The Semiotics of Indigeneity in Taiwan: A Case Study of the Marketing of Taiwan Indigenous Art Exhibitions

• Main Authors: Daniel ChristopherMoore, 沈盈峰
• Other Authors: Ming Turner
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2019
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/2qh78n

碩士 === 國立成功大學 === 創意產業設計研究所 === 107 === This study investigates, through the use of semiotics, the marketing media produced from 2015 to 2019 in order to promote the art events and exhibitions of three Taiwan Indigenous artists with the intent of identifying potential readings into how Taiwan Indigenous arts and cultures are represented in Taiwan. The relevant literature, which has influenced the fields of study and the author are presented, particularly literature relating to semiotics, consumer culture, definitions of Indigeneity, the creative industry, and the author’s proposed effort to utilize these works in developing a specific theoretical approach. The research methodology expands on the theoretical approaches of Berger (1984 ＆ 2010) and Danesi (2002), particularly in their use of the connotative chaining technique for making semiotic readings of the case-study artists marketing ‘texts’ and how the case-study artists were selected. The research findings presents semiotic readings of the marketing text examples through the use of the connotative chaining method of each example’s visual composition and design. The author followed up these semiotic readings with interviews taken with each of the case-study artists, which allowed this paper’s discussion of the research findings to put forth a generalized catalogue of the particularly notable signs identified, especially those shared across more than one of the marketing texts sampled. In particular the reoccurring use of signs that allude to ‘nature’, ‘brightness’, and ‘return’ (as in return to nature and tradition) are prevalent themes. This paper’s conclusion furthers the point that with the identification of such reoccurring signs, it’s possible that this is due to societal pressures on Indigenous artists to include such themes in their works, and so the exhibition marketing texts follow this trend, furthering the propagation of this symbology and that within this there is a wealth of avenues for further research particularly when taking into consideration that this study covers just three artists who are not representative of all the Indigenous groups of Taiwan.