5 • 2015 e 10 m u Vol - - - has aimed to Icon has aimed to Volume 10 on the topic of Non-Place: Representing Place Non-Place: Representing Non-Place: Representing Placelessness in Litera Placelessness Non-Place: Representing From an editorial position the main ambition in putting together From

bring together cul- scholars from the following fields: Imagology, history, media and film studies, studies, star semiotics, tural and literary to history, initiate a art further history, exploration of the phenomenon of ‘cultural iconicity’. have We iconic- cultural of phenomenon the analyzing contributions sought ity in the following areas of study: literature, music, art, fashion, filmWe and called other for visual media, including photography. both papers that contribute further to the theorization of the field and its concepts, and papers that offer analyses of specific cases of cultural iconicity; and not surprisingly the latter category has - pre to our initial call. dominated in the responses limits possible and of reach potential the explore to is issue Icon this through wish we issue this With iconicity. cultural of concept the to This issue of Academic Quarter is a PhD student of Danish at Aalborg University. She works University. is a PhD student of Danish at Aalborg peripheral of representations dystopian about thesis a on places published articles on Danish Cinema. She has in recent Adaptation and Angels in America and is a co-editor of She is editor of MedieKultur. Academic Quarter and review co-editor of the volume is Associate Professor of English at Aalborg University. He He University. of English at Aalborg is Associate Professor and cultural American literature , teaches creative Foundation for the Psychologi of the studies. He is President analyses of The from cal Study of the Arts. Recent work ranges theof co-editor is He lyrics. song American of aspects to Beats volume . Media and ture, . Media and Culture lessness in Literature,

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Cultural Iconicity Cultural Field An Emergent Helle Thorsøe Nielsen Bent Sørensen

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is an exam Bent Sørensen Bent Cultural Iconicity Cultural Helle Thorsøe Nielsen Helle Thorsøe Volume 10 Wanderer above the Sea Fog above the Sea Wanderer A commercialized, yet sacralized visual, aural or yet sacralized visual, commercialized, A The iconicity of a human representation is furthered through the through is furthered The iconicity of a human representation Such a capsule definition is of necessity abstract both and broad, Cultural iconicity can be carried by the representation of a per For the purpose of this issue we proposed the following defini existing iconic textual images, or create new additions to the bank of existing already of iconic a representations given cultural icon. “Images enter the cultural field of cultural iconicity and everyone may contribute freely to elaborate and reinterpret their iconic sta tus,” he writes As 2007, (Sørensen, such 157-158). human an inherent element in the production of How cultural iconicity. iconicity ever, embedded in non-human forms of representation is also open to Even manipulation and and re-purposing. re-mixing iconic sublime landscape wielding an iconic object such as an an iconic object such as an iconic sublime landscape wielding iPhone based on Friedrich’s of some an example of and of such a combination of carriers ple the in the logic of cultural iconicity central complexities human icon having agency to act in a cultural space anchored in time, and by the consumers of cultural iconicity having agency to of form the taking whether representations, those on work’ ‘icon do collaborative iconolatry or adversarial iconoclasm. Sørensen, in a 2007 article, defined ‘icon-work’ as an interactive process, which manipulate to producer, or agent textual a become to anyone allows to an extent reductive. The work of concretizing the analyses of ico of analyses the concretizing of work The reductive. extent an to nicity under our broad umbrella is naturally primarily carried out by the contributions within the volume at hand, but here we, as on what we see as the con editors, wish to elaborate a little further emergent still and new the of boundaries, the eventually and tours, field of cultural iconicity. or an epoch/historical mo son, a place, an object, a phenomenon, ment – or a combination of any of the abovementioned in interac An iconic human tion. agent such as set a wanderer in romantic an exemplary analyses of a number of highly diverse cultural icons to frame outlined and boundaries of the theoretical test the contours in this introduction. icon: tion of a cultural in anchored a textual specificrepresentation temporal/historical and spa tial/geographical context, broadly recognized by its recipients as having of human agents within one or several discursive iconic status for a group fields/communities. quarter

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Bent Sørensen Bent Cultural Iconicity Cultural Helle Thorsøe Nielsen Helle Thorsøe Volume 10 For scholars in the field of star studies, fashion studies and other In this process of investigating the defining characteristics of the Regardless of Regardless the specific kinds of cultural icons on which one is branches of cultural studies, the usual object of interest will be thebe will interest of object usual the studies, cultural of branches per real a of representation fictional/mythologized or biographical son or fictional character. Such iconic personalities and characters be interaction complex a by constructed been have often most will an actor) and handlers tween the human behind the character (say, and marketers of the character and the artifact, product or cultural of text he or she is found embedded in (this range of co-producers iconicity would a include, film say, producers, orrecord company, it manifests itself in cultural texts across a wide spectrum of genres of genres a wide spectrum across it manifests itself in cultural texts visu analyzing are we icon cultural a analyze we When media. and method, a reading of this icon through al-textual representations which we might term ‘cultural iconology’ (See also Sørensen 2006). to doing cultural studies is a charting of the Central to this approach various cultural and textual agents’ icon-work. In the following we will try to point to the broad field of possible analytical objects, as beneficial and logical most it find we elements the of some to as well to take into consideration and investigate when practicing cultural iconology on these objects. adversarial. Thus, cultural icons are related to stereotypes and in in and stereotypes to related are icons cultural Thus, adversarial. dis the to akin particularly is icons cultural of study the regard this imagologyintermedial ‘new’ the (particularly imagology of cipline proposed by Johnson in his 2005 article “Notes a Towards New Imagology”). The concepts of auto- and hetero-images as devel useful in such analyses. also particularly oped by Leerssen are such that emphasize to crucial is it iconicity cultural of phenomenon an analysis of cultural icons in our view is best carried out as a cul tural semiotic text study based on a broad understanding of what asiconicity with engages issue theme our such As text. a constitutes objects or design details and practices (i.e. phenomena that are in animate, and in some cases exist only as digital files) can be of suf ficient cultural significance for largegroups to become exposed to an example icon-work of practices this (Google type doodles ofare icon). These practices are usually complex and often involve a ten purposes and consumer criticism.sion between branding focusing, a cultural icon can also be defined as a stereotype under going icon-work in a cultural context – whether collaborative or quarter

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Bent Sørensen Bent Cultural Iconicity Cultural Psycho Breakfast at Tiffany’s at Breakfast Helle Thorsøe Nielsen Helle Thorsøe Volume 10 baby carriage, the burger , the shower scene from , the shower scene from Battleship Potemkin Pulp Fiction As editors we have formulated a set of dichotomies that contribu that dichotomies of set a formulated have we editors As For scholars in art, music, literary history or , the iconic instances in filmhistory), or a well-known motif in pictorial a dripped art of stream (a paint Degas on dancer, a Pollack canvas, of tropes visual the or sculpture), Rodin’s in thinker the of fist the or line or the nude female bread the photo journalism (the open road, aSimilarly icons. cultural form to argued be can all – form) male or as such film seminal a instance (for work whole of a harmonica in a Leone spaghetti western – are all examples of western – are of a harmonica in a Leone spaghetti Transcendence/Revelation the to reduction a 1) of combination a through signify icons Cultural simplest forms of signification (as does therepresenta commercial, tional icon, found for instance in signage or on computer screens); and 2) a (re)sacralization of the signs in question (as does the reli the use of images in gious icon found in faiths which do not interdict act of worship – archetypically orthodox An Catholicism). example phenomena could also be analyzed through iconicity theory. through phenomena could also be analyzed is icon cultural The supplement. and/or discuss explore, could tions semiotic chains of meaning: bound up at least on the following Stylization/Sacralization Familiarity/Transgression Immortality/Historicity Communion/Consumption Overexposure/Iconoclasm (Apotheosis)/Reduction () Martyrdom that has iconic status in both film and fashion history), period (such period history), fashion and film both in status iconic has that as a decade denomination, for instance ‘The 20s’), or site (the ghost town, suburbia, etc.) can become a cultural icon under specific cir cumstances of usually reception, a through theorization in or other types of history writing, and many more global designers and marketing personnel – making such contemporary of multiple authorships). icons the product iconicity of time and place in representation will be the natural point of entry into the field of iconicity studies. For instance, an iconic shot, scene, dialogue sequence, special effect or sound ele ment from a film (the dialogue from quarter

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Bent Sørensen Bent Cultural Iconicity Cultural détournement Helle Thorsøe Nielsen Helle Thorsøe Volume 10 Also place – and the specific cultural groupings doing icon work The significance of time as well as place is highlyrelevant in the Cultural icons presuppose familiarity in a group context (in or icons can further their demise as significant icons. An example of example An icons. significant as demise their further can icons or thein one similar very another by superseded be can icon one how same field seems to be unfolding at this very moment when Ma donna’s iconicity is largely being usurped and then supplanted by that of Lady Gaga. in a specific place – becomes arelevant site for investigation and consideration when doing cultural icon analysis. Some of the most via a gamut, or canon if one likes, of auto-images, and conversely deviations from the norm often lead to adversarial hetero-images of Otherness. Cultural icons seem immortal for study their of cultural iconicity. period, historically as in but synchronic historically reality are con out turn icons cultural Some construct. cultural other any as tingent to have a short life span (see the Madonna example below), and and develop over generations and even centuries.others to endure in significance icon’s an revitalize and extend can icon-work Active to pri references and lack of indifference whereas the iconosphere, and recognition. There is eventually no Freud without a to cigar, give an example from one of the articles within. Freud’s However, cigar is exactly the semiotic carrier of new meaning in cases where through critiqued or recuperated is image icon’s the the icon’s afterlife as a cultural text. participatory and common the without that argue could one deed, element, they would not fully be ‘cultural’), yet is fuelled – and to an extent constituted – by transgression of the same group’s cul akin very is iconicity cultural of study the again Here, norms. tural where to such imagology, norms are considered to be expressed of the tensions in this first chain of iconic signification is how Mari is lyn to metonymically Monroe her reduced blondeness, bustiness, red lips and beauty spot – all features that are extensively resacral ized and sexualized in her iconic most representations, notably in serial Mon manipulated strongly art Andy works Warhol’s such as place can roes. Similarly, be metonymized through a single estab lishing shot that sets the scene using a specific icon torepresent a Towerwhole =site Paris,(Eiffel etc.). Simplification is reductive a maneuver but seems to be the precondition for mass dissemination quarter

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icon-work of icon-work Bent Sørensen Bent Cultural Iconicity Cultural Helle Thorsøe Nielsen Helle Thorsøe Volume 10 . 3 post festum Overexposure, however, can lead to aggressive adversarial icon adversarial aggressive to lead can however, Overexposure, The consumer of cultural iconicity is inevitably in the position of These focus ultimately are areas what take the study of a cultural established and sustained without constant they overexposure, of peril in constantly are icons While type. either exposure require to survive, and one is tempted to suggest that the the the the secure position transgressive exposure more more in the becomes for the individual icon iconosphere intervention on the part of the public in the form of backlashes. pub of form a resemble can process this icon, human living a For and their production. This ultimately furthers our general under a phenomenon all the while as standing of cultural icon production and, when successfully carried out, brings us valuable new insights hu the into short in place, and time agency, human of processes into as such. man condition and Culture a communion with/of seeking the to iconic force object. the voyeur, The consumption of icons can take many active forms, for instance collabora in the shape of iconoclastic manipulation, or other more tive forms of icon work (fan fiction, art, and other forms of iconola The question ultimately is, whether any icon can be effectively try.). World Wide Web. For Wide Web. the World cultural icon analyst the degree of trans gression (or entire lack thereof) of a cultural icon in terms of time, importance. of great place and cultural context is potentially icon and theits field from specific of production a limited, local vis generally more valid ual-textual analysis to the field of a broader, and interesting cultural analysis. However appealing in its own an be, may icon cultural specific a of analysis semiotic narrow a right also into taking approach account directly trans-textual and contex and pointscomparisons rich facilitates icons tual aspects of cultural to be made across the histories of even very different cultural icons familiar cultural icons, such as for example highly polarizing politi very with associated are Guevara), (Che heroes or (Stalin) figures cal anddifferent maybe even oppositional attributes in places different are icons cultural Some groups. cultural different in and world the in quite local and primarily recognized as a cultural icon to a limited number of people in a specific cultural context in a specificarea of broad being identity, global more a have others whereas world, the peo and contexts cultural diverse by icons cultural as recognized ly ple across the world – and in this day and age especially across the quarter

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Bent Sørensen Bent Cultural Iconicity Cultural Helle Thorsøe Nielsen Helle Thorsøe Volume 10 In ”Affective practice in the Ownership, icon-city. authenticity The first portion of contributions in this issue all approach the The first analytical article is “Deep England” by Jørger Riber The processes involved in cultural iconicity are thus a battle analyses of these samples the article finally suggests a cultural, se miotic definition of icons. addresses also Bom Klara Anna space” urban of fictionalization and defines She icon-city. of concept the introduces she as ‘place-object’ a icon-city as a a pervasive city narrative where about an iconic event or isfigure intentionally and explicitly attached toan urban space – an action that supplies the city with symbolic meaning because it is Christensen. His iconic object is an abstract concept related to a spe a to related concept abstract an is object iconic His Christensen. cific place, i.e. England. theHe concept explores of ‘Deep England’ – an icon that arose during the Second – War World as a unifying concept of everything English. has This deep icon, his however, reac a also but patriotic, only not is significance its and roots, torical tion The to icon modernity. is materialized in a fictitious southern, rural and pastoral England with close-knit communities centered Chris samples analytical of number a Through green. village the on the cultural meaning of the icon in the light of the tensen explores theories of Svetlana Boym (nostalgia), Marc Augé (places), Angus on Based (sociology). Kingsnorth Paul and history) (cultural Calder or specific human carriers of iconicity andWe transgression. are pleased to include a highly diverse group of articles in terms of the theshow to serves diversity this as addressed objects iconic of types discipline of cultural iconography. and potential of the reach broad topic of cultural iconicity through iconic objects and to an extent with analytical the perspectives fieldthat ofdo cul indeed broaden hu iconic of investigation the than further it take and iconicity tural articles the of center the at are – which real or fictional – figures man in the second portion of our issue. lic martyrdom, as punishment for transgression – creating a bal ance between apotheosis and translation. One could mention sports icons such as as evidence Woods Tiger of the frequency of such a process. ground between transcendence and revelation, and this opens up a issue this in articles individual The analysis. cultural for space fertile in object iconic the whether detail, great in processes these exemplify practice, object or design concrete question is an abstract concept, a quarter

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Bent Sørensen Bent Cultural Iconicity Cultural Helle Thorsøe Nielsen Helle Thorsøe Volume 10 Staying within the realm of the Internet Iben Bredahl Jessen takesJessen Bredahl Iben Internet the of realm the within Staying In ”Circus days. The 1990s as an iconic period of time for Swedish for time of period iconic an as 1990s The days. ”Circus In on the page front of the engine search since 1998. Google calls them “doodles”. The doodles are variations of the Google logo that cele brate famous individuals or cultural events, but the doodles also point to the iconic status of the Google logo as a locus of creativity and reinterpretation. The article explores the iconic status of the Google logo and on the basis of a multimodal typographic analysis of a sample of Google’s doodles from 1998 to 2013, Bredahl Jessen identifies different types of relations between the well-known iconic period of time for the Swedish Internet scene. It is argued 1990s the with associated imaginations and associations thatmental are still relevant for the intellectual construction of the present-day Internet scene. The article presents recurring themes from the inter views with the informants, highlighted as examples of important framework the constructing in active are that 1990s the about stories of later experiences. for the organization us on a journey of exploration of an iconic brand logo in her article changes Provisional doodles”. Google’s logo. brand a of ”Variations of the well-known Google logo have been a phenomenonrecurring a sensitizing concept in an analysis of the inauguration of the itiner the of inauguration the of analysis an in concept sensitizing a ary Andersen’s “Hans Odense”. Christian In the analysis, sig three nificant themes are identified as pivotal research themes: Owner of urban space. ship, authenticity and fictionalization place,specific a not addresses Wiklund Lisa entrepreneurs” Internet but a time-space conjunction, through providing an important of sense Certeau’s de Michel in space a of making the for framework out carried fieldwork ethnographic on based is article Her word. the startup/internet about the Swedish project on behalf of a research Wiklund suggests community. that the 1990s can be seen as an staged and experienced as the city of the specific icon. In her article the focus of attention is on an icon-city where the iconicity is at An Christian Hans author the namely person, historical a to tached icon- concept the presents Bom Odense. birth, of city his and dersen city as a setting for glocal heritage tourism and posits it as an themselves experience-scape the people through where represent Methodologically, space. urban the and icon the between connection as in use to put is practice’ ’affective concept analytical discourse the quarter

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Bent Sørensen Bent Cultural Iconicity Cultural Helle Thorsøe Nielsen Helle Thorsøe Volume 10 ’s use of ‘bullet time’, the extreme slowing brug af ikonografiske forlæg i modereporta , this article argues that the use of iconic represen that the use , this article argues The Matrix Euromans Euroman takes as its topic fashion photography and particularly the

Moving from the realm of sound effects to the realm of visual tem visual of realm the to effects sound of realm the from Moving From here we move on to two articles, which in term of topic may topic of term in which articles, two to on move we here From Moving from the Internet to lifestyle magazines, Stinne Gunder fact. In addition to the physical object, whether hidden or highlight or hidden whether object, physical the to addition In fact. usages since common microphone or as a crutch, ed, used as a prop sound,mediatized iconic an in resulted have radio of days early the which has realigned the way we experience the spoken word and the musical voice, Mulder argues. Icon”,Temporal A “Bullet-Time. in Christiansen, Steen effects, poral investigates tations mirrors the reader and his intellectual competence. and his the reader tations mirrors be said to broaden the scope of the study of cultural iconicity while objects zooming and in practices. on In micro-iconic his article “The Iconic Microphone. Insight Audibility: and Iconic Sound in Media” Jos Mulder enters the area of sound studies, as he takes as his topic both the visuality and the aurality of the microphone. Mulder dis cusses the iconicity of the both microphone as a physical object, but also as a transducer and shaper of a distinctive mediatized sound. Different facets of iconicity areexamined in his article in order to tease out the multiple meanings and usages of this ubiquitous arti fashion and lifestyle in the fashion editorial, but often also functions also often but editorial, fashion the in lifestyle and fashion as whicha tool for the magazine to its orchestrate , can As as be an the perceived autonomousmagazine’s work of art. work of art it involves the reader by a vast use of iconic references cultural literary, historical, of variety comprehensive a on draw that as well as artistic icons, symbols and representations. These are sexualization, of act aesthetic and ironical an in delicately, staged and they function as visual appetizers as well as challenges of de coding for Through the analyses reader. of selected fashion photo graphs a from fashion editorial the from Danish lifestyle magazine for men, Google letters and the new graphic features. The article examines howand these and relations produce communicate brand iconicity, perspective. a typographic has developed from how this iconicity (modefoto ikon som figur androgyne “Den Kroager’sarticle Strøm grafi). Om gen” argues Kroager iconicity. cultural to relation in androgyny of notion that lifestyle magazines not just communicate consumer-oriented quarter

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Bent Sørensen Bent Cultural Iconicity Cultural Helle Thorsøe Nielsen Helle Thorsøe Volume 10 World War Z War World , female gamers have be . Circulated so much as to almost ren Sengoku Basara Sengoku Vertigo In “The Icon of the Zombie Mob” Jørgen Riber Christensen puts In his article “An Animated Adoration. The Folk Art of Japanese Compared to the somewhat intangible object/practices of cul intangible to the somewhat Compared ters by drawing comic illustrations on votive prayer tablets. Based the at display on found tablets prayer votive the of survey field a on shrine, Andrews argues that through the production of folk art, i.e. icons, fans engage with the game characters in a personal religious and spiritual manner, while simultaneously creating communal bonds with other fans. film the “In forward: question research this circus spectacle, respectively. spectacle, respectively. circus Gamers” Dale K. Andrews argues that consumers of manga (com alter for search increasingly games video and (cartoons), anime ics), native ways to forge a connection with their favorite characters. In Japan, many of the actual places used in such media as models for background scenery have within recent years become popular as tourist destinations. In an effort to connect with the characters from the action-adventure game gun to gather at a shrine dedicated to Japan’s war dead. At the shrine they choose to express their adoration for the game charac concerns for contemporary culture. These intensifications of mo to also but momentum narrative express to only not ways are ments provide distinct pay-offs,durations of pure sensation and astonish ment. Time is tamed in bullet time. Rather than the transcendent desire of slow cinema, we find a kinesthetic desire in cultural accel andfilms action contemporary in attenuated is that desire a eration, their use of bullet time. tural icons addressed in the articles presented above, we are con tinuing now to three articles each concerned with fictional figures: the and zombie, the of figure the characters, game action-adventure down of the cinematic image, which instantly became iconic for ac tion cinema and has almost become as recognizable as Hitchcock’s famous dolly zoom in what of question the proposes article this meaningless, effect the der slowing down of of incessant acceleration, the purpose, in a time time could have and why it has become so iconic. Christiansen ar gues that bullet time in an action intensifica films is, paradoxically, tion of speed, a different butrelated way of makingmovement felt. central are sensations felt its and speed delimit, to difficult Although quarter

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Bent Sørensen Bent Cultural Iconicity Cultural Helle Thorsøe Nielsen Helle Thorsøe Volume 10 [1991] and Heaney’s ‘Wheels Within Wheels’ [1991]” Ellie [1991] and Heaney’s ‘Wheels Within [1991] and Seamus Heaney’s ‘Wheels Within Wheels’ [ Wheels’ Within ‘Wheels Heaney’s Seamus and [1991] , 1991] gain sexual experience and excitement from circus In “Circus, Sexuality and the Catholic Imagination in Jordan’s Jordan’s in Imagination Catholic the and Sexuality “Circus, In shared pleasure through similar circus imagery. She compares these compares She imagery. circus similar through pleasure shared two texts and questions how it is that the circus seems to speak as sexuality so connects Lavan Further, sexuality. juvenile of eloquently in rendered these circus stories with the Irish Catholic imagination, considering the function of the religious icon in Jordan’s film, and the tension between past and present selves that is conceived in terms. Heaney’s poem in religious as both a popular and a hegemonic tool to the historically dualistic conception of mobs. Miracle Lavan explores how male Young protagonists in Neil Jordan’s Miracle Things of taboo the confronts film Jordan’s how highlights Lavan spectacle. between a starlet mother and her aban an incestuous relationship scenes, and doned circus in son comparison through how Heaney’s poem deals with the process of sexual maturity from onanism to kind of magnification monster that has entered the global body politic. This shows the zombie as an icon of fear of globalization which is a new twist on the cultural critique of mass society as ex pressed in for instance If George theRomero’s zombie film trilogy. zombie has become the mob, then a reciprocal question remains. Why Z? has Here the mob been War depicted as zombies in World article the and answer, an provide can contextualization historical a and mobs in the world of pol of crowds connects the historical role contempo to 1989 crowd”, the of “Year so-called the including itics, poli Eastern Middle especially in mobs of iconography media rary iconcultural a of nature double the connects article the Finally, tics. ster, 2013) not only the iconology of the zombie has changed, also its also changed, has zombie the of iconology the only not 2013) ster, zombiethe of alteration double this does How new. is iconography a hypothet proposes Christensen significance?” iconic its influence ical answer to this question based on an investigation of the loca tions of the film, including the climactic battle scene with zombies in Moscow’s Red Square, which was dropped from the final cut. short relatively the of description a in contextualized is answer This cultural history of the zombie with its manifestation most inrecent new a mob, a as manifestation zombie this sees article The film. this quarter

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The New York The New York Bent Sørensen Bent Cultural Iconicity Cultural Helle Thorsøe Nielsen Helle Thorsøe Volume 10 was the theatrically chronicling life released, of Phoenix is Affleck’s (and Phoenix’s) statement film, inviting the au the inviting film, statement Phoenix’s) (and Affleck’s is On 11 On February 11 2009, Joaquin Phoenix announced that he

(Cieply 2010) that the film was in fact a mockumentary. From the Hollywood From stars of today the next article takes us back Also focusing on the iconicity of the Hollywood star, Penny This concludes our first section of articles centered on somewhat on centered articles of section first our concludes This “Hollywood with Haastrup Kannik Helle is section this Opening tribution in developing the myth of the Hollywood However, star. this paper argues, it primarily shows Phoenix’s transition from star This to case celebrity. is framed by the scholarly study of stars, ico that the series of media and events argues cre nology and celebrity, ated provideby Affleck Phoenix a commentaryand on the contem porary notion of Hollywood stardom. Iconic & Baker’sIdentity “Josephine Image, In 1920s. the to time in cle “He’s Still Here. Joaquin Phoenix Hollywood as Transgressive Star”. pursue his ambition of becoming a acting to from would be retiring hip hop musician. One year ‘documentary’ later, feature film Here Still its into week A retirement. his of announcement the followed that release in the US, director Casey Affleck confessed to Times Still Here dience to reflect on their own contribution to celebrity culture. The film draws attention to both the star and the fan and their joint con endorsement advertisement and the appearance of the red carpet carpet red the of appearance the and advertisement endorsement this culture celebrity in research recent to contrast In broadcast. live is an investigation of how specific media texts articulate key con cepts central to an understanding of contemporary celebrity cul as star the extraordinary, and ordinary both as star the as such ture, resource and the notion of intimacy at a distance. Thus the article offers a usefulframework for analysis of traditional celebrity gen and how res Hollywood icons - in this context exemplified by Ben represented. - are edict Cumberbatch and Lupita Nyong’o arti her in Spirouicon Hollywood transgressive single a on focuses abstract and untraditional iconic objects in the study of cultural The next iconicity. section contains the more traditional, yet cer real addressing contributions relevant, or interesting less not tainly human icons. Haastrup’s Genres”. Celebrity in Stars Film Contemporary Icons. article is an analysis of how Hollywood stars are represented in the central three celebrity – genres the fashion magazine interview, quarter

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Bent Sørensen Bent Cultural Iconicity Cultural Helle Thorsøe Nielsen Helle Thorsøe Volume 10 on an iconic Columbian cyclist. On cyclist. Columbian iconic an on

In “The Iconicity of an ‘Immigrant Writer’. Jonas Hassen KhemiriHassen Jonas Writer’. ‘Immigrant an of Iconicity “The In Turning from performance culture to sports with Nicolás Llano to sports performance culture from Turning semiotic apparatus, this article analyzes three symbolic elements embedded in Herrera’s image – blood, struggle, and redemption – Co with the average to discuss the photograph’s power to resonate terri the of most ruled terrorism narcotics when time a at lombian tory and the escalation of insurgency and paramilitary violence daily occurrences. were and Hassan” Yahya Natia Gokieli asks: “What do Jonas Hassen (1984), became an international hero and a national martyr. Not only Not martyr. national a and hero international an became (1984), bloodied did face the staring image at of the Herrera’s horizon after winning the 14th stage acquire cult status within cycling circles around the world, it also established a subtle, yet passionate, con reality. Colombian and performance, his figure, the between nection Linares argues that Herrera’s image worked as a metaphorical ex tension that stimulated the association between martyred Herrera’s image and the collective struggle people had to go through on a daily basis, accentuating the Catholic strongly iconographic dimen sion attached to popular sport practices in Colombia (faith, endur ance, and suffering). Using applied elements of Charles S. Peirce’s ence of Josephine Baker, who symbolized the beauty and vitality of vitality and beauty the symbolized who Baker, Josephine of ence American during culture this African time. Baker influenced archi graphic arts, sculpture, urban and interior design, fashion, tecture, one as her establishes influence this and photography, and painting Ameri African first the age, jazz the of symbols famous most the of can superstar and a universal icon. Linares’s article blood “Your is our blood. The metaphorical exten glory” Herrera’s ‘Lucho’ of sions Alberto ‘Lucho’ Herre July 12 of 1985 at Saint-Étienne, France, Luis ra, the first Colombian cyclist toTour have de won France a stage ity” Gary L. Lampley investigates Harlem Jazz icon Josephine Bak Josephine icon Jazz Harlem investigates Lampley L. Gary ity” height the during 1925, of summer the in Paris in arrival her from er of France’s obsession with American jazz music and all things ex otic. Immediately after her famous semi-nude banana-clad perfor an wearing club jazz a in appeared Baker 1925, 2, October on mance aby her for selected been had which bias, the on cut dress, ice-blue dispelledquickly Baker of side glamorous This house. design Paris the notion of her as primitive, and Baker quickly became a woman In his others article wanted Lampley to maps copy. the huge influ quarter

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Bent Sørensen Bent Cultural Iconicity Cultural Helle Thorsøe Nielsen Helle Thorsøe Volume 10 century, Adolph Hitler, is Hitler, Adolph century, th countless representations in representations countless

Gebauer argues that argues Gebauer

The “ultimate political figure” of the 20 the of figure” political “ultimate The Taking the connection Taking of cultural iconicity and politics even fur different media and genres make Hitler one of the most productive fundamen of seems icon this of analysis The scale. global a on icons of as its original semantics as the embodiment interest tal theoretical collaborative between work icon of notions common challenges evil the topic of Mirjam Gebauer’s article “The Pop-Icon Hitler as a Rec Most World‘s The Society. Media on Reflection Critical of Trope Face”. ognisable ger strikers as cultural icons in her article “The Northern Irish hun Irish Northern “The article her in icons cultural as strikers ger ger strikers as cultural icons”. Simuna points out that fasting is a non-violent way of communicating a message or achieving a goal. It is a process that includes and reveals poignant cultural values, phenomenon a also is It gesture. symbolic a as regarded be can and recognized by As many the . nature of this recognition can ico of aspects cross-cultural wider cultures, different between vary nicity can be reached. Specifically this article examines the 1981 Northern Irish hunger strike to find out what iconic attributes are connected with the hunger strikers. A special focus is given to the of international news media as an intensifier of iconicity. role and exemplarity. Gokieli draws a connection between the existing the between connection a draws Gokieli exemplarity. and fixed iconography of an ‘immigrant’ in the mass media and the vis ual ethnicized of representations Khemiri and Hassan in the daily press and puts their literary performance into a socio-political con objectified as author-images popular their considers article Her text. icons of hegemonic whilenormative discourses on national culture, it simultaneously understands their subversive literary and extra- tra of iconoclasms as self-imagery national of renegotiations textual ‘Danishness’. of ‘Swedishness’ resp. ditional order ther than in the articles, previous three Erja Simuna discusses hun Khemiri from Sweden Hassan and from Yahya Denmark have in non- a have both they – commonalities visual the Besides common”? white physical appearance – they share an outstanding commercial hyped highly young, these of examples Through success. critical and iconic function this article aims at discussing the bestselling authors, on discourse public the in body writer’s’ authentic ‘immigrant the of ‘national’ and ‘immigrant’ identities. The emphasis lies on the mar ketability of an ‘immigrant writer’, which derives its commercial recognizability the from iconicity based on ethnic visibility, quarter

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Bent Sørensen Bent Cultural Iconicity Cultural icon work on Helle Thorsøe Nielsen Helle Thorsøe Volume 10 détournée Sørensen Sørensen points out that not many cultural critics

As a concluding remark in this introductory article it should be Ending this issue on cultural iconicity is Bent Sørensen’s article iconicity – also been our hope to have our conceptual work here to brought the test, expanded upon, potentially criticized and en into dialogue with. This has to some extent indeed happenedtered – explicitly as well as implicitly – through the more or less elabo contributing the within discussions and reflections theoretical rated hope articles. the We enclosed articles will inspire further work by field. scholars in this emerging ized form) also travel with ease in current public discourses, rang ing from cartoons, jokes and other forms of comedy to serious es says, fictions and films. This is, Sørensenargues, a phenomenon, incorporated are ideas ‘Freudian’ which to extent the reflects which of middle-class the culture early 21st cen in the dominant Western and he tury, shows multiple examples of the practice of collabora tive and adversarial, recuperative and image. Freud’s bringing forth some interest pointed out that it has – besides from ing analytical work and bringing attention to the topic of cultural phenomena in contemporary media society. society. phenomena in contemporary media psychoanalysis, of founder the about Work” Icon Freud. of “Images Sigmund Freud. or other academic figures become so well known in the general public that one that can their argue physical image (whether based iconic, become has caricatures) and portraits films, photographs, on along with a wide-spread dissemination of their intellectual ideas. This however is undoubtedly the case with Freud, whose image is still immediately recognizable to a majority of the population of at least Europe and North America. Freud’s ideas (albeit in popular iconolatry, on the one hand, and adversarial iconoclasm, on the oth the on iconoclasm, adversarial and hand, one the on iconolatry, the range of different significancesHowever, to be founder. in con temporary Hitler representations suggests that the icon serves to work through issues of the respective context in which it is used. claim especially representations Gebauer that, argues interestingly, ing to do justice to history and to the historical person Hitler might be problematized and seen as part of a “remembrance industry”, of the icon es representations while pop-cultural, often humorous tablish a critical meta-level allowing audiences to reflect on certain quarter

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Bent Sørensen Bent Cultural Iconicity Cultural Helle Thorsøe Nielsen Helle Thorsøe Volume 10 , edited by Walter W. , W. edited by Walter

, edited by Ari Helo. 157- Helo. Ari by edited , Communities and Connec Communities and , 14, 1: 50-58. US Icons and Iconicity and Elvis Presley,” in and Elvis Presley,” Lit 237-257. Wien: and Susanne Rieser. Hölbling, Klaus Rieser, Verlag. European English Messenger European Collaborative Uses of “Uncle Sam” in in North American Studies tions. Press. 165. Helsinki: University of Helsinki explanation of the term’s potential use in the discipline of imagology and by extension in cultural text studies pertaining to icon-work and the decoding of mapped a [...] connotes iconosphere “[T]he 2005: Johnson, in iconology cultural mate in realized been has which period particular a from possibilities of world rial form: whether it be in parchment, paper, wood, silk, canvas, stone, clay, against up Shored code. binary in encrypted and digitized even or film, plastic, the irrecoverable horizons of knowledge which were available to past minds, the iconosphere of a period consists of the traces that have survived, in what individuals of that passing world.” (Johnson, 2005: 52-53). ever form, from leberecht-part-1/ following the gives Johnson Anthony lectures. of series unpublished an in tocki http://www.ageofartists.org/make-space-for-playing-interview-with-tim- See for example: http://www.imagologica.eu/leerssen critic Jan Bialos by Polish architecture was introduced The term ‘iconosphere’

Sørensen, Sørensen, Bent. 2006. “Sacred Jane and FondaProfane Icon-Work: Notes 1 2 3 Bibliography Imagology.” New a Towards “Notes 2005. Anthony. Johnson, Sørensen, Bent. 2007. “Countercultural Icon-work: Adversarial and quarter

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