Pour une nouvelle herméneutique des formes symboliques : Sémiotique, histoire de l’art et humanités numériques

This issue of Signata investigates the notion of symbolic form as a heuristic bridge between art history, semiotics, and the digital humanities. Moving beyond idealist and reductionist conceptions of form, it revisits twentieth-century theoretical legacies—from Warburg and Cassirer to Panofsky—while confronting the epistemological challenges raised by digital technologies. The volume explores how digital tools enable large-scale comparative analysis of images without delegating interpretation to automated processes, advocating instead for an interpretation-assisted computation. Through diverse case studies and theoretical positions, contributors examine montage, figurability, genealogy, and experience as key operators in the life of forms. Particular attention is given to the symbolic forms embedded in digital mediation itself, including their biases and limits. Overall, the issue proposes a critical dialogue between art, science, and technology, aiming to renew the study of form as a dynamic, situated, and reflexive process.