Question 4

Semiotics is considered to be the study of analogies, metaphors, symbols, or cultural signs in society. This particular image, "Cest n'est pas une pipe," which means "This is not a pipe" is an example of semiotics because in reality, this picture is nothing more than lots of tiny pixels placed together to create something aesthetically pleasing to the eye. However, due to cultural studies within society, the image created holds meaning such as a reference to an old man smoking a pipe or even a signifier of wealth in the olden days. Regardless of what it make us think of culturally, we are able to call this image a pipe because of its construction created by society. It really isn't a pipe, it is thousand of pixels, but to us and our culture it could not be anything other than a pipe.