Symbolizing the future-towards a futures' iconography

Abstract

This essay brings the art historical methodology of iconography to bear upon symbolic representations of futures issues. The discipline of iconography was developed as a way of analysing symbolism as it evolved from antiquity to the Baroque in order to identify and interpret the meaning of symbols within their wider cultural context. Symbols constitute significant indicators of the aspirations, belief systems and neuroses of the cultures which generate them. As such, they constitute fundamental tools in any analysis of past and contemporary attitudes towards science, technology and the future. With this in mind the essay considers symbolic images of the three fundamental aspects of futures s..