Welcome to the Iconic Part 1: A Religious History

If I'm going to be doing a series on icons, I might as well take a quick peek at the history of icons. Apparently when you look up the word "icon" on the Internet, the first definition that pops up indicates that the origin is religious. Google defines the term as "a painting of Jesus Christ or another holy figure, typically in a traditional style on wood, venerated and used as an aid to devotion in the Byzantine and other Eastern Churches."

An icon of St. Alexandra (or at least I think that's what this is).

Though the religious icon is traditionally a part of the Eastern Church, that's not to say that icons and iconic images didn't influence the western church's art. After all the English word icon comes from the Greek word "εἰκών" (pronounced as: eikōn) meaning an image or a likeness that represents something else. This doesn't necessarily mean a religious image, but it can be hard to separate the term from the traditional artistic style.

I feel I shouldn't be all that surprised that religion plays a role in defining what an icon is. For a good chunk of western civilization after the fall of the Roman Empire, the Christian Church held nearly all the wealth and power. One of the easiest ways to display their power was through art. Many art history scholars can tell you all about how the image of The Holy Mother Mary's image was constantly changing depending on the fashion and ideal beauty standards of the time. The Byzantine Mary from the 9th century looks very different from the much later portraits Rafael would paint.

This isn't the first time I've noticed how religion has influenced our society. Do any of you guys remember the Parable of Talents from the Bible? It's okay if you don't. I remember as a child thinking it was funny how the word English word for talent sounded similar to an ancient currency. The Sunday School teachers would explain to us that this parable was teaching us to spread our talents (as in our natural aptitude or skill set) and that we would prosper because of it. And though I'm not entirely sure what the origin of the English word for talent is, it can't be that much of a coincidence that the story and the modern definition work well together.

(Side Note: I recently reread the Parable of Talents out of curiosity and I'm 99% sure that Jesus is talking about the virtues of economic investment, not the investment into a person's natural aptitude or skill set. I'm not sure why I find this interesting, but I do.)

So that brings me to the modern school of thought on icons/iconic images. Today icons are seen as symbols, regardless if the symbol is a person or thing. Icons are typically thought of as images representing something. The fashion industry in particular seems to be full of icons like Tyra Banks, Marilyn Monroe, or Princess Kate (feel free to disagree with me).

But does the modern icon have the same reverence and devotion as the religious iconic images of old?

I'd argue from a cultural stand point that they do. Our society has a slight (possibly unhealthy) obsession with the famous, rich, and powerful. People, places, and objects can all be used to symbolize something, so why not turn them into an icon. There are many images that are hard to disassociate from a certain concept, whether it be the tragic yet glamorous Hollywood lifestyle from Marilyn Monroe, Woodstock from hippy culture, or the Eiffel Tower from Paris.

Icons, like everything else, have evolved over time. What started as images to aid in the worship of the Christian Religion have morphed into images that symbolize what society deems worthy of worshiping (mainly celebrities).

So, join me next week as I continue to discover what it means to be an icon...

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Until next week...