| Abstract: | This article argues that much of the meaning of artworks comes through metaphors, though we do not always recognise them as such. The argument draws on the work of Lakoff & Johnson, who assert a similar claim about metaphors in general (especially in language). It analyses the notion of a visual metaphor, gives a number of illustrations and claims that, contrary to linguistic metaphors, there can usefully be more than one visual metaphor (‘mixed metaphors’) active in a visual image and that visual metaphors can be interpreted in both directions. Verticality is presented as one basic metaphor in visual images. |
