What makes an image “iconic”?
Oxford Professor, Martin Kemp, here presents a selection of 11 images from his book
Christ to Coke: How Image Becomes Icon
From Christ, via Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and up-to-date with the Coca-Cola bottle, Kemp sets out history’s top iconic images.
Martin Kemp is Emeritus Research Professor in the History of Art at Oxford University. He has written and broadcast extensively on imagery in art and science from the Renaissance to the present day. He speaks on issues of visualisation and lateral thinking to a wide range of audiences and is a leading expert on the art of Leonardo da Vinci.
Also included on his list are a print of Che Guevara, the US flag and Nick Ut’s celebrated photo of a naked girl fleeing a napalm attack in Vietnam. Kemp’s self-stated goal is to explore why certain images have achieved ‘iconic status’.
According to a recent BBC article, Kemp believes that “The 11 images here are as secure and universal in their iconic status as any cultural products can ever claim to be.”
Martin Kemp’s Top 11 Images
1. Christ
2. The Cross
3. The Heart
4. The Lion
5. Mona Lisa
6. Che
7. Napalmed and Naked
9. Stars and Stripes
9. Coke: The Bottle
10. DNA
11. E=mc²
“An iconic image is one that has achieved wholly exceptional levels of widespread recognisability and has come to carry a rich series of varied associations for very large numbers of people across time and cultures.”
Throughout the book Kemp investigates the history of the images he chose and looks at how, in his opinion, they became iconic.
The author admitted there were images, such as the Buddha, which he eventually omitted from the list: “I lost the Buddha partly because, even the very familiar seated image of the portly divine, did not seem to have achieved the same level of worldwide recognisability as Christ,” he said.
He admitted that his list represented a “Western slant”.
“This is in part because of my areas of cultural knowledge”, but also because “Western and Western-style media have come to dominate the making and dissemination of images on a worldwide basis”.
An iconic image : Une image emblématique
Exceptional levels of widespread recognisability : des niveaux exceptionnels et répandues de ‘reconnaissabilité’
An image which carries a rich series of varied associations for large numbers of people : Une image qui porte une série d’associations riches et variées pour un grand nombre de personnes
Across time and across cultures : dans le temps et à travers les cultures
Throughout the book : Tout au long du livre
I lost the Buddha : J’ai choisi d’omettre le Bouddha (‘Lost’ veut dire ‘perdre’ en français, mais parfois, en langage courant aux Etats-Unis ‘to loose’ veut dire abandonner ou omettre quelque chose comme ‘Lose the accent!’ / “Debarasser vous de cet accent!’
the portly divine : le divin corpulent
The list represents a Western slant : La liste représente un biais occidental
the making and dissemination of images : la production et la diffusion d’images:
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- The muscular and luxuriant lion has for many centuries been adopted as a symbol of power, wisdom and courage. It is ubiquitous in ancient Egypt, China and India, among others, having both mythical and political potency.
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- According to Kemp, Albert Einstein’s mathematical equation has become “an icon of science and famed as a visual image”, adding “it has come to be used by people who have no clue as to what it means”. The equation endures, almost as a shorthand for Einstein’s genius.
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- Described by the editor of Nature magazine as “one of the greatest moments in the history of science and humanity”, The structure of DNA – discovered by James Watson and Francis Crick in 1953 – has changed the world. The famous double helix is now “the most reproduced image from any science at any period”, Kemp claims, and “features in an extraordinary range of product design, often with no obvious relevance to the item in question.”
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- Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is arguably the most famous painting in the world. The painting has been the subject of countless reproductions and parodies, confirming its iconic status in modern culture.
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- Called variously the Stars and Stripes, the Star-Spangled Banner, and Old Glory – the flag of the United States of America is arguably the most recognisable in the world. The 13 stripes represent the colonies that rebelled against the British monarchy and became the first states in the Union. The 50 stars represent the current number of states. Often seen as symbol of Western imperialism, Kemp says the flag “evokes everything that is good about living in one of the 50 states. For those who see America in an opposite light, the flag looks very different.”
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- The cross has taken many different forms over its “long and substantial history”. Although strongly identified with Christianity, it is not exclusive to religion.
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- The Coca-Cola bottle was created by bottle designer Earl R Dean in 1915. The contours of the bottle were designed when the company began a competition among its bottle suppliers to create a new bottle that would distinguish it from other beverage bottles. “An individual and evocative design” with “embedded references to natural form”, it has been redesigned a number of times, but remains visually unique.
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- Alberto’s Korda’s 1960 photo of Che Guevara has become the seminal image of the Marxist revolutionary. The red and black print produced in 1968 by Irish artist Jim Fitzpatrick cemented the romanticised image of Che as a military martyr, and secured him a global following.
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- Associated Press photographer Nick Ut won the Pulitzer Prize for his photo of Phan Thị Kim Phuc, fleeing a napalm attack during the Vietnam War. The image marks “an exceptional instant in an unfolding narrative”. Kim survived her injuries and went on to set up the Kim Phuc Foundation to treat war damaged children.
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- Martin Kemp, who believes image, branding and logos are “obsessions of our age” begins with a classic image of Christ. He says the standard “all-seeing” depiction of the Holy Face grants the image “recognisability wherever and in whatever medium it appears, whenever in history”.
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- Kemp labels the heart as “a shape that is appealing in its simple yet seductive rhythm”. The heart is an image that has become central to modern-day culture. The trademarked I heart New York logo was created as part of an advertising campaign to promote the US city, and the vibrant black and red slogan is still found in souvenir shops across the state.
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