What visual language is NOT:
– semantic (comprised of arbitrary relationship between sounds and their meanings) –> not arbitrary
– syntactic (following a set of rules which governs editing or montage) –> not set; more fluid
What visual language IS:
– “analogical” –> showing similarity in things that may otherwise be dissimilar
- i.e. shapes, colours and overall structure correspond with features of the real world
- image and the message to be conveyed may not have to be visually similar –> “conceptual”
- “nonrepresentational” images = abstract art (conceptual) à we are engaged in abstract analogy
- i.e. MTV defying the norms of stylistic traits
- i.e. graph, charts, models à link between representation of models and some physical quantity
– this is important BECAUSE:
- 1. analogy has been shown to be “the basic component of creativity in both [artistic creativity and scientific reasoning and discovery”
- i.e. Friedrich von Kekule’s scientific discovery regarding the structure of the benzene molecule, when he applied the visual image of a snake which could move into a circle to the strings of atoms, which were previously believed to only be straight
- 2. the image’s producer can illicit responses in people by showing certain images that conjure up personal meaning for the viewer (“paraproxemics” as labelled by Meyrowitz)
- i.e. changing the camera angles to make someone look bigger/more powerful
- “because they appear to be simple extensions of our everyday, real-world perceptual habits, we may interpret them without much conscious awareness or careful scrutiny… mak[ing] them an especially elusive means of audience manipulation, requiring special attentiveness on the part of the critically inclined viewer”
– “lacks explicit relational indicators”
- images must often use verbal text (or contextual clues in film) to help the reader interpret the meaning of the visual structure
- i.e. two ads using the same photo, one as an antihistamine and one as an Echinacea Herb.
- i.e. memes!!!
- therefore, visuals WITHOUT verbal text can convey messages that may be socially unacceptable to portray WITH verbal text
- i.e. cigarettes and alcohol
– this is important BECAUSE:
- we must “encourage viewers to examine the extent to which they themselves have accepted the implications of that syntax”
- teach students to become critical viewers
– there must be “heightened attention to visual literacy in educational curricula – not in competition with verbal language learning, but as a valuable component to it”
Discussion Questions:
1. What is the main message in this article? Based on the thesis it presents, how might this line of thinking influence how we approach visual literacy in the secondary classroom?
2. In our English Language Arts classrooms, what are some ways that we can we use visual literacy to promote learning? (Brainstorm practical ideas and examples)
3. How can we “encourage viewers to examine the extent to which they themselves have accepted the implications of that syntax?” or, ensure that our students are critical of visual literacies that are presented in class? Do you think that there is a more effective way of teaching students to be critical viewers of visual literacy than another?
4. The article presents two different ways of being visually literate. To what extent do you feel these literacies are one or the other? Is one more important that the other?
5. How are visual images analogical? The article asks “what are the broader consequences of the analogical nature of visual language?” and “what difference does it make that visual literacy is so largely a matter of analogical perception and cognition?” Do you agree that visual images are analogical?
6. What is our role as educators in teaching the implications of visual syntax? How do we educate students to recognize implied information in visual texts and to critically assess information they are viewing from visual texts?