Un paramètre ignoré des énoncés plastiques : la césie

Abstract

The distinction between plastic and iconic has become classical in visual semiotics, and the literature on the parameters of plastic statements (forms, colours, textures) is now abundant. However, a fourth plastic parameter is frequently neglected : the cesia, a phenomenon whose substance is the spatial distribution of light rays and which produces various signifieds such as "polished", "matte", "transparent", etc. This paper attempts to establish a general systematization of cesia, based on the basic cesemes of diffusivity, permeability and absorptivity. The syntactic relations between cesic contents and other plastic data are then considered. Finally, the foundations of a rhetoric of cesias are discussed.

Keywords

• cesia
• visual semiotics
• plastic
• rhetoric
• texture