ILLU5060 - Reading Words & Images

Reading Words & Images Lecture Notes

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• ​The Purpose of this module is to examine a critical framework from which to approach analysis, and to form a discussion.
• Words & Images. They form & influence the context in which anything is read. Words may affect images, or provide an alternative lens to view images, the reverse is also true.
  ​Stereotypes, culture, history, and experiences, all affect how an audience can interpret a piece of work. Or how a piece of work is constructed, knowing its intended demographic & the associated preconceptions that may be exploited.
• Cooper black. Very soft & squishy font, evokes thoughts of advertisements trying to sell me mattresses and pillows. Very nice ampersand.
• Words are arbitrary signifiers. The prerequisite knowledge of a language is required to understand words, the meaning cannot be deciphered logically from any one word. Excluding some languages where their characters are intentionally designed as an iconographic representation of a subject.
• Images are iconic signifiers. They visually represent a subject; they look like what they are. Images are experienced before words. Words are a vehicle to describe images and experiences. Images may experience degrees of abstraction which can affect how they are read.
• “Zuzu’s Petals!” – a meaningless phrase unless the audience has prerequisite knowledge (it’s a wonderful life).
• Anchorage – Where text and image stand in a complementary relationship.
  A connection between words & images, how the two influence each other to guide the audience through a narrative.
• Captions affect how photographs are read. Context of the image is prescribed to the audience through words. This is exploited in press media, which historically has an implicit authority that an audience will trust.
• Types of Anchorage:
  Word specific- The words provide the primary context of the subject. Images may communicate a separate message without the words to guide the audience.
  Image specific – Images provide the primary context for the subject. Words may be absent entirely.
  Dual message – Words and images convey the same context together, harmoniously. The two emphasise each other. Emphasis may clarify & reinforce the message.
  Interdependent or convergent – Words & images conveying a message together which would be absent from either component taken independently.
  Parallel or Divergent – Words & images communicate different contexts. Alluding to future content, for which the pay-off will only be realised later on within the work.
• “This is not a pipe”
• Connotation Signifier + Signified = denotative sign [+ conative signifier]
• Denotation – Primary meaning of a sign. The most literal interpretation of a sign.
• Connotation – Secondary meaning(s) of a sign. Historical, cultural, relative context. Tangential references & deeper understanding.
• Intertextuality – The link between one text and another.
• Dog - Denotation: quadrupedal canine.
  Connotations: traits of dogs (stereotypes), Cultural influence (famous incidents & examples), Idioms (contemporary/ historical cultural associations), further cultural references (different pieces of work making references to the same subject “Dog”).
• Signs are polysemous – open to many interpretations.

The Treachery Of Images Task

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Semiotic analysis – 30 minutes exploring:

1. Reading text message
2. Reading image message
   Denotation
   Connotation
3. Consider anchorage

The text message of the piece “Ceci n’est pas une pipe.”, hand-written (& the artist’s signature), “This is not a pipe.” A literal statement, punctuated with a period which could have easily been omitted. The text alone is a short and simple statement of fact that would suggest that whatever it is accompanied by is not a pipe.

The image itself is a realistic rendering of a pipe (in oil paint). The pipe itself has light & shadow cast upon it [Denotation], suggesting that it exists within a three-dimensional reality, imitating that of our own [Connotation]. However, the pipe is suspended alone in a formless beige space which may bring into question its authenticity as a real object. It is the only image within this work.

Combined, the image and the text are, in a literal sense, in direct contradiction with each other. The image is clearly a pipe, yet the text states in no uncertain terms that “This is not a pipe.”. If one looks beyond the literal denotations of each element, one may read that since this piece of work is a painting of a pipe, and not a pipe itself, the text is correct. The text invites this line of questioning from the viewer, as a literal interpretation results in a paradox & one must seek alternate interpretations to resolve the paradoxical reality presented.
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Convergent anchorage: The text and image lose their meaning without each other, but when combined they pull the audience into the premise behind this particular piece of work.