Today, images surround us, and they can have a bigger interaction between their viewers than may be assumed. In Scott McCloud’s book, “Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art”, he relays the concept of simplification, and how to use it to bring more emphasis to the meaning of the drawing. In other words, McCloud is saying that through a process of breaking down a drawing to its rawest and most simplistic form, the piece itself becomes deeper in meaning. When looking at a finished image it should be apparent that the artist put thought into every detail, line, shape. When a final image looks simplistic, this is where the artist has succeeded in tricking the eye into believing the image is effortless when in fact it can in some cases be the exact …show more content…
It’s possible to understand cutting out pieces as an action of taking away what is unnecessary, but it’s interesting to shift the position of view and look at it as the artist’s ultimate decision on what is important enough to keep so that the image is easy to understand, and this is where the interpretation of the process fosters the artist’s decisions of what they want their audience to perceive. McCloud uses an example of transforming an image of himself and continuously simplifying it until it is just two dots and a line, resembling a face; this example works to show the process of choosing what features of the image are important to the meaning of the work. Another example of simplifying an image in order to convey a strong message is the Apple logo. The logo is simply an apple with a bit taken out of it. The image may be incredibly simplistic but it references the story of Adam and Eve as the logo portrays the forbidden fruit with a bite taken out of it. The roots of the logo also trace back to the short story of Isaac Newton sitting under the apple tree, (Apple Inc. Wikipedia). The simplicity in the curves of the logo makes the image pleasant and aesthetically pleasing, and it withholds universal visual understanding because the image isn’t hard to decipher; unless one doesn’t know what an apple looked like. The apple logo can be seen in Figure 1, …show more content…
By making a simplistic image as a logo or icon the directed focus brings attention to the details that the artist saw as important and most relatable for the product being sold, company, or just image in general to the selected audience. McCloud uses an example of breaking down the image to make the image more applicable in his example of the simplification process, “by stripping down an image to its essential ‘meaning’, an artist can amplify that meaning in a way that realistic art can’t”, (McCloud, 30). McCloud makes a point in the statement that realistic art in these terms isn’t as relatable to everyone because it is too specific, and this means that not everyone can easily relate. The point of an icon or logo is to make it easy to relate to, understand, or both in order to make the targeted audience remember the design and recognize it in the future. Going back to the example of Figure 1 the simple design is something that is easy to remember and relate to because of the familiarity that is referenced by the design. These two things are just a few of the key elements that make it a successful
Although books full of words are more efficient in delivering and describing what the author feels, sometimes pictures can give a deep meaning depending on how they are organized. The Veil by Marjane Satrapi’s is a graphic novel that’s organized in a particular way, to deliver a certain message through the pictures. Marjane includes different sizes and frames that serve what she is thinking and feeling. Choosing certain sizes, frames and colours isn’t arbitrary. As each box increases in size, it means that she wants to emphasize the message behind that box, or show her relation to that particular text. Contrast is also one of the main elements that Marjane uses in her graphic novel. For example, on page five, there is a big picture of
In the essay written by Cynthia Hahn, the principal concern is to demonstrate how images produced to illustrate texts can also enlighten meaning.
“People only see what they are prepared to see” is a famous quote by Ralph Waldo. This quote emphasises the fact that the purpose of a text can often be unnoticed and misinterpreted by the viewer. Many people only have a limited world experience, and it’s the Distinctly Visual feature of a text which allows the viewer to gain a better understanding. Distinctly Visual texts use a combination of techniques to create and shape an audience’s point of view or interpretation, and visualising a text requires the responder to interpret all of the images presented.
Logos is the method of using graphs and charts but also using common sense. Martin Luther King uses this method to try to explain to his reasons for participating in these nonviolent protest. When he is explaining the steps in a nonviolent protest he makes alot of sense when listing the steps “ collection of the facts to determine whether injustice exists,negotiation,self purification, and direct action”(pg2). These are very logical because it list the steps to make to make an accurate
It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words, but maybe they are worth far more than that. Pictures, although seemingly simple in nature, are extremely complex. Far too often, people overlook what a picture truly is. When a person looks at an image, they most likely see only the image, nothing else. Many people do not look deep enough into an image to fully comprehend the true meaning of it. However, when an individual begins to truly study an image in an attempt to understand the true complexity of it, they will be surprised at what they overlooked before. As stated by French Realist Painter, Gustave Courbet, “Fine art is knowledge made visible.”
He makes the important details clear and blurs the rest. The reader can really get the emotions of the people on the foreground. Of Course, the biggest and clearest are Dzung and her family. Specifically her and her step-dad stand out, because they are the only two smiling. Everyone else looks like they’re tired, worried, mad, and struggling. On the other hand, the background looks a lot more sketched. Some of the figures in the back do not even have faces. The reader can see that they are fighting, suffering and dying but they’re just figures. Also, the airplanes and parachutes look very sketched, small and insignificant. This could be because as a kid, that is probably not what was on Dzung’s
Abstraction is the creation of art without representation of objects, in which the artist has total freedom of the art that they are creating. I will be using three paintings from three different time periods in order to show the development and lasting effects of abstraction in the twentieth century. The first work that I will be looking at is Foghorns by Arthur Dove. I will use this piece to show the beginning of abstraction, and how ideas of abstraction were present before the movement began. The second painting that I will be looking at is Jackson Pollock’s Lucifer. I will be using this painting as an example of the height of abstraction in the 20th century and will be discussing Pollock’s influence on abstraction. The third piece of art I will be looking at is Many Mansion by Kerry James Marshall. I will use this work to show the remnants of Pollock’s influence, and the influence of abstraction in general, on art in the later half of the century. For the development of this paper I looked at two of the course readings. The first reading that I used was The Tradition of the New by Harold Rosenberg. I used this article to show how Foghorns by Arthur Dove relates to abstraction, and to show how ideas in creation of this painting can be linked to ideas of abstract art. The second reading that I used for this paper was The Legacy of Jackson Pollock by Alan Kaprow. I used this article to gain information about
What really makes this piece significant is its attention to detail, and also its lack of detail. All the bright and simple kid drawings of flowers that convey our innocence and ignorance are just simple. Their simplicity relates back to colors of a simpler time when we didn’t know anything, like we still do in a way now. In the middle of it all is the boy who represent the truth of what really is, his picture flawlessly contrast the colorful simple ness of the sketches with not only his black and whiteness, but also is seriousness. That outline of his body and gun alone is a drastic difference from the straight lines that make the flowers. Even the shading shows the professional step up the boys sketch is from his face and left side being white, and his right
For centuries, people’s aesthetic value has been influenced by Rome's perfectionism, so do I. I used to think that artworks that make people feel appreciated are just equivalent to visual appreciation and satisfaction. However, after observing the painting and researching sources of this pieces of art I realized that an excellent artwork needs to cover all aspect requirements. For instance, an excellent artwork needs to contain a high operation of art skills as well as art knowledge in order to persuade audience. In addition, to qualify as a great artwork it has to create a substantial amount of activity in the audience’s mind or heart. When I look at an artwork I always try to figure out what is the artwork's message or what the artist is trying to communicate, to convey. Overall, I think a good artwork needs include some of the elements and principles of the language of art as well as the structure they give to be able to successfully communicate an idea.
Icons are pictures that are used to embody a person, place, thing, or idea. McCloud hammers this concept home by drawing random things, such as a cow (McCloud, pg. 26), but reminds the reader that it is technically not a real cow. It is just an image.
The use of geometric shapes in this painting allows the subject to be viewed in both a recognizable and unrecognizable state at the same time. Overall, geometric shapes and patterns play an essential role in what the viewer sees, which is further supported by a powerful color palate.
In her comic-style article you can see there is a lot of visuals as you go through the reading. The visuals throughout the article helps the readers get her ideas more clearly than a regular article with no images. For example, on the first page of the article she talks about homophily and even though she gives the definition before the word, the picture of her in a flock of birds can help the reader understand and visually see that homophily means the groups we associate ourselves that have similar views to us. Not only do the visuals help the reader understand her argument but it also makes the reader look more
An artist 's psyche can 't be placated by the ordinary or carried on by business as usual; it is parched to search out the human condition and to look profound into individuals ' characters.
An example is that of headlines in the news. In such headlines that use visual metaphors, there is usually a visual image and the point is to turn the analytic content of the headline into something sensual. The image is merely used to confirm the puns of words that are being used in headlines and other things. Bolter says, “The dialectic of word and image in… advertisements can be commonplace or sophisticated, but in each case there is a changed relationship in which the image is magnified at the expense of the prose. Words no longer seems to carry conviction without the reappearance as a picture of the imagery that was latent in them,” (Bolter, 54).
From an early age I loved to read. At just two years old I would beg my mother to enroll me into school. I watched as my older sister meticulously picked out her outfit each night in preparation for the next school day. At such a young age I somehow knew that this thing called “school” was the answer to something spectacular. My home was chaotic and reading became an escape and helped distract me from the unpleasant family dynamic.