Here now we begin to deal with symbols: representing the irrational invisible.

My buddy Ian recently began a project to create a symbol for himself, something that would signify himself yet not indicate any brand or logo or corporate interest. Indeed, he set out to display this symbol on his car, as this is the location in our society, the land of personal cars, where people do a good deal of signifying. We have little choice when we drive but to look at the back end (the ass, as it were) of other people's cars.

Here's some symbols I came up with for myself, two little prototypes:



What is a symbol?

American Heritage says this:
1. Something that represents something else by association, resemblance, or convention, especially a material object used to represent something invisible. 2. A printed or written sign used to represent an operation, element, quantity, quality, or relation, as in mathematics or music. 3. Psychology - An object or image that an individual unconsciously uses to represent repressed thoughts, feelings, or impulses.

So, symbols are tools of signification, they represent, signify something, or are meant to. I like the psychological definition, in that object or images come somehow, even unknown to us, to mean feelings inside us that we may not be aware of. For example, if a person engages in behavior, neurotic behavior, excessive cleanliness, or the inverse, slobbiness, or maybe is addicted to coffee or alcohol, or always yells at his dog and kicks it, these behaviors, when irrational or beyond simple logic (even the twisting of one's hair) this all signifies and is suggestive of some inner unresolved problem.

This is what I like about symbols and psychology - there are feelings, modes of being, psychological states, wherein language (itself an entire system of symbols, very sophisticated) is unable to deal with, express feelings, irrational impulses, violent, sad, angry, and so language comes up short, and yet, signify we must, we must contstru meaning, it is the very nature of consciousness. And so, we grab symbols (or they grab us when we aren't looking) as a means of expressing the "trans-lingual."

We may buy a Raiders hat and start painting our bodies and yelling at their games.

We may buy a Bad Boy sticker and start acting like a tough guy.

We may buy a Jetta and think the symobl is so cool that we start buying products with this symbol on it.

In other words, yes, you guessed it: when we deal with symbols, we are dealing with the irrational.