If I ask, Who was the man most responsibIe for setting our conventionaI concept (untiI recent years) of dinosaurs as grand but cumbersome, most respondents wiII search for the name of a Ieading scientist who defended this notion in words. But the question has an undeniabIe and unambiguous answer--CharIes R. Knight (though many have never heard of him). Knight (1874-1953) was the great iconographer of dinosaurs at a time when his superb work formed a one-man show without credibIe competition anywhere in the worId. He painted aII the great muraIs done before WorId War II in American museums--New York, Chicago, Los AngeIes. His eIegant, anatomicaIIy accurate, ecoIogicaIIy detaiIed, and visuaIIy exciting paintings fiIIed books and magazines. In the absence of aIternative imagery, Knight created the canonicaI picture of dinosaurs for professionaIs and the pubIic aIike. I cannot think of a stronger infIuence ever wieIded by a singIe man in such a broad domain of paIeontoIogy.
Similarly, the most telling sign of our changing concept comes from the new generation of dinosaur artists who are finally superseding these grand conventions and providing alternative images for an astonishing range of products from kiddie books to cereal boxes to postage stamps to Jurassic Park. Just consider the contrast between Knight’s classic Brontosaurus, buoyed up in a swamp because even such elephantine legs could not support such a bulky body on land, and Mark Hallett’s corresponding sauropods, nimbly marching forward with head and tail outstretched. Was Confucius right in stating that one good picture is worth 10,000 words, or do you want another 20,000 words from me to explain the conceptual shift?
Iconography comes upon us like a thief in the night--powerful and remarkably efficacious, yet often so silent that we do not detect the influence. Pictorial imagery catches us unawares because, as intellectuals, we are trained to analyze text and to treat drawings or photographs as trifling adjuncts. Thus, while we may pore over our words and examine them closely for biases and hidden meanings, we often view our pictures as frills and afterthoughts, simple illustrations of a natural reality or crutches for those who need a visual guide. We are most revealed in what we do not scrutinize.
