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These pages are intended to invite thoughtful consideration and critical analysis of visual culture in regards to its effects on society.
It is an art and education space, bridging components of contemporary visual culture, education and new media technology. |
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Photograph by Anice Wong © 2006 |
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Visual Culture and Social Awareness
Visual imagery is increasingly infiltrating Western society. Images can be seen on billboards, in newspapers and magazines, in textbooks, in art work, popular culture and new media. Television, film and the Internet allow many images to cross geographic and cultural boundaries and new technology allows for rapid reproduction and distribution of imagery. There is some debate among visual culture academics as to how we can define the discipline but there is no shortage of dialogue. Some common areas of uncertainty fall around mixed media imagery being included in the definition of visual culture, compared to reserving the area for fine arts culture alone. However, multimedia artistry is becoming increasingly popular and the division between what is considered "media" and what is considered "art" is becoming less and less clear. It is nonetheless certain that there is something of value and strength to be found in visual stimuli, that technology is changing the nature and capabilities of visual culture, and that images have become a stronger pedagogical influence in society in recent history. As such, concepts that have traditionally been attributed to text, like literacy, need be extended to the visual realm. Reading and understanding the impact, intent and meaning of visual culture is important to having a sustainable future for current and future generations as the images we see can and do effect the decisions we make and the people we become.
In an effort to work towards greater equality for all, Paolo Freire pioneered concepts in critical pedagogy working with oppressed communities. Today, concepts in critical pedagogy remain prevalent in public and academic spheres. In order to be conscious and conscientious citizens, it is essential to understand learning processes and constantly challenge educational formalities. Individual and group learning occurs before, after and outside of the classroom; culture is our teacher and the real and virtual world our classroom; audio, visual and textual dialogue are our textbooks. The process of learning is not limited to school or work, nor is it unimodal, it is something that occurs with every moment of existence and with every spoken word, captured sound and image we see. The following passage is a quote from Paolo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1972). Freire says,
[that] as we attempt to analyze dialogue as a human phenomenon, we discover something which is the essence of dialogue itself: the word. But the word is more than just an instrument which makes dialogue possible; accordingly, we must seek its constituent elements. Within the word we find two dimensions, reflection and action, in such radical interaction that if one is sacrificed – even in part – the other immediately suffers. There is no true word that is not at the same time a praxis. Thus to speak a true word is to transform the world (p.60).
Imagine that Freire's 'word' were replaced by today's 'image': how then might we approach the world? The image is also 'an instrument which makes dialogue possible', it also contains two dimensions, one of 'reflection' and one of 'action' with a third dimension of existence or being. To create, represent or see "a true [image] is [also] to transform the world", and to transform the world is certainly a consequence of our ability to learn.
As much as we are verbally communicative beings we are also visually communicative beings. Visual culture, the images, shapes, colours and visual concepts that are a part of our real, imagined and technologically manipulated spectrum of vision are indeed relevant components of critical thought, social influence and community engagement. We are effected by what we see and we cannot close our eyes to the world around us. That world is often made of a culmination of shared images, extending visual culture from a representation of culture to being one of its creators. As such, it is becoming more and more important that we engage with visual culture as active and critical citizens of the world, considering the implications, consequences and pleasures of the images that surround us.