Visual Literacy and Visual Culture

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ED 380 062 IR 016 983

AUTHOR Messaris, Paul TITLE Visual Literacy and Visual Culture. PUB DATE [95] NOTE 7p.; In: Imagery and Visual Literacy: Selected Readings from the Annual Conference of the International Visual Literacy Association (26th, Tempe, Arizona, October 12-16, 1994); see IR 016 977. PUB TYPE Viewpoints (Opinion/Position Papers, Essays, etc.) (120) Speeches/Conference Papers (150)

EDRS PRICE MF01/PC01 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Advertising; *Cultural Images; Cultural Influences; Curriculum; *Educational Benefits; Elementary Secondary Education; History Instruction; Parody; Photographs; *Recognition (Psychology); *Visual Literacy IDENTIFIERS Educational Imagery; Historical Materials

ABSTRACT Familiarity with specific images or sets of images plays a role in a culture's visual heritage. Two questions can be asked about this type of visual literacy: Is this a type of knowledge that is worth building into the formal educational curriculum of our schools? What are the educational implications of visual literacy? There is a three-part educational rationale to these questions. First, knowing about the conventional implications of certain images might make viewers more resistant to the manipulative uses of those images in advertisements or other contexts. Second, specific images, primarily photographs, have been intimately intertwined with the social developments from which they emerged that the teaching of history seems almost inconceivable without some reference to these images. Third, there are some images about which one might want to instruct younger generations because of the role they have played as a reference point in the public life of older generations. Students were informally tested on their familiarity with a number of historical photographs, pictures from ads, and some frequently parodied images. The highest rate of recognition was of the advertising images, followed by the visual parodies, and then the historical images. The results give a sense of the potential for education to raise students' levels of visual literacy, and draws attention to the need for further exploration of the implications of visual literacy. (DGM)

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Anyone who has read Mad magazine image of a man looking down at a city has encountered the image of Alfred E. or a factory from a tall building is a Neuman, whose insouciant features traditional device in U.S. advertising have appeared on so many of the (Marchand, 1985), and Dumas's U.S. - magazine's covers. In 1963, a resident of born respondents readily identified the Auckland, New Zealand, pasted a image's implications of wealth and picture of young Alfred's face on a plain power. However, these implications envelope and, with no other indication were much less obvious to the Chinese of the envelope's destination, he respondents, many of whose comments dropped it in a local mailbox. His letter focused instead on the reasons why a was duly delivered to the office of middle-aged man would be having Mad's publisher in New York City breakfast alone, without his family. (Reidenbach, 1991, p. 138). In opposite ways, both of these This incident is a striking example of examples demonstrate the potential the broad reach of U.S. visual culture (a consequences of an intriguing aspect of phenomenon that some observers have visual literacy, involving familiarity with viewed with considerable concern; see specific images or sets of images that Tomlinson, 1991). A study by Dumas have played a role in a particular (1988) provides a revealing culture's visual heritage (or, as in the counterexample. As part of a broader case of Mad magazine, a visual heritage investigation of viewers' interpretations that spans many nations and cultures). of advertising images, Dumas showed One way to approach this kind of visual Chinese and U.S.-born graduate literacy is to ask a pair of practical students a picture of a man in a questions: Is this a type of knowledge business suit having breakfast next to a that is worth building into the formal window with a penthouse-level view of educational curriculum of our schools? a big city. This picture had come from What are the educational implications a print ad for a prestigious financial- of visual literacy in this sense of the services firm, but the firm's name and word? These are the concerns that all other text had been removed. The motivated the present discussion.

IVLA - 51 2 Educational Rationale a few of the many images which have played significant roles in the evolution Advertising Awareness of the events which they recorded. That such images should be a part of basic There are at least three reasons why courses in U.S. history seems an one might want to say yes to the first unassailable proposition. Furthermore, question posed above. To begin with, one could also argue that such images there is the possibility that knowing would be worthy candidates for about the conventional implications of inclusion in the kinds of cultural-literacy certain images might make viewers lists which various writers have more resistant to the manipulative uses developed in recent years (Hirsch et al., of those images in advertisements or 1993; Simonson and Walker, 1988, pp. other contexts. As Dumas's study 191-200). suggests, educated viewers often find it relatively easy to identify the intentions Cultural Understanding behind the persuasive images of their own culture. On the other hand, Finally, a third argument for however, there is some evidence that including knowledge of specific cultural less-educated viewers may be less- images in a visual-literacy curriculum is conscious of these intentions and may related to the one above but may be therefore be in a position to benefit somewhat less obvious. There are from instruction on such matters certain images about which one might (Messe.ris, 1994). want to instruct younger generations because of the role which they have Historical Knowledge played as a reference point in the public life of older generations. The art A second reason for encouraging the of Norman Rockwell may be the best form of visual literacy being considered example of this type of image in the here has to do with a rather different U.S. This author's only encounter with category of images, namely, those with Rockwell in an academic setting took a notable historical content. More place many years ago, in an art history specifically, it could be argued that course in college, in which the certain images, primarily photographs, instructor once got his daily quota of have been so intimately and significantly laughs by treating the class to ten intertwined with the social minutes of heavy sarcasm at the developments from which they emerged expense of one of Rockwell's Saturday that the teaching of history seems Evening Post covers. But it should not almost inconceivable without some be necessary to argue about the relative reference to these images. merits of Rockwell and, say, Jackson Pollock in order to make the point that The civil rights marcher being Rockwell is worth knowing about if one attacked by police dogs; the exhausted wants to know about his society and his woman seeing refuge in a camp for times. Depression-era migrants; the Vietnamese children fleeing a napalm What is at issue is not how accurately attack on their village these are only Rockwell reflected the "American

1VLA - 52 3 character" (which is, in any case, a The ambivalent note in these images is fictitious entity), nor what effect characteristic of a certain American Rockwell's work may have had on the attitude towards the past and may partly values of his contemporaries. Rather, explain why these specific images have Rockwell's distinction can he said to lie attained their unusual status in the in the fact that his work became -- for national consciousness. Some degree of believers and unbelievers alike -- a ambivalence also seems present in common standard against which to Steinberg's famous New Yorker cover, measure character and values (see whose view of the United States as seen Olson, 1983). Even today, an advertising from Manhattan was, for some time, photographer can speak of capturing a (and may still be) a ready metaphor for Rockwellian mood in one of his images American class relationships and (a Nikon ad of little leaguers in front of regional differences. a New England church, photographed by Dewitt Jones [1989]), while Testing Students' Knowledge debunkers of the mythical past go after their quarry by going after Rockwell. In an informal attempt to get some sense of how widespread people's Going beyond Rockwell, now, an knowledge of such images actually is, especially interesting manifestation of the author has recently been conducting this process of cultural reflection occurs informal tests of students' familiarity in the case of certain well-known with a number of historical images which frequently serve as the photographs, as well as pictures bases of mass-mediated parodies. In extracted from ads and some such instances, the original image's frequently-parodied images of the kind power as a frame of reference is discussed above. Since the courses in expressed directly in visual form, by which these tests have been performed virtue of the parody. Pride of place all deal specifically with visual among the relatively small number of communication, the results can probably American images in this category surely be taken as an indication of the likely belongs to Grant Wood's "American upper limit of this form of visual Gothic," which has provided the theme literacy among the broader college-age for several generations of variations on population. the nature of American identity. Historical Photographs In contrast to the works of Norman Rockwell, whose meaning most Among the various historical commentators seem to feel is only too photographs tested so far, all of which clear, there is an ineffable quality about were associated with events which Wood's attitude towards the subjects of happened before most of the students this image, and this quality is also were born, there were two which had present to some degree in two other particularly high recognition rates: frequently parodied U.S. images, James Walker Evans's 1936 photograph of an Montgomery Flagg's World-War-I "I Alabama sharecropper's wife and Want You" poster, and J.A.M. Alfred Eisenstaedt's picture of a sailor Wilstler's portrait of an elderly woman. kissing a woman on the day on which

IVLA - 53 the Second World War ended. 83 was based. This yardstick has tended to percent of a class of 29 undergraduates yield relatively high recognition rates (all U.S.-born) knew that Evans's for parodies whose original picture had been taken form was during the itself a mass-mediated image, such as Depression (despite the fact that this "Uncle Sam," correctly identified as a photograph is a facial close-up with no recruiting poster by 83 percent of obvious signs of poverty or distress), undergraduates, or Steinberg's New and 73 percent accurately identified the Yorker cover, which 63 percent of circumstances of the Eisenstaedt undergraduates were able to name as picture. The corresponding figures were the prototype of a parody in which a even higher for U.S.-born graduate different city took the place students, and, of New interestingly, even York. It is worth noting that in neither graduate students from other cot: :dries of these two cases could the students had recognition rates of 50 percent or have had any substantial more for these two images. familiarity with the actual prototypes of these images, i.e., the poster itself or the magazine On the other hand, however, none of cover in its original appearance. the other photographs included in these tests had a recognition rate higher than In contrast to parodies 50 percent among based on undergraduates. For mass-mediated images, recognition example, in contrast to the rates Eisenstaedt tended to be lower for parodies of "high V-J day photograph, only 47 percent art." For example, only 37 were able to give even an approximate percent recognized the image of Whistler's description (e.g., a World War II battle) mother (in an advertising of the correct circumstances parody which in Joe actually contained the words, "A sale to Rosenthal's photograph of the marines make a mother whistle"). Since the raising the flag on Iwo Jima (others students' exposure to either thought that the type of scene had occurred in original would typically have come from Vietnam, Korea, or, in one case, the reproductions, rather than Civil War). Similar recognition from the rates original poster, magazine cover, were also typical of such images as the painting, or whatever, civil-rights marcher attacked differences in by dogs accessibility, in and of themselves, are (several students thought that it was probably not the main something that had happened reason for these in Sough differences in recognition rates. Africa) or the assassination of Martin Luther King (several thought the people Advertising Imagery on the balcony in this scene were pointing at something in the sky). The relatively high rates of recognition for parodies Visual Parodies o f images originating in the mass media might lead one to expect similarly high scores In testing students' familiarity with for conventional advertising the original sources of imagery. mass-mediated This expectation has been borne out for parodies, the method employed was to some of the advertising images tested show them a parody and so ask them to far, but there have t een interesting identify the original image on which it exceptions as well. Only one of the

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5 undergraduates and one of the U.S.- technologies and the visual media of born graduate students failed to give a the future (e.g., Beauchamp et al., correct identification of the product 1994); but there is also some value in most likely to be associated with the occasionally casting an eye backwards at image of a cowboy (Marlboro) and a the traces of the visual culture of the visual montage contrasting "liberated" past. and "pre-lib" versions of womanhood (Virginia Slims). Recognition of the Marlboro man was also high for References international students (75%), although their scores for Virginia Slims were Beauchamp, D. G.; Braden, R. A.; considerably lower (40%). However, Baca, J. C. (Eds.). (1994). Visual certain other well-established literacy in the digital age: Selected conventions of visual advertising readings from the 25th annual received uniformly low recognition rates conference of the International Visual regardless of the students' backgrounds. Literacy Association. Blacksburg, VA: For example, only a third of the International Visual Literacy undergraduates were familiar with the Association. use of parent-child images as a means of promoting investment advice and the Dumas, A. A. (1988). Cross-cultural selling of insurance. More seriously, analysis of people's interpretation of fewer than a third of the students in any advertising visual cliches. Unpublished of the categories indicated familiarity M.A. thesis, Annenberg School for with what is arguably one of the most Communication. University of pernicious of advertising conventions, Pennsylvania. namely, the associltion of cigarettes with pristine natural imagery. Hirsch, E. D., Jr.; Kett, J. F.; Trefil, J. (Eds.). (1993). The dictionary of Conclusion cultural literacy. 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. The numbers cited above, together with those reviewed earlier in Jones, D. (1989). Fall classic. Outdoor connection with the historical Photographer, 5(8); 10-23. photographs and the visual parodies, give us some sense, perhaps, of the Marchand, R. (1985), Advertising potential scope of any educational the American dream. Berkeley and Los efforts to raise students' levels of the Angeles: University of California type of visual literacy considered in this Press. paper. More generally, the aim of this paper has been to draw attention to this Messaris, P. (1994). Visual 'literacy ": aspect of visual literacy and to Image, mind, and reality. Boulder, CO: encourage further exploration of its Westview Press. implications. Scholarship in visual literacy has been making significant Olson, L. C. (1983). Portraits in praise ongoing contributions to our ability to of a people: A rhetorical deal with analysis of emerging imaging Norman Rockwell's icons in Franklin

IVLA6 55 D. Roosevelt's "four freedoms" Simonson, R., & Walker, S. (1988). The campaign. Quarterly Journal of Speech, graywolf annual five: Multi-cultural 69: 15-24. literacy. St. Paul, MN: Grayvvolf Press.

Reidenbach, M. (1991). Completely Tomlinson, J. (1991). Cultural Mad: A history of the comic book and imperialism: A critical introduction. magazine. Boston: Little, Brown and Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Company. Press.

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