Visual Rhetoric

1. Visual Rhetoric AP Language and Composition N. Guthrie

2. Image as argument… • Selection and arrangement of various elements for some purpose • Purposes can range from persuasion to aesthetic pleasure

6. Photographs: composition lines contrast color Political cartoons exaggeration symbolism Paintings color symbolism allusion to tell a story about their subjects Every genre has its own conventions

7. Posters and advertisements color and composition to attract attention symbolism and imagery to persuade Graphs and charts select sets of data and present them in a manner that makes them easy to interpret sometimes show trends or contrasts Every genre has its own conventions (continued)

8. OPTIC Strategy • O is for overview: Write down a few notes on what the visual appears to be about. • P is for parts: Zero in on the parts of the visual. Write down any elements or details that seem important. • T is for title: Highlight the words of the title of the visual (if one is available). • I is for interrelationships: Use the title as the theory and the parts of the visual as clues to detect and specify the interrelationships in the graphic. • C is for conclusion: Draw a conclusion about the visual as a whole.

9. Use OPTIC for this photo: Bruce Davidson, “Young Interracial Couple”

10. SCANS Strategy • Subject • Contents • Attitudes • Narrative • Symbolism

11. Subject • Identify the subject of the visual: determine as much as possible from the information provided what the context, date, and subject matter are

12. Contents • Identify: • major components, such as characters, visual details, colors, symbols • verbal clues, such as titles, tag lines, date, author, dialogue • the positions/actions of any characters, especially relative to one another or to their surroundings • traits of the characters or objects • significant images, including repeated or patterned imagery • composition lines (parallel, crossing)

13. Attitudes • Notice position and size of details: exaggerations, focal points, or emphases of other kinds • Notice details that create positive or negative reactions to characters or objects portrayed in the visual • Does the author indicate alternative viewpoints? • Does the place and environment create mood? • What are the reactions of other characters to the central character(s)? • Is there any irony in the way characters or situations are portrayed? How do you know it’s ironic?

14. Narrative • Does there appear to be any conflict? What are the attitudes of the characters to the conflict? How does that conflict seem to be progressing? • Does something refer to an event or person in literature or history? What do you know about this literary or historical person or situation? • What do the actions of the characters or their relative positions say about them and their relationships?

15. Symbolism • Do some of the concrete items represent abstract ideas? • What colours are used and what do these colours symbolize? • Are there contrasts of lightness and darkness, of colour, of shape, of size? • How do composition lines break up or align parts of the image?

16. Now try the SCANS strategy: Bruce Davidson, “Young Interracial Couple”

17. Some questions about the photo: Focus on the expression of each face. How would you describe each expression? What does the photograph suggest about the couple’s relationship? Anna Norris, when she was studying photography at the Tisch School of the Arts in New York, wrote that “pictures are fashioned to serve a particular purpose.” Do you imagine Davidson’s purpose was to give us the couple or to give us something more? Explain.

18. Other elements of photos… • Camera angle • Framing (focal point) • Lighting • Shapes • Space • Repetition • Vantage point

19. Rule of thirds • The part of the photo that attracts attention is called the subject. • Alignment with intersections creates more tension than centering.

21. www.wikipedia.com

22. Golden Ratio • From a geometric formula • Parthenon, pyramids, Mona Lisa • Creates a compelling viewing experience

24. Lines • You can extend lines from the features in a photograph • Horizontal lines are said to be more peaceful; so are curved lines • Diagonal lines add action and excitement

25. Background • Is the background in focus or out of focus? • What is the relationship of the background to the subject?

26. Compare the following:

27. "The image survives the subject and becomes the remembered reality." - John Szarkowski (Director of Photography Department, Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1962 - 1991)

28. Joe Rosenthall, “Flag Raised on Iwo Jima”

29. A photograph taken by Will Counts of Elizabeth Eckford attempting to enter Little Rock School on 4th September, 1957."

30. “Destitute pea pickers in California. Mother of seven children. Age thirty-two. Nipomo, California.” Feb. 1936. Photo by Dorothea Lange.

31. Ansel Adams, “Maple Leaves, Mud, Zion”

32. www.msnbc.com, “Campus in Mourning”

33. Victor JorgensenU.S. Navy, Aug 14, 1945 “V-J Day Kiss”

34. Douglas Collier “A soldier says good-bye”

36. Audience matters…

39. The visual equivalent... Vertumnus" (1590-1591) by Giuseppe Arcimboldo. …of a pun!

40. Analyzing “spoof ads” www.adbusters.org

41. Analyzing “spoof ads” www.adbusters.org

42. Analyzing “spoof ads” www.adbusters.org

43. Analyzing architecture

46. “The Gates”, Central Park, NYC, Feb. 2005

47. Analyzing political cartoons

50. Analyzing a web site • UNC • Duke