h t t p : / / u w p . a a s . d u k e . e d u / w s t u d i o

Overview:VisualRhetoric/VisualLiteracy

Introduction

Areyoutryingtoreadapictureorwriteawebsite?Haveyoubeenaskedtoevaluateorreflectonasymbolorvisual image?Hopefully,thishandoutandtheothersinthisserieswillgiveyouaplacetothink abouthow theelementsofcommunication andpersuasionare embeddedintextsyoudontjustreadbutsee.Images,notjustwords,provideuswithinformationandchangethewayswethink,reason,andact.Theycan speaktousinpowerfulways.

Thesimplestdefinitionforvisualrhetoricistheuseofvisualimagesto communicatemeaning.Itisalsoimportanttonotethatvisualrhetoricisnotjustaboutsuperiordesignandaesthetics.Itis alsoabouthowcultureandmeaningarereflected,communicated,andalteredbyimages.Visualliteracyinvolvesalltheprocessesofknowingandrespondingtoavisualimageaswellasallthethoughtthatmightgointoconstructingormanipulatinganimage. Inotherwords,visualliteracyistheabilitytoreadandwriteimagesandthemeaningsthoseimagescommunicate.

IdentifyingFundamentalElements

Accordingto The OnLineVisualLiteracyProjectatPomonaCollege,someofthefundamentalelementsofvisualcompositioninclude shape,direction,texture,color(hueandsaturation),value(presenceandabsenceoflight),scale,dimensionandmotion.

DonisDondisidentifiesthesevisualelementsasthebuildingblocksfromwhichavisualspaceiscreated,organizedsyntactically,andexpressedmetaphorically.Thesearethecomponents,then,ofvisualrhetoricarhetorictiedintobeingvisuallyliterate.1

UsingPrinciplesofPerception

Principlesofperceptionandvisualinterpretationareatworkinmediaandfilmstudies,culturalstudies,art, literature,photography,electronicmedia, andinpubliceventssuchasconcerts,sportseventsandothervenues.

AccordingtoCarynTaltyinher Kairos articleTeachingaVisualRhetoric:

1 DonisA.Dondis, APrimerofVisualLiteracy(Cambridge,MA:MITPress,1973),15.

http://www.pomona.edu/Academics/courserelated/classprojects/Visual-lit/intro/intro.htmlhttp://kairos.technorhetoric.net/7.3/response/Visual_rhet/ctalty2002pt3.html

TheoristsofhypertextsuchasGeorge LandowandJayDavidBoltertendtoemphasizetheassociationalcharacterof(hypertextual)writing.Connectivityoftextsandideastakesprecedenceoverthelinearassumptionsofprintforms(142).Simplyput,theauthorofaWebsiteunderstandsthatheorshehasnocontroloverthedepth,breadth,orrouteareaderwilltakewhenviewinghisorhersite.Thecontrolisnotinthewriterswords,butwiththereaderschoices.Thisalteredattitudeabouttheroleswemustplayinordertocommunicate,theconsiderationswemusthaveaboutthewrittenandvisualword,andtheimportanceofdisseminatinginformationinareaderfriendlymannermakesusbetterwriters.2

Inadditiontoproducingtraditionaltexts,itsimportanttopayattentiontoelectronicspaces,theirformandfunction,intheacademy.Byprivilegingcomposingasthemainsiteofinstruction,saysJohnTrimbur,theteachingofwritinghastakenupwhatKarlMarxcallsaonesidedviewofproductionandtherebyhaslargelyerased thecyclethatlinkstheproduction,distribution,exchange,andconsumptionofwriting.3Inotherwords,Trimburwantsustopayattentionnotonlytotheprocessofwriting,buttohowwritingisconsumed.Learningmoreaboutvisualrhetoriccanhelpusproducedocumentsthatspeakmorereadilytotheirintendedaudience.Itcanalsohelpustoevaluatevisualimagesweencounterinanyvarietyofsettings,whetheronTV,inmagazines,onbillboards,orintheclassroom.

EmployingVisualMetaphors

Justasimportantasanyotheraspectofvisualrhetoricistheuseofvisualmetaphorandtherecognitionthatweoftenusevisualmetaphorsasawayofunderstanding theworld.

RobertN.St.ClairinVisualMetaphor,CulturalKnowledge,andtheNewRhetoric,providesthisexampleofthewaymetaphorsfunctionascognitivemodels,orwaysofknowing:

Ateacherwhoseesstudentsasfragilehumanbeingsisusingmetaphor.Hetreatsthemaseggsandisafraidtohurtthem.Hedoesnotwanttoseethemcrack.Anotherteachermayhaveadifferentmetaphorwhendealingwithchildren.Hemayseetheclassroomasabattlefield.Hewantshisstudentstohitthetarget.Hisapproachisoneoftougheningupthestudentforbattle.Theymustcombattherealworld.Metaphorstellusmuchaboutthosewhousethem.Theyprovideinsightintohowtheseindividualsviewtheworld.4

Questionstoaskaboutanassignmentthenmightbe:

Asacreatororevaluatorofavisualtext(whatevermediumorformittakes)doyouseeavisualmetaphoratwork?

Howmightthearrangement,content,symbolism ofthevisualtextprovidethebasisforametaphorthatgrantsaccesstoalargermeaning,ortoacognitivemodel/concept/wayoflookingattheworld?

Whatexperiencesfromyourownlifeareevokedbytheimage? Whatemotionsareprovokedinyoubytheimage?

WhatcanyouSEEtheauthormightbeSAYINGthroughtheelementsofdesigninthisimage?

2http://kairos.technorhetoric.net/7.3/response/Visual_rhet/ctalty2002pt3.html.3 JohnTrimbur,CompositionandtheCirculationofWriting,CCC,52:2,December2000,190.4http://epistemicforms.com/VisualThinking.htm.Thearticlesreferencesarelistedat http://epistemicforms.com/Visualmetaphorreferences.html.

http://epistemic-forms.com/Visual-Thinking.htmhttp://kairos.technorhetoric.net/7.3/response/Visual_rhet/ctalty2002pt3.htmlhttp://epistemic-forms.com/Visual-Thinking.htmhttp://epistemic-forms.com/Visual-metaphor-references.html

OtherHandoutsintheVisualRhetoric/VisualLiteracySeries

WritingAboutComicsandGraphicNovelsWritingAboutFilmWritingAboutPaintingWritingAboutPhotographsUsing PowerPointandKeynote EffectivelyCraftingandEvaluating WebSitesCreating ScientificPosters

Bannerimages:1. DukeUniversityWritingStudiohomepage,http://uwp.aas.duke.edu/wstudio2. NASA GoddardSpaceFlightCenterImage,TheBlue Marble,2002,

http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/view_rec.php?id=24293. ClaudeMonet,TheRegattaatArgenteuil(RgateArgenteuil),18724. DukeUniversityWritingStudiohandoutUsingPowerpointandKeynoteEffectively,

http://uwp.aas.duke.edu/wstudio/resources/documents/powerpoint.pdf5. DukeUniversityWritingStudiohandoutWritingAboutComicsandGraphicNovels,

http://uwp.aas.duke.edu/wstudio/resources/documents/comics.pdf6. OrsonWelles,TouchofEvil (1958).

http://uwp.aas.duke.edu/wstudiohttp://visibleearth.nasa.gov/view_rec.php?id=2429http://uwp.aas.duke.edu/wstudio/resources/documents/powerpoint.pdf