jasmin3bale/word/011224

⠀⠀The sculpture Pleasure Belt I made by Marianna Rodziewicz in 2024 is a woman torso, deformed and wrapped with a black belt.

First, I would like to take apart the relation between the work of art and its title. I think words Pleasure Belt convey rather positive emotions, on surface level it signifies something that is to be playful, enjoyable. This signifier however can have a double meaning, as once we glance at the work it describes our eyes are met with a body that is cracked, exposed – an instant reference to the feelings of fear, constraint. The contrast of dark, black belt and pale pinkish body is striking in the same way.

Looking at this text through the lens of Ogden/Richards triangle is the clearest way of illustrating what it has to convey. On the second page of this document I attached the illustration that I had made. The word that is being used to describe the object itself is at the same time pointing to the whole concept that is in turn connected to the sculpture itself. All this is to be seen without any curatorial text or external input in general thanks to how we as people function and learn while interacting with media, art, others, and of course, because the artist succeeded with what she wanted us to see and feel in the first place. Not emphasizing the cracks, deep rough lines and not deforming the torso in such a way would give off completely different result to the end consumer, even if the artist would have made it with the same exact concept in mind.

“Interpretation is a process of seeing patterns in meaning based on experience.”¹

In our case, there is quite a direct relationship between the sign vehicle and the referent, as the belt is rather eye-catching. Here also, the torso serves as a metaphor. It carries meanings, symbolises feelings and concepts to a person of a certain cultural background.


⠀⠀img 1 Ogden/Richards triangle regarding the work of art in question

¹Ogden and Richards The Meaning of Meaning, San Diego 1923 p. 58