A simple text, such as recipe or directions, generally has a single interpretation. There are images that also appear to be simple and direct, with only one possible meaning. Take this one for example:
I know what it means. You know what it means. Queen Victoria, however, might look at the bathroom symbol and interpret a completely different message from it. And a contemporary New Guinnea tribesman may find yet another message. Now take a much more complex picture of a woman, such as Damien Hirst’s portrait of Kate Moss, below, and this problem of subjectivity is vastly increased.
While some texts are direct in their meaning, others are less obvious. When we read and understanding a novel, there are many layers of meaning one must interpret: the direct meaning of the words, implied meaning and symbolism, and the many meanings the overall structure of the story builds. And these layers of meaning can be interpreted differently and disputed. The key to successful interpretation of literature, is not whether the reader uncovers the single, correct meaning of the text, but that the reader can discuss and argue their specific interpretation. A common vocabulary allows readers to discuss the elements of a text and thus its meaning. So it is with images. The key to visual literacy doesn’t seem to be in finding the one “correct” interpretation of an image, but in being able to discuss its possible meanings.
Some people find listening and talking to a trained artist about art esoteric and difficult to understand. Conceptual art can be especially alienating. The common man instinctually connects with or despises Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain, but when the art historian waxes elegant about the piece’s symbolic messages and cultural significance an unacademic listener easily tunes out. The emotional connection to art is understandable to most people. We “like” art. But the vocabulary with which to truly discuss and understand the images we encounter everyday is underdeveloped. As a working artist I often hear people tell me they love art. But what art do they love about it? It makes them feel good. It’s pretty. But what does that mean? Artists talk about line, shape, contrast, color, texture, symbolism, visual metaphor, visual irony…Art is a visual language that requires verbal language to discuss. Once you know the verbal language the artist's discussion ceases to be hyper-intellectualized babble and simply be a way of interpreting the visual into words.
As a trained artist I have built a large vocabulary with which to discuss images. Art school was a time, not just for honing my abilities as a painter and printmaker, but a time to develop a vocabulary with which to discuss the images my fellow artists and I create. In critically evaluating the work of contemporary artists and designers, and in discussing our own projects, art transformed from something merely visual into images that carried meaning, cultural significance, even words. Knowing how to talk about images allows us to understand them and the messages they convey.
Everyday we encounter more images than we are aware of. Right this second, sitting at a table in a college student center, I can see: Reese’s logo, computer logo, “caution!” sign on floor, “caution-automatic door” sign on two doors, commercials on two televisions, photos in a newspaper, graphic images on two shirts, pizza hut logo, cover of a novel, two plaques displaying donors’ faces, a menu, brand logo on my shoes, brand logo on my jeans, brand logo on my pen, advertising on another laptop, symbols and signs pointing to a fire extinguisher, bathroom signage, branding on a designer bag, etc. Plus several guys are sporting team jerseys. Each of these images communicates something, whether it be status, directions, invitation, incentives, possibly all these messages at once. Education is essential for visual literacy and understanding the manipulators and communication of our present culture. Youth primarily receive visual education as I did, through art education. Yet the visual messages we receive on a daily basis touch all aspects of our personal and academic lives, not just our inner artist. The young art student requires more than a vocabulary with which to discuss Kandinsky and Warhol, however intellectually abstract or culturally relevant these artists are. Our discussion of visual literacy needs to include all the skills necessary for youth to interpret and synthesize the most common visual message we receive. History classes could learn a great deal by parsing out old photographs and advertisements. Social studies and foreign language classes may gain similar information and skills by looking at contemporary television, photojournalism, branding and advertising cross-culturally. And I think we all could continue to learn by looking critically at the images sent to us via Hollywood. But we first need to teach common language with which to discuss the visual messages we encounter everyday.
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