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UNDERSTANDING HOW MEANING IS SHARED BY OTHERS, WE GAIN INSIGHT INTO HOW WE CAN SHARE OUR MEANING THROUGH ARTWORK, WORDS, and STORIES.

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UNDERSTANDING HOW MEANING IS SHARED BY OTHERS, WE GAIN INSIGHT INTO HOW WE CAN SHARE OUR MEANING THROUGH ARTWORK, WORDS, and STORIES.

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It is easier to listen and copy people than think and create your own life.

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It is easier to listen and copy people than think and create your own life.

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It takes effort to be an individual. It means defining and expressing your truth in a world of shared signs and symbols (language).

There's no easy way around it. Once you have the awareness that some of the ideas and understanding of the world you have are because you blindly listened to others, you may start examining everything else in your life.

This is a guide to help illustrate some skills and techniques to help you on that journey.

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What's the point if there is no "right" way?

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What's the point if there is no "right" way?

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Well, by becoming aware of other people's experiences and different perspectives, we gain insights on our own lives.

For example, we can reflect on why we react to external things, such as people, books, movies, videos, etc., and empower ourselves to make decisions to lead us to a happier life.

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You need to be present.

Both your mind and body have to be awareness of what you're doing right now.

You can become present by becoming aware of your breath. This centers your mind and your body on what's happening now, not the future nor past.

In this case, think to yourself, "what am I doing currently?" and  "what is the text trying to say?"

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Not everyone will have the same takeaways. 

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Not everyone will have the same takeaways. 

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That's true. So often, we are taught that a specific way is the "right" way, but this is not the case.

There is a "right" way for you depending on the context.

Because everyone is inherently different with different experiences, there are going to be different interpretations, understandings, and discussions.

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Extending Bang's quote into words, language, and signs/symbols. We can ask ourselves questions to see how these pictures are contextualized.

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Extending Bang's quote into words, language, and signs/symbols. We can ask ourselves questions to see how these pictures are contextualized.

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• What (or whose) view of the world, or kinds of behaviors are presented as normal by the text?

• Why is the text written that way? How else could it have been written?

• What assumptions does the text make about age, gender, [class], and culture (including the age, gender, and culture of its readers)

• Who is silenced (and heard) here?

• Whose interests might best be served by this text?

• What ideological positions can you identify?

• What are the possible readings of this situation/event/character? How did you get to that reading?

• What moral or political position does a reading support? How do particular cultural and social contexts make particular readings available (e.g., who could you not say that to)? How might it be challenged? (Botelho & Rudman, 2009, p. 4)

(Thomas, 2016, p. 116)

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"Our feelings arise because we see pictures as extensions of the real world" (Bang, 1991, p. 15)

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"Our feelings arise because we see pictures as extensions of the real world" (Bang, 1991, p. 15)

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“When the message becomes more important to the story, the story and book itself suffers” (Tunnell et al., 2015, p. 54)

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“When the message becomes more important to the story, the story and book itself suffers” (Tunnell et al., 2015, p. 54)

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What are some messages being conveyed? Are they explicit?

What are some implicit messages?

What are the noticeable differences in the books? How do they convey their messages?

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Applying what you are in the process of learning!

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Applying what you are in the process of learning!

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What are aspects that stand out to you in this children's book?

Does the story seem to flow naturally? Are the character's actions "organic" or forced?

Why or why not?

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Visual Literacy is not just for art! It can be applied in other real-life aspects, such as language, architecture, movies, actions, cars, history and much more 

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Visual Literacy is not just for art! It can be applied in other real-life aspects, such as language, architecture, movies, actions, cars, history and much more 

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PRACTICE SEEING MEDIA, ART, and VIDEOS AS STORIES THAT CONVEY MEANING....

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PRACTICE SEEING MEDIA, ART, and VIDEOS AS STORIES THAT CONVEY MEANING....

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*This is a recruitment poster for the American forces during World War I.

What is emphasized in the picture?

What is happening?

What choice of words are being used?

What is being implied?

Does the art make sense and is it effective for the context?

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*It is a young girl being frisked and checked by a police officer

What does this picture imply?

What is a context where the message of this art would make sense?

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What is the context of the video?

What is it trying to do?

What platform is on it, why?

What does the description say?

What's going on in the video?

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We see shapes in context, and our reactions to them depend in large part on that context (Bang, 1991, p. 8)

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Visual literacy is the ability to understand the meaning that being conveyed from an artist to an audience.

Related to literacy, visual literacy helps us think for ourselves by identifying and analyzing what we see.

"The function of art is to clarify, intensify, or otherwise enlarge our experience of life" (Tunnell et al., 2015, p. 31)

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What people see occurs in a context. So what are the underlying factors and variables that make it possible for art to look the way it does in a context.

The same goes for stories. We see characters, environments, actions, but where and why does it occur in that specific context? To what purpose?

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An example that I did for the word illustration

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An example that I did for the word illustration

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The TOP of the iceberg

Visual elements

–Line

–Shape

–Color

–Texture

–Composition

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The BOTTOM of the iceberg

Functions of illustrations
–Establishing setting

–Define and develop characters

–Reinforce Text

–Providing a different viewpoint

–Extend or develop the plot

–Provide interesting aside

–Establish mood

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Above is another drawing illustrating the meaning behind the previous text. The picture deconstructs the term "Success".

Some words that you can contemplate are:

Power

Happiness

Family

Smart

Curious

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Illustrations, illustrations, illustrations...what does this term mean to you? What are the two to three words that comes to mind? 

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Illustrations, illustrations, illustrations...what does this term mean to you? What are the two to three words that comes to mind? 

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These two to three words that came to mind are indicators of what the term "illustrations" mean to you. What do those words mean?

When I think of the term "illustrations" I think of pictures, drawing, artwork. But I then think what kind of pictures, drawing, artwork? What story is it telling me? What is the meaning of it? What is it surrounded by? What is it made out of?

I used to think of illustrations as pictures because that's what I was taught, but after experiencing different books and children's books, I see that it is more than that. Illustration is a tool, a medium for meaning.

By deconstructing these words, we gain a clearer sense of what they mean to us. Sometimes we may realize that the meaning of something has been internalized by us from external sources, like T.V. or people, where we take in the meaning of words, ideas, and concepts. Based on our personal experiences, these same words, ideas, and concepts may mean something different.

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This final project is crafted as an interactive, multimodal, and priming lesson for younger children (specifically my younger siblings) who are curious about story-telling, illustrations, self-expression, and being their authentic-selves. My younger sister and brother who are artists honing their talents and skills. By the end of this module, I hope they will be able to examine their underlying assumptions of what it means to be an artist and for them to redefine it with their authentic experiences and knowledge, and continue to do so in other realms of their identities.

I leverage quotes, passages, images, resources, videos, memes from popular culture that was learned about throughout my course to guide my siblings to think critically. In a sense, this work is a manifestation and expression of human experiences. That is the purpose of this module, to enhance my siblings human experiences through meaningful reflection and contemplation in their activities and pursuits, whether art or development.