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Chapter 6 : Subject
6.1.1 Discussion
The Subject element contains an identification, description,
or interpretation of what is depicted in and by a work
or image. Subjects include things, places, activities,
abstract shapes, decorations, stories, and events from
literature, mythology, religion, or history. Philosophical,
theoretical, symbolic, and allegorical themes and concepts
may be subjects. Subjects of representational (figurative)
works may be narrative, meaning that they tell a story
or represent an episode in a story. They may also be
nonnarrative, representing persons, animals, plants,
buildings, or objects depicted in portraits, still lifes,
landscapes, genre scenes, architectural drawings, allegories,
and so on. Nonrepresentational works also have subject
matter, which may include a reference to abstract content,
decoration, function, or implied themes or attributes.
Subject should be recorded for all works and images,
even those that have no narrative or figurative subject
matter in the traditional sense. For abstract works,
architecture, decorative arts, furniture, and other
works with no narrative or figurative subject matter,
their content may be the function of the works and important
aspects of their form or composition.
Determining the Subject
When analyzing subject content, the cataloger should
answer the question: what is the work of or about? Traditionally,
what a work is about (often called about-ness)
is defined as its iconographical, narrative, thematic,
or symbolic meaning; what the work is of (often called
of-ness) is what would be seen in the work by
an objective, nonexpert viewer. A methodical approach
to subject analysis is recommended. Posing the questions
who, what, when, and where is one method of analyzing
subject. Another method is a top-down approach that
examines various levels of specificity based loosely
on theories of human perception and recognition of meaning
in images described by the scholar Erwin Panofsky.1
Panofsky identified three primary levels of meaning
in art: pre-iconographical description, expressional
analysis or identification, and iconographical interpretation.
Using a simplified and more practical application of
this traditional art-historical approach can be helpful
in indexing subjects for purposes of retrieval. The
first level-description-refers to the generic elements
depicted in or by the work (for example, man).
The second level-identification-refers to the specific
subject, including named mythological, fictional, religious,
or historical subjects (for example, George Washington).
The third level-interpretation-refers to the meaning
or themes represented by the subjects and includes a
conceptual analysis of what the work is about (for example,
political power). For a more detailed discussion
of this method, see Categories for the Description
of Works of Art: Subject Matter.
Specificity
Include a general subject designation (for example,
portrait or landscape). For other terms,
the level of specificity and inclusiveness applied to
cataloging the subject content of a work of art or architecture
will depend upon various factors, including the depth
of the cataloger's expertise and the quality and extent
of information available. Do not include information,
such as interpretation, if you do not have scholarly
opinion to support it; furthermore, if expert knowledge
is unavailable, it is better to be broad and accurate
rather than specific and incorrect. For example, index
a creature broadly as bird rather than specifically
as goldfinch if you are uncertain of the species.
Adapt your approach to the characteristics of the collection
being cataloged, the available time, human resources,
and technology, and the needs of users for retrieval.
Remember to accommodate both expert and nonexpert users.
Answer these questions in the context of the institution's
requirements. Is it useful to index every item in the
scene? If not, where do you draw the limit? Will your
system link a specific term to its broader context and
synonyms in an authority file? If not, you should include
important broader contexts and synonyms in the work
record. The greater the depth of subject analysis, the
better the access will be. Not all institutions, however,
can afford the time and provide the expertise required
for detailed subject analysis.
Although it may appear that subject terms applied to
some types of works, such as architecture and utilitarian
objects, repeat or overlap with terms applied to other
elements such as Title or Work Type, a thorough description
and indexing of the subject content should be done separately
in the Subject element. Noting the subject of a work
in fields or metadata elements dedicated specifically
to subject content ensures that the subject is consistently
recorded and indexed in the same place, using the same
conventions for all works in the database.
Exhaustivity
To ensure consistent indexing, cataloging guidelines
should be established regarding the number of terms
to be assigned and the method to be used for analyzing
a work or image to determine its subject. Catalogers
can go through the levels of description, identification,
and interpretation. They might go through a mental checklist
of objects, persons, events, activities, places, and
periods corresponding to the who, what, when, and where
questions. They might read a work from left to right,
from top to bottom, from foreground to background, or
from the most prominent to least prominent subjects
in the work. Works with a primarily functional purpose,
such as architecture and utilitarian objects, should
also be analyzed for subject, possibly including the
work's function or form, or both. Some institutions
may have the resources to assign only a few terms to
each work; others may require more extensive cataloging.
Examples
[with only a few subject terms]
Subject:
still life • flowers
[with more extensive indexing]
Subject:
still life • flowers • Austrian
copper rose • Floribunda rose •
Jadis rose • lilac • Ming
vase • embroidered tablecloth •
Monarch butterfly
Ambiguity and Uncertainty
If scholarly opinion is divided regarding subject content,
or if subject information is otherwise uncertain or
ambiguous, this should be indicated in a free-text field
(for example, probably represents Zeus and a female
consort, but possibly Poseidon and Amphitrite).
Such uncertainty may require that multiple possibilities
be indexed in the field controlled by a vocabulary or
authority file. For example, if scholarly opinion is
divided regarding whether a figure represents Zeus or
Poseidon, the names of both gods should be indexed for
retrieval.
Organization of the Data
Subject is an important access point and indexing this
element is strongly recommended. Some institutions,
however, may not be able to record subject terminology.
The Subject element should be repeatable. To ensure
that broader contexts are applied and synonyms are accessible,
names and terms used to describe subject matter should
be drawn from the subject authority and the other three
authorities. For example, the Three Kings, Three
Wise Men, and the Three Magi are synonyms
for the same biblical characters and all can provide
end-user access to works depicting that subject. Ideally,
the subject authority should be arranged in hierarchical
structures that include narrower and broader relationships.
For example, the 18th-century Battle of Concord
could be linked to the broader subject U.S. Revolutionary
War to facilitate end-user access. If maintaining
a subject authority and other appropriate authorities
is not possible, a controlled list of subjects should
be used to ensure consistency. Because of the all-encompassing
nature of subject content, several sources of subject
terminology will certainly be required; furthermore,
the system should allow for adding local terminology
as needed.
Subject should ideally be recorded in a free-text field
for display in combination with controlled fields for
access. This may be done in a free-text field dedicated
to subject or by including a discussion of the subject
in the Description element (see Chapter 8). In any case,
controlled fields for indexing subject are strongly
recommended. It is likely that multiple subject terms
will apply to each work or image, so the authority-controlled
fields should be repeatable. Even though the subject
matter of a work may be referred to in the Title and
Work Type elements, a thorough description and indexing
of the subject content should be done in the Subject
element.
This chapter discusses subject information that is
recorded in the Work Record. Image collections will
often have more than one view of a work, including interior
and exterior views of an architectural work, an image
of a detail of a painting or sculpture, and so on. Users
of an image collection require access to particular
views of a work, in addition to all views of the same
work. For example, users must be able to retrieve particular
images of tierceron ribs in the vaults of the
larger contexts, Lincoln Cathedral and King's
College Chapel in Cambridge. See Chapter 9: View
Information: View Description and View Subject, and
Part 3: Subject Authority for further information. Additional
discussion of issues surrounding the recording of subjects
can be found in Categories for the Description of
Works of Art: Subject Matter and the subject identification
authority. Issues related to subject matter and subject
identification are discussed in some depth in Introduction
to Art Image Access.2
Authorities for Subject
Local practice, resources, and database functionality
will dictate which terms are stored in a dedicated subject
authority file. However, subject terminology can and
usually does cover a broad range of terminology. Ideally,
the Subject Authority would comprise only terminology
that falls outside the scope of the other authorities.
It would likely contain proper names for iconography,
such as the names of literary, mythological, or religious
characters or themes, historical events and themes,
and any other named iconographical subject. Given that
subject matter may include types of terminology that
are also applied to other parts of the Work Record,
terms used in the Subject fields may be found in various
authority files; given the overlap in terminology needed
for various elements, it is typically more efficient
to include any given term in a single authority file
to avoid redundant entry of the same term in multiple
authorities. For example, personal names for subjects
(for example, Galileo Galilei (Italian scientist,
philosopher, 1564-1642)) could be found in the Personal
and Corporate Name Authority, in which records for artists
and other persons related to the works are also contained;
records for persons, whether artists, patrons, or subjects,
have similar characteristics, require similar fields,
and therefore can be stored in the same authority file
(life roles can be used to separate artist names from
other kinds of personal names in the authority file,
when necessary). In addition, the same person can have
multiple roles related to various works, such as subject,
patron, or artist. Geographic names needed
for subject (for example, Tokyo (Japan)) could
be found in the Geographic Place Authority, because
such names will also be used in other fields in the
Work Record. Terminology (for example, cathedral,
marble, chisel) needed for Work Type, physical characteristics,
and other fields may also be required for Subject; this
could be stored in the Concept Authority, along with
the terms used to index the generic elements depicted
in a work (for example, woman, tree, horse).
Architecture and other works may be the subjects of
other works; named architectural and other works may
be included in the subject authority or cataloged as
works in their own right in Work Records. For further
discussion, see Part 3: Subject Authority.
Recommended Elements
A list of the elements discussed in this chapter appears
below. Required elements are noted. Display may be a
free-text field or concatenated from controlled fields.
Subject display or Description element
(if you do not include a subject display, describe
the subject in the description element as necessary)
Controlled Subject (required) (ideally
links to several authorities: persons/corporate
bodies, geographic places, concepts, or iconographical
subject authority)
Extent
Subject Type
Notes
1 Panofsky, Erwin. Studies
in Iconology: Humanistic Themes in the Art
of the Renaissance. New York:
Oxford University Press,
1939.
2 Baca, Murtha,
ed. Introduction to Art Image Access: Issues, Tools,
Standards, Strategies. Los Angeles: Getty Research
Institute, 2002.
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