Note from the Editor:
Icon —> Greek : eikōn (εικών) meaning image or likeness (often paintings of Mary & Christ child/saints, or the symbol of a movement or period “_____ is iconic”).
As a species we’re obsessed with images. We’ve been creating pictures and symbols of ourselves and our surroundings for as long as humanity has been a thing (right?). We know people were making art/creating images around 40,000 BC and humanity started 200,000ish years ago (which is based on the use of tools), but I’ve heard mumblings that set humans in hunter-gatherer societies waaaaay further back.... so what exactly were people doing for 158,000 years between humanities early beginnings and the first art we have record of? I don’t know, and if you’re a reviewed scientist, or just history and science smart, chime in. My guess is they weren’t just hunting and gathering and being done with the damn day. Making images is so innately human, why wouldn’t we be doing it for centuries prior to what has weathered time? Maybe I’m wrong and around 40,000 years ago Superman zapped down to earth and handed a couple of kids some paint to pass the time because there was nothing better to do. WHO KNOWS. The point is, it’s in us, from childhood til death - we’re obsessed with images. Some people are more inclined than others, some religions forbid icons, while others encourage them. From cave sketches and chiseled stone to statues and paintings, then the photograph, cinema, and now an influx of digital images and videos... creating images, making symbols, and holding onto images of the people and things we love is all very human. There’s a deep desire to leave our mark and also take it with us, and I, for one, am really grateful that people and pictures can never really be separated.
xx,
K Baergen
