Power of Visual Culture - Essay Example

Visual culture The film and theatre studies have gained fame in recent past for a number of factors. People are starting to realize the role visual and audio content plays in the everyday life. Most people, in the world today, are shaped by what they seen in movies, television and on the internet (JENKS, 1995 pg.6). What we see on social media, newspapers and magazines shapes our personality. Similarly, what we hear also determines other people’s personality. It will not be strange to hear you child imitating their favourite radio presenter. It is apparent that visual audio art is shaping most people’s personality in the current world. It will be in denial, therefore, to ignore the role being played by the contemporary visual audio art (JENKS, 1995 pg.6). The world has transformed in a magical way, in the ancient times, people preserved images and paintings on hard copy material like paper, on walls, on stones and others on the barks of the trees. Things have changed tremendously as it is possible to store numerous images in a digital device. The manner in which images are taken has also changed. The early cameras were of lower quality. Their images were not as clear as they only produced images in black and white. This applied to both print images and video images. Technology has transformed the film art industry as there are full colour images in the present world today. For instance, if you wanted a photograph of your internal organs, it is possible for you to have, given the x-ray machines and other internal organs body scanners. As part of the transformation, film and theatre related fields of study were introduced in many learning institution. These were attempts made to make the audio visual field a professional area. With these studies being incorporated into the educational curriculum, various innovations sprung up. Photography, that was once a business became a profession. It is not absurd to hear of a successful photo journalist or professional photographer. Many may be thinking that it is easy to take a quality image of an object whenever they have a camera. Shooting an image that will speak more about the setting requires skills and expertise. Photographs conveying varied information have been displayed in various art galleries, newspapers, magazines, on the social media and other media. Some of these images can represent many themes in one show. They could be paintings, drawings or photographs, but serve almost the same purpose; conveying visual information. This gets many people asking the question what an ideal image is. An image can be defined using different phrases depending on the intended meaning and the context to which reference is being made. For the purpose of audio visual context, the following discussion will reveal the meaning of a picture. According to the universal understanding of the word image, it is an artefact that is a visual representation of a situation, object, person or a scene. In a wider sense, an image may include two and three dimensional visual presentations like maps, graphs, charts and even plans. They may include paintings, drawings. There are several types of images in existence. These include: Volatile images: these are short lived images. They appear for a limited period of time. For instance, when you reflect yourself on the mirror, the image formed depends on how long you stand in front of that mirror. It might also include images displayed by projectors and cathode ray tubes (CRT) (Berg, 2007, pg.15). Fixed images: these are images displayed on hard copy material. They are stored on material. This are images drown or taken by digital devices. They can be stored on paper, textile and other photographic materials. Mental images are those images that exist in the mind of humans. It might be as result of what you read, think or see. Mental pictures may not be seen at all times if not draw or painted on paper. Images and ideology Ideas are built out of images and symbols. With the recent technological innovations, the images, from which ideas spring can now be presented as photographs. Photographs are known to mould and shape human conscience. Just like written word, images can shape the way people act and think. In most cases, most writers use images in their written work to demonstrate a given concept or idea. Majority of them never realize the impact these images are likely to have in terms of ideology to the viewers (Berg, 2007, pg.15). Taking the example of a mining photograph popularly known as The Voice from the Mountains, the picture presents the ideological nature of pictures. This picture, adapted from the local mining community in Cape Breton. The photograph has been used to social scientists and historians to bring out the ideology presented by photograph images. This photograph depicts photography as both an art and reality. To demonstrate the relationship between imagery and ideology, let us examine the example of newspapers and magazines. Each time you are looking for a newspapers to read, you first glance will be on that with the most appealing picture and the accompanying title. He image on the front cover is what attracts many readers to buy newspapers and magazines. Many people tend to associate an attractive image to interesting news. This alone can successfully demonstrate the ideas created by the image. Editors of various magazines and newspapers have acknowledged the importance of the images in creating ideas in the minds of their readers. Most of the newspapers and magazines are filled with images along sides the texts to reinforce the ideas expressed in writing. When presented to different audiences, images may evoke different emotions. This also demonstrates the various ideas conceived by people with regard to images. For instance, if you presented a picture of a naked lady to a congregation in a church, most of them will get the idea of a prostitute. None of the people will want to associate with the picture since the religion has strong views against prostitution. In the contrary, if the same picture was presented to people in a club, probably a stripper club, the reaction will be a reverse. All those that will see that picture will want to associate with the lady. Most of them will be interested to see the beautiful naked woman. It is therefore evident that a single image can conceive different ideas in various people. Modern visual artistes have realized the connection between visual images and ideology as evident in their works. In the ancient times, people painted images mostly for fun or leisure. Paintings were easy to understand as they represented their immediate environment. This has however changed. It is not absurd to find a modern philosopher who has no written works but just painted images. They may appear simple drawings to the ordinary eye but the images are a representation of the philosopher’s ideas. Presentation of ideas and thoughts through images is gaining fame in the recent past. Artistes have realized that their philosophical images have an impact to the public as they are present all over the art galleries. It is apparent that the relationship between images and ideology is not one way, that is, it is not only images that evoke different ideas. Ideas can as well result in different images. This can be studied in a visual art class. People may have a similar idea but when presenting the idea on paper image, the images may differ. For instance you ask two people to produce an image of quiet country side environment, different images will be produced. Similarly, a philosopher or and ideologist may present one idea in different images. This is because they have realized that different people interpret an image in different ways. In most countries where dictatorship forms of government exist, it is difficult for journalists to criticize the government or politicians through writing. Most of them have been victimized for criticizing the governments. However, with the increased awareness of the link between imagery and ideology, many photo journalists and artistes have used their talent to bring out the intended messages and criticisms without having to arouse any suspicion from the cruel governments. Through drawings, images and photographs, string political ideas can be expressed without much struggle and fear of victimization. A single image can represent a number of ideas at once. Artistes use this feature to bring out various issues, mostly social and political. For instance, in a painting done during the American Independence Day, various themes were presented. The image displayed the Ronald Regan regime that was marked with oppression and abuse of power. In one end of the picture, his wife is seen holding a gun while riding on a pig. She is chasing the people, who seem to be afraid of her. Another part of the picture shows the law enforces mistreating people. This is one picture that shows different social and political issues. Other artistes have used this technique of using a single picture to bring out multiple ideas simultaneously. Power of visual communication In the present world, visual communication is the most effective way of passing on information. Either on social media, television, road signs and adverts, the best way to capture people’s attention is the use of visual images. According to martin Lester, the world has been transformed into a visual society. In his article on Syntactic Theory of Visual Communication, He explains “something is happening (Hewlet Packard, 2004). We are becoming a visual mediated society. Understanding our societies is being accomplished, not via words, but via reading images.” Many argue that the western civilization has dominated the transformation of the world into visual society. Most of the visual content is done in the western format and follows their language and regulation (Hawlet, 2004, p. 281). Focusing on the power of visual communication, education is now incorporating visual learning in the curriculum. It is easy to teach with the help of projected images than just narrating to the students the class content. Studies done by various psychological associations indicate that visual content plays an important role in learning. In a survey they conducted, results indicated that students will remember 10% of what they hear in class, 20% of what they read and 80% of what they see and do. This also applies to the general public (Hawlet Packard, 2004). Other studies by Wharton School of Business indicate that visual are more effective; up to 67% of the content presented visually ca be remembered compared to verbal narrations. Visual presentation is therefore more persuasive compared to verbal narrations (Hawlet Packard, 2004). It is for the above reasons that software developers like Microsoft have come up with various applications that make visual presentation easy. As students, we enjoy most when the instructor uses visual presentations. The class is much more involving as we may observe and listen at the same time. This has made learning easy. The lessons in the modern world may include watching videos and listening educational audio tapes (Hawlet Packard, 2004). As stated early, visual content has more impact in attracting more readers. Many companies have now resorted to visual modes of advertising because of the perceived impact they have to the general public. The ability to use visual media to pass information has become a major communication tool. It is a powerful and non-vulnerable tool that can pass a wide range of information if used effectively. People tend to learn and understand more when they see a visual image of what is being referred to (Hawlet Packard, 2004). Visual arts Visual arts are the types of art that appeal through sight. Such kinds of art require to be visible in nature. This includes ceramics, photography, painting, sculpture, printmaking, architecture and film making. In these different areas of visual art, some have been well appreciated across the board while some have been neglected. Visual art is very important to students and the community at large. It has been seen to help students see with a third eye and also bring out the beauty in the things we rarely see beauty in. It has been a debate across the world on the importance of visual arts and arts in general. Most schools have ignored the importance of visual arts and arts in general. In the contemporary world, no parent or teacher should underrate the value of art in the society. It is always a problem whenever a child chooses a line of work that is not in the sciences or a field that is regarded highly. The parents and the society tend to think of such a person as a failure or one who will not accomplish much in life. With the coming of galleries and the growing number of art lovers, it has become easier to appreciate art in its entirety. Most people are warming up to art as it evolves from being a thing for a few rich and philanthropic people to a matter of common interest among the rich and the poor. Many individuals never realize the real value of art and thus get exploited by brokers who go and sell the wares they buy to the highest bidder in a very good market. Unsuspecting artists often get short changed on their work without ever realising it. Art exhibitions in the world over help very many artists get to realise their full potential by exhibiting their art and getting to know how to value their masterpieces. Getting to meet other artists will be of great help to them as they all have different experiences and by sharing them, they get to have the needed exposure. One mistake most artists make is the thought that art work does not need schooling. This specifically affects those who are in the fields of ceramics, painting, drawing and sculpture. These are works of art that most people do as a passion and don’t consider doing it professionally. Art has not been seen as a source of income for a very long time among artists and none artists alike. Basic education in art is very important so that one can find it possible to refine the little they do. In an area like photography for instance, it is important that a photographer knows how to operate different types of cameras and how to handle different kinds of environments. Visual art is very sensitive. There must be an aesthetic appeal to it. Pictures, whether taken or drawn, should speak a lot about the photographer or the one who drew them. This can be taught in schools and talent can supplement the rest of the work. It is useless to only have talent but no chance of growth. There are numerous elements which have to be considered while making visual arts especially sculptural, painting, and architectural. These elements determine how much value art that depends on sight can have. They are important in the sense that, art is not art if it cannot be appreciated in its own rights. These elements are tension, medium, perspective, and plan. Tension This simply means that a work of art is best termed as beautiful when it is paired and compared to another. If it is appealing to the senses, it is termed as beautiful. The beauty in tension is that things of the same category are found to be beautiful. For instance sunsets are known to be generally beautiful. The beauty in art is best brought out when there is a tension in the story that they tell. Most of the times such beauty is brought about by the contradictory meaning of the visual art. For example a picture of people in the desert and a picture of people in green grass fields. The contrast in the two brings a tension to someone viewing this work of art. If the art brings out the better of the two contrasts, the one who views the work of art will be torn between the two places seeing as they are both beautiful. Their contrast makes them worth looking at or watching. There are often extremes in every situation and contemporary art is important in bringing out these contrasts. Most artists have made visual art about politicians and politics which have been of help in sending out messages to the public about various issues that surround us. The beauty in all of these is the tension that is created in it. Art is supposed to be all rounded in a sense that it does not only cover the good but the bad. Human emotion is not only made of good feelings but bad ones too and they all need to be reached out to, somehow. “This tension is why really good art sometimes contains ugliness, hate, and depictions of sin, brutality, and other things we would never hope to see in real life--good art often, perhaps most of the time--shows us great contradictions that life can bring in the worst possible circumstances. And we learn from the resolution of those crises, so that within ourselves we can learn how to surmount our own ugliness, brutalities, and hatred, whether from within us or from those outside of us. These bad things in life hurt, and art is a healer. And in that healing lies true beauty” (Jewell, 2002) Medium- the materials Medium is the material on which the work of art is made. It doesn’t have to be necessarily tangible as in the case of videos of photos but it should be at least noticeable. The various medium we have are video screens, glass, ceramics, canvas and paper. Different emotional responses are given to different types of art in different types of media. For instance if a video of a sunset was to be made. A picture of it taken and another picture of it painted, most people would react differently to these different forms of art. Those who are inclined more to painted art will find it to have more aesthetic appeal on canvas or paper. Those who prefer the image on screen will prefer a photo rather than a video. Different preferences are aroused with the different kinds of medium considering one type of visual art is placed across the board. This goes ahead to show that different kinds of art appear best on different kinds of medium. In the contemporary works of art, art is more appreciated when it goes with the changes and times. A picture in three dimensions on a screen is more appealing because of the slight movements and the potential it seems to hold. “Holograms, three-dimensional pictures, may become the paintings of choice in the future: we will walk into the middle of a painting and feel as if we are actually right in the middle of it.” (Jewell, 2002). Perspective: Two- and Three-Dimensional Art Art can come in either two dimensions or three dimensions depending on the type of art it is. Sculptures and real life representations of things are obviously in 3D because that is how they would look in real life, visual arts that come in two dimensions are those forms of art that are on a flat surface such as a screen or canvas in the case of a painting. As was earlier mentioned, people would want to feel like they are in the actual place the art is being featured. The setting of an art makes it easy to appreciate if people can relate to it easily. Some videos have been edited to make it look like the viewer is taking a walk in the picture or the scene is in real time. For this reason it is all about appearance and according to Jewell (2002), “Perspective often is used in mild but significant ways in crafts and in two-dimensional designs, often to make normally flat pictures or designs look like they might jump off of their surfaces or to make them appear larger or more delicate than they are. If a work of art can embody competing perspectives successfully, the effect often is of a heightened tension. The great monuments of Greek and Roman architecture, places such as the Parthenon and the Pantheon, often successfully incorporate competing perspectives to create beauty through tension. They often are very large, bulky structures that somehow manage to look delicate and powerful, inviting and indicative of authority, at the same time, largely because of the competing perspectives.” So perspective ends up to be all about how the work of art appears to the viewer. It is not only the tangibility of the work of art but also what it makes the viewers feel when they see it or stand around it. If a sculpture of a hero is made big enough, the hero will be made big in the eyes of those who adore him. A protective image should be made to look like it is bigger than it actually is so that those who look upon it feel protected and safe. Visual Plans of Art Works of art have a definite visual plan that the artist has in mind while making it. There are different plans that can work for paintings and sculptures. These are normally the patterns that are used to create the form of art that is in the mind of an artist. The pattern can be radial, pyramidal, rectangular, parallel, mixed plans and breakaway plans. The radial pattern is the form of art that originates form a central point and spreads out on the medium. The whole visual art revolves about the centre point. Rectangular patterns have the point of origin to be a rectangle that is upright or a pillar. The rest of the visual art originates from the first oblong shape. Pyramidal patterns derive their shapes from triangles that originate from the apex. A parallel plan is made to look like one part of the art is a duplicate of the other. The mixed plan derives its inspiration from any two of the patterns above. The breakaway plan is a pattern that does not follow any specific order o pattern like the rest. Patterns are normally a way to attract the attention of the lovers of art. People get attracted easily to a pattern that looks good. Patterns are the best way to bring out some forms of art. Actually most forms of art rely on some kind of pattern to be able to come out beautifully. Bibliography BERG, W. J. (2007). Imagery and ideology: fiction and painting in nineteenth-century France. Newark, University of Delaware Press. CUTLER, A. (1992). Imagery and ideology in Byzantine art. Hampshire, Great Britain, Variorum. DOWNING, D. B., & BAZARGAN, S. (1991). Image and ideology in modern/postmodern discourse. Albany, State University of New York Press. GAGGI, S. (1997). From text to hypertext: decentering the subject in fiction, film, the visual arts, and electronic media. Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press. Hawlet Packard, 2004. Power of Visual Communication. [Online] Available at: http://www.hp.com/large/ipg/assets/bus-solutions/power-of-visual-communication.pdf [Accessed 24 March 2014]. JENKS, C. (1995). Visual culture. London, Routledge. Jewell, R., 2002. Experiencing the Humanities. In: Elements of the Arts. s.l.:www.CollegeHumanities.org, p. chapter 9. 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