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Jerneja Herzog Art Appreciation as a Multidimensional Semiotic Process
University of Maribor, Slovenia of Meaning-Making
jerneja.herzog@um.si
©2026Jerneja Herzog Art appreciation is not merely the aesthetic evaluation of a work of art, but a com-
plex process of meaning-making in which visual, linguistic, emotional, embodied,
and cultural semiotic systems intertwine (Duh & Herzog, 2020). In contemporary
society, saturated with multimedia communication and artificial intelligence, un-
derstanding these multimodal processes is becoming essential for the develop-
ment of multidimensional literacy (Serafini, 2015).
In the visual arts, meaning does not reside solely within the artwork itself, but
emerges through the dynamic interaction between the image, the observer, and
the context. Colour, form, composition, texture, spatial relationships, and iconog-
raphy function as visual signs that the viewer decodes based on personal expe-
rience, cultural patterns, language, and emotional responses. Art appreciation is
therefore an interpretative process in which the individual – whether a child or
an adult – does not merely ‘read’ the image but actively reconfigures it into their
own network of meanings (Duh & Zupančič, 2013).
Art didactics plays a pivotal role in this process. Through methods of observa-
tion, dialogue, comparison, sensory perception, and creative response, the edu-
cator can activate various semiotic pathways: visual, auditory, kinesthetic, verbal,
and imaginative. Thus, the work of art functions not as a static object, but as an
open communicative event where meaning is co-constructed through relation-
ship (Duh, 2016; Herzog & Duh, 2020).
In the age of artificial intelligence, we must question how a system can generate
meaning in the absence of sensory and emotional experience. While AI can anal-
yse visual signs and recognise style, motif, and composition, it constructs ‘mean-
ing’ without an embodied or culturally situated foundation. Consequently, art ap-
preciation is becoming increasingly vital within education, as it fosters an empa-
thetic and multifaceted understanding of images.
Developing art appreciation entails cultivating multimodal literacy – the ability
to synthesise visual, linguistic, sensory, and symbolic signs into a coherent whole.
This is not only the foundation of aesthetic education but a core competence for
navigating a world where meaning is generated at the intersection of images,
words, technology, and human experience.
Duh, M. (2016). Art appreciation for developing communication skills among
preschool children. Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal, 6(1), 85–102.
Duh, M., & Herzog, J. (2020). Likovna apreciacija v vzgoji in izobraževanju: primeri
kvalitativnih raziskav. Zbirka Pedagoški koncepti, št. 138. Univerzitetna za-
ložba Univerze v Mariboru.
Duh, M., & Zupančič, T. (2013). Likovna apreciacija in metoda estetskega transferja.
Revija za elementarno izobraževanje, 6(4), 71–86.
Herzog, J., & Duh, M. (2020). The state of art appreciation among nine- and ten-
Meaning-Making, Multiliteracies
year-old students in Slovenian primary schools. Center for Educational Policy
and Multimodality
Abstracts of the International Studies Journal, 10(4), 97–116.
Symposium Serafini, F. (2015). Multimodal literacy: From theories to practices. Language Arts,
Koper, 19–20 March 2026 92(6), 412–423.
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