Art as Language and Language as Art of Communication in a Digitally Evolving World

Abstract

Art is described as the expression of feelings in order to transmit an idea or evoke an emotion to a target audience. The evolution of art has reflected aesthetic and functional dimensions as well as offered innovative solutions to socio-economic, political and cultural issues. Artistic and cultural iconography have been used across generations as communication codes to enable users of such codes exchange symbols to which they are most familiar. Language is a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, notions and desires by means of a system of voluntarily produced symbols. Languages differ across races, colour and creed. Most languages evolved from culture and behavioural patterns of people. Given the ever-increasing technological impact on the present global space, communication has become transactional, affective, personal, instrumental and consummatory in the sense that the source and the receiver are constantly having an impact on each other through symbolic behaviour (Burgoon and Ruffner 1978). This paper, therefore intends to examine how art and language could be a potent mode of communication at a time of dominant digital evolution. The paper is an explorative study from existing literatures as secondary research method. It will also evaluate content, form and context of cartooning, tattooing, photo imagery and the universally accepted codes and icons.