This assignment is based on an essay: The Rhetoric of the Image by Roland Barthes. The writer discusses the meaning of polysemy which is in nutshell the multiple meaning of pictures. When different people look at the same picture they will understand it in different ways. They will associate the image with something from their own life or experiences and it will open up one route for their ideas while the other routes closing down. The author analyses advertising images, this one in particular:
He says advertising images are clear, intentional, frank or at least emphatic. Pictures contain symbolic and non-symbolic messages. The last one is very obvious and the consumer doesn’t need any special skills to understand it apart from being able to read in the particular language. The non-symbolic message of this image is the pasta and the sauce. The symbolic message is a little bit more difficult to understand. This image uses Italian-ness to sell these products and this message requires cultural skills to realize (it isn’t an international message). It starts with the appearance of Italian colours red, yellow, and green in the image but the name of the pasta and even the still life composition suggest Italian qualities. There are other symbolic messages in the picture like the net and the vegetables coming out from it. It can hint a ‘back from the market’ feeling which suggests freshness, the essentialness of domestic preparation and also that the tinned sauce is equal with the fresh vegetables beside it.
Because of the polysemy they need something to fix the meaning of the picture. The author mentions the ‘civilization of writing’ which is the importance of linguistic messages in our society. Using a text (or a logo) on the picture fixes the meaning. The text answers the question: What is it? It helps to identify clearly the image by explaining the image but it doesn’t explain the symbolic message. It’s a guide to the reader of the image it makes the viewer to avoid some bits and receive others. Text also communicates the differences between the literal and symbolic message because the literal message can’t be substantial it’s always relational.
The other important element is the usage of the photograph instead of a drawing. Drawings are captured humanly so it’s easy to manipulate them and it communicates the message from one person’s perspective. On the other hand photographs captured mechanically so it proves that ‘this is how it was’. The ‘naturalness’ of the photographs create a ‘real unreality’ which means it’s still easy to manipulate (by lighting, the usage of colours, etc.) but it looks very real. Films are even more powerful because they provides the experience of ‘being there’ which naturalises the symbolic message.
After we read this article we’ve been asked to do a little experiment about polysemy. We chose three random pictures and went to the streets and asked people to tell us a narrative which links the pictures together. We meant to do it in groups of four but jewellery students were too busy this week so we had to start it on Friday afternoon just the two of us with Jenny from my class. We show people these three pictures and we got so many different answers:
1. Loving parents support child with creative activities to produce artists. (age:19, student, female)
2. Four people got together to draw a new baby that’s been born. (age:20, student, female)
3. It’s a Benetton advert, people uniting together. (age 28, medical student, male)
4. Son and father colouring in and it connects them as he grow up. (age:20, student, male)
5. Baby is born, LGBT, happy. (age:30, medical student, female)
6. Colouring in book for kids, family games which connect child and parents. (age 20, student)
7. They were all at art school, very close to each other and one of them got pregnant. Their life was colourful but it became dull – black & white picture of the baby (age:44, student, female)
8. When you born and you draw it makes you a better people. (age:21, student, female)
9. Family, kids, colouring in. (age:21, medical student, female)
10. Artist and child, she met with a man, they got engaged, they were happy and got a lot of support from their family. (age:19, student, female)
11. Parents encourage creative learning and as time passes they learn to connect with others and if you don’t encourage it wouldn’t happen. (age: 30, receptionist, female)
After we’ve done this we found a couple key words what they associated with the pictures: connection, family, creative learning, colouring in, support, development, future, and uniting. It was very hard to pull out a proper answer from young people, they were too tired or to stressed to think but older (over 30) people came up with more complex stories. Than we had to choose a target story, add a fourth picture and see if people would get it right. We choose the first story: Loving parents support their child with creative activities to produce artists; and then we add the fourth picture:
The answers:
1. Family and friends supported the child through school and she came out as an artist. (age:25, electronical engineering student, male)
2. Baby lives with grandparents, granddad is a painter and they are drawing together. (age:20, student, female)
3. Baby helps with colour blindness than became an artist. (age:22, sport president, male)
4. Baby was born, they loved her and because she was interesting they put her into art school and she became an artist. (age:20, student, female)
The first and the last one was pretty close but we realised the fourth picture wasn’t working. Although the four pictures told a very obvious story for us people still came up with different stories so we decided to add text. First we add the word 'creative' onto one of the pictures:
The answers:
1. A proud father supports his child growing up to become creative. (age:21, student, female)
2. Parent helping child to learn the importance of going too far. Holding hands – when the child falling from a cliff they will protect him. (age:22, student, male)
The first one was right but the second one just ignored the text on the image. We decided to add text onto two pictures - creative learning, support :
1. Support a pregnant girlfriend then they have the baby and they provide the baby with support for creative learning. (age:50, selling books at the Union, female)
2. Parents who support their child for creative learning. (age: 40, waiting for a meeting, female)
3. People supporting baby with creative learning skills. (age:20, student, female)
4. Local communities support creative learning for kids. (age:19, student, male)
This last bit was very interesting because although the stories are still different they all used the words from the pictures. Actually they started to think about the words more than about the pictures. No more colouring in, engagement or uniting. We fixed the meaning of the pictures with text and it was working. It was a very difficult experience not just because we had to do it just the two of us and we had a very short time to do it but also because most of the people were too lazy to think and gave us answers that don’t make any sense. But at the end of the day we found out that Barthes was right about texts.
How can we use this knowledge? Sometimes we want to produce more than just pretty textiles and want to add a message. But we can't be sure the message comes across until we test it. I don't like text on textiles but the colours, the context, the composition all can carry a message. We just have to make sure other people can get it not just us.