Concurrents – Environmental Psychology: Spotlight on Office Symbolism
With the change of administrations in Washington, this is good time for discussions of the silent messages sent by office spaces—a topic that’s not generally on the tips of any of our real, or conceptual, tongues. The conversations about the changeovers from one president’s Oval Office décor to the next have focused on changes in art on view. The bust of Winston Churchill is gone from the Oval Office; for example, those of Cesar Chavez (crusader for farm workers’ rights), Rosa Parks, and Robert F. Kennedy are prominently displayed in Biden’s office. The painting of Andrew Jackson has been removed while an image of Franklin Roosevelt is now prominently placed above the fireplace. A painting of Benjamin Franklin on display signals Biden’s respect for science. The painting of Franklin, conveying positive attitudes toward science, indicates one of the complexities of nonverbal communication—sometimes a little verbiage is required to clarify the …
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