ABSTRACT
A sign is iconic if it resembles what it a sign is of. Figurative paintings are an obvious example of signs which signify by resemblance. A sign is indexical if it is causally linked to its object. Spots are a sign of measles, clouds a sign of rain: the spots and the clouds are indexical signs. The category of iconic sign has been of interest to theorists of art, to some of whom it has seemed central to art that its signs are analogues of, and have resemblances to, what they are signs of. A useful distinction can be made between iconic signs which are transparent and those which are translucent. Even the most naive spectator can tell what is represented in the painting or the print. In contrast, an icon is translucent when the spectator needs some information, some guidance to see the way in which the sign maps onto what it is a sign of.
