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The Meaning of Meaning
Can’t a tattoo just mean whatever you want it to? Well, yes and no. Obviously, you can tell people that your tattoo means whatever you want – but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll believe you! You can argue all day long that the flaming skull on your arm represents “peace and harmony” – but no one will buy it. One way of looking at it (not our way) is offered by Terisa Green, author of The Tattoo Encyclopedia, who argues, “Are all tattoos symbolic? The answer is plainly no” (p.xiv). She explains that certain tattoos that are lighthearted, simply decorative, or spontaneous choices, don’t have deep meaning, and that searching for it “obscures their nature.” We disagree! ALL TATTOOS ARE SYMBOLIC! That is, they are ALL cryptic, encoded, condensed images which convey a message. There are three ways that that message will be communicated: (1) You intend for your tattoo to convey a particular meaning, and people understand it as such. This is EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION. For example, you tell people that the dove tattooed on your arm represents “peace and harmony.” They agree. (2) You intend for your tattoo to convey a particular meaning, and people just don’t get it. You tried, but it wasn’t successful. This is called a COMMUNICATION ATTEMPT. For example, you tattoo a large eye on your arm to represent “peace and harmony,” because that’s what you’d like to “see” in the world. You try to explain it, but others just scratch their heads in confusion. Not exactly a communication failure, but close. (3) You don’t intend for your tattoo to convey a particular message, but it accidentally does. For example, you want the dove on your arm to represent New York City, because it has a lot of pigeons. People look at it and think “peace and harmony.” This is called ASCRIBED COMMUNICATION. A meaning was attached that you didn’t intend. Again, not a complete communication failure, but still not satisfactory.
One of the best ways for understanding this comes from a 1923 communication model called the Semantic Triangle (reported in Griffin). Developed by scholar I.A. Richards and his colleague C.K. Ogden, in their book The Meaning of Meaning, the triangle shows the very simple but irrefutable way that symbolic meaning happens.
Look at the diagram below. At the top is your brain, your thoughts. At the lower left is the thing (idea, object) you want to communicate to others. That thing is called the
referent. Using the example above, let’s say you want to convey the message of “peace and harmony.” You bring that referent into your head and think about it (when you think about, it becomes a reference), and try to decide how you want to convey that to others. The ONLY way to communicate your referents/references to others is through the use of symbols. Symbols are words, gestures, or images to which we attach meaning. In this case, you believe that the image of a dove will convey your referent/reference of “peace and harmony.”
Here is the important thing to remember from the Richards and Ogden model – meaning is in people, not in words (or gestures, or images). Notice that the line connecting your referent to your thoughts is an unbroken line, as is the line connecting your thoughts to your symbol of choice. In other words, what you want to convey and how you select to convey it are all connected, ‘cuz it’s taking place inside your own head. HOWEVER, the actual connection between the referent and the symbol chosen is only a dotted line in real life; there is only an indirect link (i.e. your brain) between the two. Since not everybody has your brain, not everybody will understand the connection. Communication only works because we have enough agreement among people that certain symbols stand for certain references. When the cashier at McDonalds says, “Do you want fries with that?,” we know what they mean, because we have a general agreement about what “fries” are. Not that there is any real, physical connection between the symbol “fries” and the hot, deep-fried potato stick referents that we get served; it’s just that we agree that this is what fries are. If you have it in your head that the symbol “fries” means a flaky-crusted pastry stuffed with steaming hot apple filling, then the message exchange will not be successful. So what does this all have to do with tattoos? Just remember, the idea or concept you want to convey, and the artwork design you choose to convey it, may make sense only to you. If you REALLY don’t care what other people think, and don’t care if nobody “gets it” when they look at your tattoo art, then go for it. But, if you want to help people understand your intended message, you need to pick a symbol that has some degree of agreement regarding its meaning. And THAT is what Tattoo-Meanings.com is here for. To help you pick the best symbol for your intended message. Return to Top of the Meaning of Meaning Page. Return to Tattoo Meanings Home Page. "Take the Tattoo survey Now!" Tattoo Story
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