METAPHOR AND IMAGE IN ART: THE CONCEPTUAL AND VISUAL DIMENSIONS OF MEANING

Abstract

This article aims to examine the concepts of metaphor and image in art from a theoretical perspective and to clarify their roles in meaning-making processes. Metaphor, once treated mainly as a decorative rhetorical figure, is now widely regarded as a basic mode of thinking that shapes how human beings understand the world and organize their experiences. Image is considered as a visual and evocative construct that emerges when external reality is filtered through perception, memory and imagination, and then reconfigured on a mental or artistic surface. The study first discusses the conceptual foundations of metaphor and its place within artistic discourse, and then focuses on the philosophical, aesthetic and perceptual dimensions of image. Subsequently, similarities, differences and points of intersection between metaphor and image are analysed, with particular emphasis on visual metaphor, the evocative power of images and the viewer’s active role in constructing meaning. In conclusion, it is argued that metaphor and image should be seen not as opposing, but as mutually reinforcing means of expression and thinking in art. This perspective is briefly evaluated in terms of its implications for the interpretation of contemporary art and for art education.