SB1 - Study task 3 - Image Analysis MARION DEUCHARS

I have selected the work of Marion Deuchars as her book Bob the Artist is a perfect embodiment of the institutionalised view of 'good' art. Communicating to children on example of art, these illustrations show the power of opinion on our taste.

Deuchars as a contemporary illustrator demonstrates the place of 'high art' in modern cultures and uses it as a tool with child psychology. Her picture-book uses modern art as a tool to encourage self-expression in children. It is interesting that Deuchars employs modern Western art in her persuasive narrative, showing the power of media on our taste. The bright colours and playful aesthetic of Deuchars' illustrations undeniably invite a question of psychology. The illustrations become persuasive tools for what we believe must be good. Deuchars illustrates the institutionalised concept of what art is. The recognisable imagery communicates to children 'this is art', suggesting that a common perception of art is programmed into us.

SB1 - Study task 3 - Image Analysis DA VINCI

I have selected Mona Lisa by Da Vinci as an undeniable symbol of 'high art' which yet seems to undergo it's fair share of criticism.

Mona Lisa, as a pioneering image of the Renaissance is without question and image of 'high art'. We appear submissive to the seemingly 'high brow' artists as we are conditioned to believe they are good, and informed this by their tourist attraction labels.  The enigmatic smile that invites us to view the work also upholds its status. Commercialism and consumerism has paved the way for a question of social status. The belief, or rather, condition that the Mona Lisa is good in fact seems unlearnt and over popularised, begging the question: is 'good' taste in fact distaste?

SB1 - Study Task 3 - Image Analysis JEFF KOONS

Working from the initial 20 images selected in line with my chosen quote, I have selected Michael Jackson and Bubbles by Jeff Koons as I feel it is an example of 'high art' which embodies traits of commercial aesthetics and seems to challenge gallery power structures.

Koons' porcelain sculpture seems to evoke many questions about art and taste. Jackson as an image of popular culture seems to challenge conventional 'taste' in art by merging art with mass culture. This application of popular culture onto a sculptural object, seems to explore consumerism through accessibility of the subject matter. Part of Koons' Banality series, it is no surprise that Koons has used such an unoriginal image of mass culture. The materials of porcelain and gold detailing seem to echo christian sculptures, elevating the subject matter and creating a sense of the precious and ornate. I question whether the work challenges conventions of taste through its 'tacky' subject matter and aesthetic, or if Koons' institutionalized art name enforces the sculpture as an image of taste.

SB1 - Study task 3 - Visual Analysis

6 IMAGES TO EXPLORE

Grayson Perry - The Existential Void

Perry's pot explores very explicit ideas around expectation and conformation with society and the wider art world. I am interested in Perry's social commentary and the very critical dialogues that embellish a conventionally precious and delicate media. 

Marion Deuchars - Bob the Artist

Deuchars' illustrations capture the issue of a taught taste through high art imagery within a children's book. It is interesting to consider the playful tone of voice of Deuchar's illustrations on a subject that could be seen as very rigid and refined. 

Jeff Koons - Michael Jackson and Bubbles

This sculpture from Koons captures the very flux of my theme, aura vs commercialism. His media use and institutionalised name seem in conflict with the subject matter and rather garish aesthetic.

Van Gogh - Sunflowers

Van Gogh's sunflowers are an immediately recognisable image of high art through his household name, yet I am interested in what it is about the painting that achieves such an aura, and why it seems to be so flexibly reproduced. 

Da Vinci - Mona Lisa

Similarly with Mona Lisa, it is a piece of high art iconography, a universal image. It could be interesting to consider the manipulation of the image and perhaps how the stability of its aura is challenged by consumerism and the media.

Vladimir Tretchikoff - Miss Wong

Tretchikoff seems to hold aesthetic qualities not too far different from high art painters, yet his work is so immediately aligned with the kitsch. I am particularly interested in the artist's decision to take a commercial route and how this impacts the aura of his work. 

Lecture 8 - What is Research?

RESEARCH AS PROGRESS

KNOWLEDGE --> ANALYSIS --> COMPREHENSION -->APPLICATION --> EVALUATION --> SYNTHESIS

The process of working will always be more important than the outcome.
- is this because the process invites all the reflection and learning that informs the outcome?
- all the learning curves happen in the making process/ the research process
- in research we learn all the components that drive the direction of the outcome

*Failing helps us to realise new ways of practice, FAIL QUICKER

APPROACHES TO IDEA GENERATION:
1. Stimulated approach - search for inspiration/ developing associations and connections
2. Systematic approach - collection and modification of components, characteristics and means of          expression.
3. Intuitive approach - development of thought process.

         STIMULATED <---> INTUITIVE <---> SYSTEMATIC <---> STIMULATED

In my current practice I notice the systematic approach as the most prominent, particularly in the initial stages of projects. It seems that the collection of components aids a more informed outcome and I find collecting photographs and observations rather essential to the initial generation of my ideas. 

RESEARCH IS ALWAYS DRIVEN BY A QUESTION

1. Primary research - developed and collected for a specific use
   - OWN RESEARCH DEFINED BY OWN SET PURPOSE

2. Secondary research - published of recorded research used for a purpose elsewhere
    - USING EXISTING RESEARCH TO INFORM OWN DEVELOPMENT

3. Quantitative research - collecting through measure, numerical data, statistical analysis
    - APPLICATION OF SURVEYS/ STATISTICS/ MEASUREMENTS

4. Qualitative research - interacting with people and observing subjects, description without numerical data
    - PERCEPTIONS AND VIEWS BASED ON STUDIED OBSERVATIONS

Lecture 7 - Digital Production and Distribution

"We shape our tools, and then our tools shape us"
- Marshall McLuhan 1911-1980

This quote from Marshall McLuhan provided the base for this lecture, posing the question of how dependent are we on the technology we have chosen to create?

Considering the first Apple Mac, created in 1990, it is interesting to consider how technology has grown in prominence. Technology seems to have changed from being about limitations to being about possibilities. The mac offered designers an affordable outlet for digital reproduction, a tool that most children have access to now. James Bridle's idea of the 'New Aesthetic' describes the place of digital technology in visual language. The increasing desire for the digital aesthetic, perhaps explaining the availability and access to technology through our desire to blur the lines between the digital world and the real world. 

The ability of technology to realise fantasy solutions drives technological development. The place of technology in films seems to constantly unwrap new possibilities and so the designer and maker are at the forefront of technological development. I question how far this can go. If technology enables us to create fantasy technologies, which then become real technologies, surely we will be dependent on a dream lifestyle that constantly needs redesigning? Alluding to a utopia, Marshall McLuhan critiques this technology; "World War 3 is a guerrilla information war with no division between military and civilian participation".

From this lecture it seems that technology poses a threat to our skills sets and ability to provide for the demands of modern culture, yet it also suggests that technology supports its own development by encouraging nostalgia and people wanting to uphold aged technologies.

Lecture 6 - Print Culture - Part 2

Continuing on from a look into early print cultures, this weeks lecture focused more on the role and place of print in modern culture and the way print influences the communication and receipt of information.

Considering the idea of 'aura' , the return of mechanical production methods in the 21st century does not seem unjustified.  An interesting point raised in the lecture was; why are people still interested in the handmade when there are new, easier and more efficient methods that achieve reliable results? In terms of fashion and day to day exercises of communication and distribution, digital seems perfect for its fast turn-arounds and immediate results. Yet I have understood that the aesthetic quality and labour involved in products can alter how they are received. The hand of the maker evident in print processes, and their uniqueness through process gives them qualitative weighting and challenges mass production.

Mechanical print seems to promote the humanisation of communication.

Interestingly, points were also raised about the consequence of print. The ability of print processes to produce multiple outcomes is suggested to remove their aura. However, I feel this is an issue only applicable to the reproduction of art, and most certainly digital reproduction. The very nature of print is unpredictable and never the same, so I think the aura of mechanical print goes without question. Digital print and reproduction however, are more controlled and exploit the aura of mechanical techniques, killing the culture surrounding them.

In light of my critical writings it may be useful to explore this sense of aura and process in terms of taste and how media and process is related to the status art works achieve.

Lecture 5 - Print Culture - Part 1

Having already started to look into the mechanical art world through type, this weeks lecture followed on from that, addressing the emergence of print in an increasingly industrial society. 

Working Class Industry

It is undeniable that fine art paintings and sculpture have a certain aura surrounding them through their tradition, creativity and autonomy and so a process that produces outcomes on a mass scale is surely in no competition of hierarchy. I am interested in how the connection the masses had with print as an industrial process might challenge this. Fine Arts have always operated a high status, inaccessible to the working class, and only associated with those who can afford them. The industrial revolution evidently broke down these barriers by introducing art and design to the masses. Since mechanical processes were at the forefront of jobs during the industrial revolution, the working class came into contact with these production methods and could share the status of this mechanical produce. The very nature of print as a mechanical, mass process, brings it to an almost universal audience, it's maker could be anyone, challenging the need to elevate oneself to the level of a painting, as suggested by the common architectural decision to use steps to lead up to an art gallery, instead, being readily available in working class society.

John Martin Belshazzar's Feast, 1820

Aura and Reproduction
Similarly, the lecture made me question the aura of the fine arts, and the so-called 'culture' of art and design. While print as a mass process does not share the aura of a one-off, handmade painting, it is unpredictable and captures unique curiosities in a very similar way. I learnt that the capabilities of mechanical print to produce large scale outputs was frowned upon as being art for the masses, for those who could not afford 'real' art, yet I question this approach with consideration of reproduction. 
John Martin's Belshazzar's Feast, 1820, initiated this idea of reproduction, a secondary market that almost exploits the fame of high art, exploiting its aura and bringing it to the masses. Comparing the reproduction of a fine art painting with the mass production of a print seems challenging. Recreating a famous painting for the sake of consumerism seems to strip any aura that work had by removing its autonomy and hierarchy. Alternatively, the conscious decision to carry out a 100 unit print run may work for a consumerist purpose, yet the marks and alignment errors made in the process allow these prints to maintain a degree of autonomy, and indeed support the power of the working class. 

Hand blocking at William Morris workshop

SB1 - Study Task 2 - Triangulation & Referencing OWN SOURCES

TRIANGULATING QUOTES
Furthering the initial annotations and analysis made on my chosen documents I have started to triangulate these by identifying quotes and their relation to my chosen subject; 'Rules of taste enforce structures of power'. The sources I have collected so far cover a range of view points and reasoning on the theme of aesthetics and taste, however I feel at this stage I need to include a wider range of sources.

The book from Grayson Perry, whilst very specifically related to the subject, seems slightly biased as it is from an artists point of view. While the source provides valuable reasoning for the argument, it may be useful to find more sources that comment from an external position, perhaps somebody not in the art world, or perhaps somebody that occupies the art power structure, like a critic or curator.

The source from Brent Kalar seems particularly interesting in its more generalized view of aesthetics. Considering aesthetics as a whole, rather than just aesthetics in art, the source provides a whole view of the issues of taste and the problematic nature of defining 'good' taste. 

So far I have identified several sub-themes to discuss in my essay: 
-Sentimentality
-Subjectivity and Objectivity
-Popularity
-Commercialization and consumerism
-High and low brow

SB1 - Analysing Sources - PETER WARD

ANALYSING SOURCES
From my initial research into taste and aesthetics, I started to consider the almost 'tacky' aesthetic surrounding commercialized high arts, particularly through the placement of high art images on objects of everyday use. Peter Ward discusses this in the book Kitsch in Sync, studying the place of high art in domestic spaces and commercial outlets. This connection that commercialism has with the deterioration of status opens up some interesting paths for analysis. 

The main issue raised by Ward is; Is it better to give in to commercialism or art hierarchy? 

KEY QUOTES AND INITIAL ANALYSIS 

- "The act of hanging a particular picture on a wall [...] to make some sort of statement about where they stand in the world in terms of taste and status"

Ward proposes the question; What does your art say about you? suggesting that liking art and owning art, does not go without a restrictive and impersonal control, almost as if we cannot have autonomous taste.

- "Tretchi committed the cardinal sin of commercializing his work and selling it to the masses."

It is interesting that an artist of popularity and critical acclaim was happy to give in to the tacky consumerist art world rather that the pretentious hierarchies of gallery based 'high art'. It may be interesting to consider the inevitability of Sontag's 'structures of power', since the artist seems to operate a liminal space between conforming to 'high art' powers and consumerist powers.

 

SB1 - Analysing Sources - BRENT KALAR

ANALYSING SOURCES
Furthering my initial research into my chosen theme of aesthetics, I had identified this essay from Kalar as an interesting source for discussion through it's connections with philosophical interpretations of aesthetics and taste; The Demands of Taste in Kant's Aesthetics. Kalar discusses the root of taste and how we conform to expectations of taste as a societal code. 

 

An interesting idea raised by Kalar is the issue of sentimentality  and how this sways any sort of suggested or organic opinion of aesthetic, recognizing that the individual remains conscious in their view and operation of taste. Relating to my chosen quote from Susan Sontag; "Rules of taste enforce structures of power', Kalar seems primarily to argue against this idea, largely focusing on the subjectivity of taste and the worth of all tastes. However he does discuss our insecurities.

KEY QUOTES AND INITIAL ANALYSIS

- "Our natural response to 'whatever departs widely from our own taste and apprehension' is to condemn it as 'barbarous'. However, once we discover that the other side has the same opinion of our taste, we become more hesitant about pronouncing positively in our own favour."

Evidently we are insecure in our own taste as we know of 'the other' taste and so we cannot be confident to promote a subjective and independent view of taste since we are unable to accept our own. 

- "all tastes are of equal worth, that no one person's taste is better than another's"

Kalar seems to suggest that structures of power don't exist in the sense that we have our own taste, until we question it based on another's. He recognizes that we all have a right to 'taste' differently and as such, seems to challenge Sontag's idea of 'rule of taste' in suggesting that taste is without rule or code. 

-  "judgements of taste are really just expressions of sentiment, and 'all sentiment is right; because sentiment has a reference to nothing beyond itself, and is always real, whenever a man is conscious of it' "

It is possible that since sentimentality is personal, taste relies on our own connection with the subject, sentimentality may in fact play above popularity and fashion.  

SB1 - Analysing Sources - GRAYSON PERRY

ANALYSING SOURCES
Following on from the collection of possible sources made in session, I have started to analyse some of these and pick out key ideas and quotes. I've found Grayson Perry's book Playing to the Gallery particularly useful as it discusses the issue of taste and aesthetic from an artist's perspective but considers the dialogue between artist and audience.

The main concept I drew from this book was the idea that curators, critics and collectors are the definers of 'good' art. I am interested to explore this idea of who is in charge of taste in modern societies and how has it come about that an artist has to choose to conform to 'high art' or 'low art'. 

KEY QUOTES AND INITIAL ANALYSIS

- 'Exposure of an artist in the media and the resulting fame is seen as tacky by many highbrow types; they don't think it should influence the validation process, they think being popular is a dodgy quality in art'  

Perry here seems to critique the media, suggesting that they shouldn't be able to decide what is good, yet they remain in control by saying what is tasteful. Furthermore, the 'highbrow types' think popularity should be organic, despite use being told popular works are 'good'. 

- 'If you go to the Louvre and see the Mona Lisa, you're so built up because it's the most famous artwork in the world that it's inevitably going to disappoint. But if you just walked in on it, you'd go, 'Wow, that's an amazing painting.' '  

It is interesting that gallery owners enforce their own power by projecting their own taste, but in doing so , they reduce the taste of the work, holding it up to such a level that it becomes commercial. 

Are art critics/ collectors/ curators willing to degrade their own taste to commercialism and popularity in order to make money?

Does commercializing 'high art' disrespect it and go against its power?   

- 'the part of our mind that cannot stand not knowing, not understanding fully, so when confronted with a soft problem like 'What is good art?' Our mind starts generating baloney to cover its discomfort.'

Evidently, people cannot identify a definition of what good art is, so we put our trust in what we are told, rather than generating our own opinion.  

Lecture 4 - The History of Type - Part 2

Following on from last weeks introduction to the history of type, this weeks instalment focused on the evolution of type through modernist and post-modernist values. 

TYPE AND COMMERCIALISM

The Bauhaus drove the commerciality of type through a 'form follows function' approach. This idea interests me as it demonstrates the interplay that type has with the reading and understanding of language. Products that are to be sold in multiple countries require multiple visual language tools and type becomes the pivotal component in each tool, The mass production and mass industrialisation that took over after WW2, undeniably begged for type as a means to promote, sell, and use products. 

TYPE AND CULTURE

This increasing functionality of type is challenged by post-modernist values though, where a 'rip it up and start again' approach was in action. Discernible in punk artwork by Jamie Reid, this non-conformist approach explores disjointed language and inconsistent typefaces.

I am interested to consider this transgression in light of popular culture and the place of the emoji. While emoji's neglect words and type for pictures, their codes are in fact made up of symbols that seem to echo early alphabets. I then question whether type has lost prominence in modern culture, or rather has gone full circle to its beginnings. 

SB1 - Study Task 2 - Triangulation & Referencing

Following on from the sources found in relation to our chosen quotes, this week we have begun to study these in a more collective sense, through triangulation. 

Triangulation relies on identifying similarities, differences, reasoning and flaws and how these interplay to support or challenge an argument. 

Working with some given sources as a starting point, it was interesting to see how separate documents can become inter connected when unpicked. The three sources, from the Manifesto Project addressed a similar issue in very different socio-cultural time contexts.

Applying these documents to my own quote; 'Rules of taste enforce structures of power', I identified many similarities and differences.

-consumerism as driving force of culture

-designers conforming to consumerism as a means to an end

-society shapes the work as opposed to the individual

-lost sense of self

In light of forming an argument, it is important to consider that a manifesto is subjective so needs to be cross referenced with other documents in order to form and objective argument. Identifying different responses to the issues outline in my quote, this exercise has encouraged me to take a more objective and whole view of my documents before drawing a conclusion, as often, subtle comments can corroborate more explicit ideas.

Lecture 3 - The History of Type - Part 1

DEVELOPMENT OF ALPHABETS

An insight into the history of type in this weeks lecture initiated a greater understanding of type as an influential component of visual language. The very process of reading relies on type as it controls what language looks like. As noted by Robert Bringhurst; 'Typography is the craft of endowing human language with a durable visual form', it offers speech a tangibility. Language here controls words and ideas, but type controls impact and interpretation. 

The evolution of letters provides an interesting topic for discussion. Through Greek and Latin alphabets there is a clear development from Phoenician and hieroglyphic imagery. This consistent aesthetic quality within the letters exemplifies the idea that for language to exist, a shared understanding of one thing meaning another must be in play. I then wonder how easy it would be to interpret other languages by process of decoding these visual symbols. 

EDUCATION AND READING

In light of the 1870 Elementary Education Act, I am interested to consider the place of type in Children's books. The need for type to visually document words and speech demands an ability to read. It would be interesting to research how different typefaces have paved the way of education and how this relates to the typefaces that children are faced with in books in the present day. The art of hand type seems to be prominent in many illustrated books and I wonder how important a typeface is in the development of a child's ability to read. Within the context of my practice it may be relevant to consider the visual clues provided by typefaces in a narrative sense and the efficiency they have in making a page understood.

SB1 - Finding Images - Initial 20

 

Considering the quote; 'Rules of taste enforce structures of power', I have sourced 20 images which could form the base of my image analysis essay, and help the development of my understanding of the quote and issues connected to it.

My approach to the task was to collect images that demonstrated the stereotypical high arts, the commercialization of the high arts, images that challenge conventional taste, and then illustrations that seem to critique art power structures.  

I am particularly interested in the place of high art imagery in children's books, for me, the use of these pictures demonstrates the definitive idea of 'taste' that is projected on to us from a young age, seeming to suggest that autonomous taste will not develop.

Alternatively, I selected some images of high art to discuss why it may be that they maintain such a high and undisturbed position of status, alongside images that demonstrate a mockery of this status, through commercialization. 

Grayson Perry seems to provide some interesting critiques of 'high art' culture and status, and I am also intrigued by Jeff Koons' rather garish, kitsch aesthetic which operates in a 'high art' context. In light of my chosen subject I will study the connection between context and subject, and how this alters the aesthetic qualities of art and design.

SB1 - Study Task 1 - Finding Research Sources

To commence our independent research into context of practice, we discussed the process of carrying out research and the elements we cover or consider in the process. A consideration of credibility, reputation, vested interest and expertise, were elements I concluded as being key to the application of research. Has a source been written by somebody in the relevant field? Are they likely to be biased in their ideas? Can the source be identified as having a good reputation of credibility? All of these questions should be asked of the research we collect in order to draw conclusions that are validated and sufficiently supported. 

Considering potential counter arguments also aids our understanding of information as we attempt to view it in the context of other possibilities. A source may appear to offer a valid concept or idea until we unpick it's flaws by validating a counter. Flaws in information such as omissions, overdrawn conclusions, and lack of reasoning contribute to the value of the information we source and it's place in our whole research.

There is then of course the practical experimentation that works as a research process. Trialing ideas and processes to investigate outcomes and possibilities. 

Working through the study task, I identified 19 potential sources from which I could draw quotes and concepts. Looking into academic papers, websites and books, I sourced a range of writings relating to my quote; 'Rules of taste enforce structures of power'. The tone of voice in these sources varied from author to author, some as philosophers, others as artists, and others as feminists, the responses covered a wealth of interpretations of taste, aesthetics and power. The utility of these sources revolves around the separate interpretations and elements they cover. Many of the more academic sources offered very well informed, in-depth ideas referring to the psychology of taste, while others refereed more simply to the presence of popular culture. When writing my critical response to the quote I will study these and evaluate their credibility and utility against the key elements of the quote.

Lecture 2 - The History of the Image

This weeks insight into the context of visual communication revolved around the history of the image itself. It is interesting to consider the modern image in the context of the first documented images. Considering the Lascaux cave paintings, these images may merely have been the outcome of a recording process, documenting sights and discoveries, or even simple leisure drawings. Either way, they assert artistic authority through their historic prominence.

 The art of the everyman.

IMAGES AND POLITICS 
Interestingly, a point was made around the pretentious of abstract expressionism and its place in politics. Learning that the Soviet Union banned the art form as being un-relatable, I then wondered how  art such as Jackson Pollocks has so much acclaim and value in the art world. The idea of socialist realism being the art of the everyman was challenged by Americans who employed Pollocks work as propaganda for freedom. The persuasive power of the images is here acknowledged as a political weapon. I then question why the cave drawings have such historical prominence if they do not have any definite purpose or meaning. 

This idea of a piece of work being good art is an institutionalised concept, encouraging us to bow down to altars of culture which, questionably, are in fact glorified tourist attractions. While these works can be high quality, pioneering works of their time, the enforced hierarchies around them in galleries seems to restrict their 'class' and 'status'.

SB1 - Investigating Quotes Task 2

Continuing on from the investigations made in our seminar, I've carried out further research within the theme of aesthetics. Referring to Susan Sontag's idea "Rules of taste enforce structures of power", I have considered the following definitions:

Taste - The sense of what is fitting, harmonious or beautiful.
          - The perception of what constitutes excellence in the fine arts.
          - The sense of what is seemingly polite.

Power - Political or national strength.
           - The possession or control over others.

Rules - A principle or regulation governing conduct, action or procedure

Two key words that stand out to me here are perception and procedure. This definition of taste being a perception of what constitutes excellence reveals the very subjective nature of it, we all perceive art differently. And yet we operate a taste 'procedure' whereby the socially accepted 'tasteful' art is engrained into our culture of viewing and thinking. In agreeing or conforming to the taste of critics, curators or gallery owners, we appropriate their power over art hierarchies and taste. We are submissive to the seemingly 'highbrow' or 'acclaimed' artists such as Michelangelo or Van Gogh or Da Vinci because we are told they are good and informed this by their tourist attraction labels. We like these works and connect with them as we believe we have to. I have observed this sense of conformation in the National Gallery where there seems to be a permanent crowd around Van Gogh's Sunflowers. 

As viewers of such works, we uphold the power of the critics, enabling gallery structures to remain in force. This conformation, however, seems to challenge the issue of taste as here taste is unlearnt, impersonal and over popularised, begging the question then that is good 'taste' in fact distaste? Surely it is more tasteful to appreciate art which has not been programmed in to our view of 'good art' and is in fact driven by a personal interest and connection with a piece. 

It is interesting to consider the place of art in children's education. This spread from Marion Deuchars 'Bob the Artist' illustrates the institutionalised concept of what art is. The famous imagery employed by Deuchars communicates to children 'this is art', suggesting that a common perception of art is programmed into us. In light of this being a children's book, it would be appropriate to recognise this as a primary step in the a child's art education, rather that a complete ideology they might adhere to.

Lecture 1 - Visual Literacy

VISUAL LITERACY

Visual Literacy as the first stop on the COP lecture programme initiated some interesting concepts. Considering one of the most common examples of visual communication, the universal symbol for toilets, it is clear that the role of the visual communicator is to send a message that is based on a shared understanding.

The universality of the toilet symbol proves it is the relationship between the communicator and audience that validates the success of a visual aid, since it is in the accessibility of the imagery to all that makes it function. The designer, or communicator, cannot force their audience to foster a new way of thinking, the communicator must employ visual literacy in a way that constructs discernible meaning. In this sense it appears that visual literacy relies on an awareness of context, audience and message in order to speak volumes. While signage may operate universally, cultures may enable visual language to be used more specifically with more contextual groundings. These altered images may still conform to a certain degree of universal symbolism though.

VISUAL SYNTAX

The way in which visual syntax decodes the message of an image then suggests that universality of a symbol can in fact be challenged by the pictorial structure surrounding it. The organisation of these medical instructions exemplifies the significance of syntax since it is the layout of these elements and the divisions between them that issue their meaning and understanding. If the pictorial elements were to be displayed in a disjointed or jumbled structure, the meaning of the image would be sacrificed and communication flawed. 

VISUAL SEMANTICS

Interestingly, visual semantics seem to offer symbolic possibilities to almost any object, with contextual references altering the communicative function of imagery. In line with illustration, visual literacy then seems to work in conjunction with semantics to extend the suitable audience of a work. An image may rely on culturally informed symbols to create a specific narrative, but the designer's consideration of syntax and gesture may assert a universality unemployed my single elements.

SB1 - Investigating Quotes Task 1

Considering the artist's social context, David Shrigley's quote seems fitting to the flux in which the artist operates; "In his studio the artist has no social responsibility. But when the artist displays his work the situation changes". My first concern with this quote is that the volume of visual language undoubtedly differs from situation to situation. Artwork seems to demand social validation and in this sense, the artist seems to assert power when they leave the non-judged realm of their studio. The flux the artist enters however is one of duty to meet expectations, versus duty to challenge expectations. Shrigley's term 'social responsibility' suggests a duty of care and sensitivity to the audience in a struggle against a duty to shock, establishing the greater struggle between acceptability and uniqueness. The definition of social, provided by www.dictionary.com, states that the subject is characterized by relations, or is suited to polite or fashionable society.  This definition reveals the artists obligation to tippy-toe around controversial issues. More specifially, the definition of polite refers to a subject that is refined or cultured. Since the context and audience molds this definition of polite, the audience is relied on to initiate the 'responsibility'.

 

Considering Marcus Harvey's 'Myra', the artist seems to assert dual responsibilities; to initiate a sensation, but then to react to that sensation. While in his studio, Harvey may have felt a social responsibility to expose the horror of the moors murders as a duty to the victims, in doing so he also asserted a social responsibility to take the work away, and conceal it in a duty to protect his audience from the sensation it evoked.

 Alternatively, the trangressive nature of Chris Ofili's 'The Holy Virgin Mary' challenges Shrigley's 'social responsibility' as it explicitly mocks conventional religious imagery. Ofili's purpose may have been to offer an extreme counter to the religious imagery we are familiar with which depicts Mary as a clean, very feminine figure, and instead portray her as a vulgar figure. It could be argued that Ofili rejected social responsibility in creating such a transgressive image and in displaying the work, Ofili submits his idea of socially responsible, a duty to challenge preconceptions and disrupt the polite.