Christ to Coke: How Image Becomes Icon

Christ to Coke: How Image Becomes Icon

How does an image become iconic? In Christ to Coke , eminent art historian Martin Kemp offers a highly original look at the main types of visual icons. Lavishly illustrated with 165 color images, this marvelous work illuminates eleven universally recognized images, both historical and contemporary, to see how they arose and how they continue to function in our culture. Kemp begins with the stock image of Christ's face, the founding icon--literally, since he was the central subject of early Christian icons. Some of the icons that follow are general, like the cross, the lion, and the heart-shape (as in "I heart New York"). Some are specific, such as the Mona Lisa, Che Guevara, and the famous photograph of the napalmed girl in Vietnam. Other modern icons come from politics, such as the American flag (the "Stars and Stripes"), from business, led by the Coca-Cola bottle, and from science, most notably the double helix of DNA and Einstein's famous equation E=mc2. The stories of these icons--researched using the skills of a leading visual historian--are told in a vivid and personal manner. Some are funny; some are deeply moving; some are highly improbable; some center on popular fame; others are based on the most profound ideas in science. The diversity is extraordinary. Along the way, we encounter the often weird and wonderful ways that these images adapt to an astonishing variety of ways and contexts. Informative, amusing, and surprising by turns, Christ to Coke will entertain and intrigue readers with the narratives that Martin Kemp skillfully weaves around these famous images. Take a Look Inside Christ to Coke [Click on Images to Enlarge] Mona Lisa , digitally restored. Photo courtesy of Pascal Cotte. Enrique Avila Gonzalez, Che Guevara . Ministry of the Interior, Havana, Cuba. Felix de Weldon, Marines Raising the Flag at Iwo Jima , Virginia, Marine Corps War Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery. BFF Architects and Izé, DNA door handles, London, Royal Society. [F]ascinating...exploring how and why we like things, how we subliminally come to recognize them, and why an image or object or idea achieves longevity." --ARTnews "Recommended for all those interested in iconography, art history, advertising, and branding." - Library Journal "Kemp's outstanding book is likely to remain a fixed point of reference in this important cultural debate, making it an icon of sorts as well." -- California Literary Review "Kemp easily navigates high art and kitsch, and complicated scientific discoveries and sociology and cultural history...a useful template to use when we pose the very provocative question of what makes certain images become icons." -- Iconia, Houston Chronicle.com " Christ to Coke is easy to read, written in a thoughtful but conversational style...and loaded with gorgeous images...those curious about how images 'go viral,' to borrow a contemporary term, will find themselves hooked." -- ARTINFO From Christ and the Mona Lisa to the double helix and the Coke bottle--a beautifully illustrated and insightful look at eleven universally famous icons Martin Kemp is Emeritus Professor in the History of Art at Trinity College, Oxford. A renowned figure in the world of art, he is the author of The Oxford History of Western Art and Leonardo .