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In person icon Political Symbols: Between Impact and Intentions

583
Emilia Palonen
University of Helsinki
Dacia Viejo Rose
University of Cambridge

Abstract

Political symbols demonstrate ownership and authority, but also direct and maintain shared - yet possibly contested - meanings in the public space. This panel proposes to debate two dynamics of political symbols as a form of meaning making: intentions and impact. The second dimension explored will be the ways in which these symbols can be used to demarcate landscapes, imbuing them with specific meaning, again paying particular attention to the intended meanings and audiences and how these contrast with their practical outreach. The working definition of political symbols being used refers specifically to their physical manifestations. These can include flags, monuments, memorials, and also commemorative acts and political performances during which political symbols are re-evaluated/redesigned, politicised or put into action to rally identities. We would be interested in politics of symbols from the moment of their inception and design to their actual, and various, uses. The symbols under investigations may also be used for violent ends, to provoke confrontation or fear. Papers may, for example, look at the politics of commissioning of such symbols and sites, investigate debates about their political purpose and/or artistic value, or explore the emergence of alternative and dissonant symbols. Papers may look at the commissioning and designing political symbols, where tension between concerns over aesthetic values versus political intentions emerge. Paper proposals could address issues of commemoration, trauma or amnesia – or jouissance – from both artistic and political perspectives. We would particularly welcome papers from artists that have been involved in the making of memorials or other political symbols. These may address double-bind between art and politics in which the author or the piece of art finds itself in the process of becoming a political symbol would be made visible.

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