Hailey Younkin

Major: Art History
Herron School of Art and Design

American Symbolism in Art: Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg

Peircean semiotics have been used to analyze art during the 20th-century, but present-day scholars challenge its effectiveness in understanding contemporary works. Jasper Johns' and Robert Rauschenberg's lifelong series of political works can be used to show the transition between modern and contemporary understandings of American symbols. This shift from overwhelmingly positive connotations to critical interpretations of American iconography occurred around the time of the Korean War and continues today.