The signifieds of this third message are constitutedby the real objects in the scene, the signifiers by these same objects photographed, for, given that therelation between thing signified and image signifying in analogical representation is not 'arbitrary' (as itis in language), it is no longer necessary to close the relay with a third term in the guise of the psychicimage of the object.

composition of the image, evoking the memory of innumerable alimentary paintings, sends us to anaesthetic signified: the 'nature morte' or, as it is better expressed in other languages, the 'still life';

en abyme

Once you know that, it is hard to see it in the same way.

When there is a physical or causal relationship betweenthe signifier (i.e., the photograph) and the signified (i.e.,what the photograph depicts), the nonarbitraryrelationship that exists is said to be indexical.

For example, when I use the word “dog” inorder to talk about a certain furry four-legged domesticcreature, I employ a signifier that is arbitrary. The soundmade by the word “dog,” when uttered, is intrinsically nobetter than the made-up sounds “sog,” “pog,” or “tog”for talking about this animal. All these words could havebeen used to communicate the meaning of “four-leggeddomestic creature that can make the sound woof.” Wejust happen to use the word “dog,” while in Germanythey have chosen hund and in France, chien.