to the present and the future: to what we are living through, and to the desires and aspirations we place in what lies ahead. At one point in history, washing machines and cars were allegories because, in their tangible form, they represented the dreams of a generation that had lived through the uncertainty of war.
Allegory can therefore give concrete form to something that does not yet have a shape: a widespread or emerging feeling that remains unexpressed in the present but seems to call to us from the future. Art is rightly credited with the ability to anticipate social change, because artists can perceive and give form to what has yet to happen.
The study of allegory thus offers a valuable means of understanding our past, our present and possible future tendencies.