Information Withheld 1983

Overview

Information Withheld is a complex investigation of signs and symbols in Western culture. Applying linguistic, semiotic and iconographic analysis as systems of interpretation, Downey decodes signs from everyday traffic signals to Michelangelo's paintings, drawing on Leo Steinberg's statement that the sign — "simple, unambiguous and universally understood" — contrasts with art's essential premise of "information withheld." Using electronic imaging techniques to create metaphorical meaning, he draw