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| Art is a composition of free to use vector and png images. |
Olga Panzaru’s paper, Semiotic Interdependence Between Text and Visual Image, mainly discusses two scholarly works in semiotics, Rhetoric of the Image by Barthes and Reading Images by van Leeuwen, as the authors argue their opinions on the influential relationships between text and visuals. Barthes argues that “images, and their symbolic meanings, are always contingent upon verbal text,” while van Leeuwen argues that while text is important, “visual images can accomplish the same message and meaning that text can, but perhaps in a different way.” It was this summary that led me to think most deeply about our aphorism assignment. According to Google Dictionary, an aphorism is “a pithy observation that contains a general truth, such as, ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’.”
I question the image that I created in light of Barthes and van Leeuwen’s conflicting opinions. The visual I created was just that, only a visual with no supporting text. I think the visual itself is strong enough in its symbolism that it can probably relay the linguistic aphorism without supporting text. This argues both Barthes’ and van Leeuwen’s points actually. The image has a symbolic meaning, however, it is rooted in the verbal text of the aphorism. At the same time, I think the visual in and of itself, comprised of multiple different images, can stand on its own to deliver this meaning which is derived from one’s constructed social reality and cultural contexts. For those outside of our class, I’m sure there is initial ambiguity when observing the final piece, just as I’m sure the text of the aphorism on a page would be a flat interpretation. As Panzaru concludes, it’s the combination of visual images and text that has the highest, and perhaps fastest, communicative power. That said, I prefer the touch of ambiguity and mystery offered by the visual alone in the aphorism piece.
MFA in Emergent Media | Spring 2018 semester | Digital Storytelling, Prof. Erik Esckilsen
Assignment: Using one of the aphorisms provided to you by one of your peers, render the message of the aphorism in purely visual terms, analog or digital — that is, a storyboard or some other visual representation that meets the following criteria: * includes no text as dialogue, narration, explanation, or caption, * is composed of no more than 10 panels (can be composed of as few as one).
MFA in Emergent Media | Spring 2018 semester | Digital Storytelling, Prof. Erik Esckilsen
Assignment: Using one of the aphorisms provided to you by one of your peers, render the message of the aphorism in purely visual terms, analog or digital — that is, a storyboard or some other visual representation that meets the following criteria: * includes no text as dialogue, narration, explanation, or caption, * is composed of no more than 10 panels (can be composed of as few as one).
