visual culture Flashcards
visual culture
the predominance of the visual as a way of making sense of the world
it is in the expressions that we use
i.e. let me show you, a picture is worth a thousand words
“Images surround us as a language surrounds us.” (Berger 32)
• a language that surrounds us
• Mad Men – how we’ve become savvy not just concerning advertising but with the whole scope of visual text
• To think about: an outfit as a visual text
semiotics
the study of signs; offers system to understand the relationship bt visual representations and meaning
- Started in the mid 20th century
- Part of what we call theories of structuralism and modernity
- Began as an idea of understanding language
- Language is a complex system of signs
Relationship bt the word and things in the world
• This relationship bt language and the things that they represent are arbitrary
o i.e. talking about a dog / chien / hund
o this is not fixed, unbroken relationship even though at the end of the day, it is referring to the same thing
o it is the same when it comes to images
• film has developed its own language
The Sign = signifier + signified
Signifier - the word, sound, or image
Signified - the concept evoked by that sound, word, or image
Example of a SIGN:
i.e. a happy face
Sign = the happy face
The signifier = yellow circle with eyes and a mouth
Signified = positive feelings, happiness
The smiley face and their cultural history
• Insurance company printed the happy face on tshirts and pins
• Circulating in pop culture it becomes associated with different things
o The previous cultural knowledge doesn’t exist with us (the insurance company)
o We’re associating it with text messages ☺
• Social media short forms
• Variation with a nose, emojis, etc
History, cultural moment really matters; context is important!
• Meaning results because of shared cultural meaning
Two levels of meaning that we can describe:
denotative and connotative
denotative
the literal meaning, literal face value of the sign (i.e. a yellow circle with two eyes and a mouth)
connotative
social, cultural, and historical meanings added to the literal/denotative meaning
- Branding that is immediately there (Walmart smiley face)
- There is a history of the smiley face that precedes Walmart
- Watchmen comic book → blood-splattered face, could also signify irony and violence, the happy face used as a front or a mask
- Superficiality
The meaning of a sign is arbitrary, not fixed
It depends on social, historical, and cultural context, the context of presentation, and the knowledge and experience of the viewer
THEREFORE, MEANING IS
→ meaning is not stable!
The study of visual culture assumes ___________________
The study of visual culture assumes an equality bt all visual texts and does not privilege one type of image or visual text above another
• i.e. van Gogh vs emoji, high art vs pop culture
• For example, art in the AGO isn’t more worthy of study than a LOL cat or teenage fashion
• focus on the particular social context that surrounds each visual text
• Berger tries to shake up the high art world
• Barthes discusses advertising
• Mitchell from a high arts background
Ways that we see art in the gallery
• The implications of reproduction
Example: Berger video
Berger video
• Goya painting
• Watching tv and you flip from one channel to the one showing the Goya painting
• What happens to the painting?
o After the dancing ladies, takes away from the seriousness of the painting; subject matter of the painting is not light; added humour and ridiculousness
o The state of mind you’re in is different, extra info changing how we look at it
• Sound
o The singing vs no audio
o Making more assumptions with the lack of audio in the second clip
o Cinematic conventions setting us up for certain reactions
Analysis of Hello Kitty image
- Denotative meaning: cartoon character, a well-dressed cat with a moustache
- Connotative meaning: hipster Hello Kitty, French painter Hello Kitty
o We know this bc of our shared cultural background
o How do we know it’s Hello Kitty?
• We’ve been exposed to it (commercial aspect to it)
• It may be strange to someone of a different social background or culture
o Where this photo comes from: Japanese culture exhibition, Hello Kitty turned 40, they had every single Hello Kitty product, a display of both an array consumer culture and pop culture through the years; this one particularly from 2014
o The moustache → that came to rise in 2014
o Contradicts gender norms; juxtaposition of femininity and masculinity; queering of gender
o Ritualistic participation in Movember
o Being a hipster vs poking fun at a hipster
o Kind of looks like Mario (similar forms)
The Berger video and the Hello Kitty w/ moustache example illustrate that:
There are a lot of possible interpretations.
