Unfamiliar objects
Let’s have a look at these images. Some of you might recognize them but I am sure not everybody. If you are a lady than there is a bigger chance you would recognize tap of the heel, but if you don't like heeled shoes then the chance is smaller again. If you are a musician then you probably might be familiar with the looks of a kazoo and recognize it. All of these need to have some context around or something else next to it which would help to get some sense out of it. This example illustrates the disability to comprehend the meaning without prior knowledge about this object or additional context to support it.
Let’s see if it would change anything if we would add an additional context to it. In the next example another image is added next to the previous one. This additional information is supposed to help us understand what we are looking at.
Let’s clear it up. The first pair, introducing musical triangle, makes a string of logic which assumes that we are looking at musical instruments. Musical triangle is more common so more people are familiar with it and are able to recognize the object. So we can say that the more elements in this string the clearer the message becomes.
Just like this we can see in this pair of images, they both share material qualities, both made of wood, this feature connects them and generates certain logic in their appearance. In the case with musical instruments, feature that they share is functional and with wooden pieces it’s material. I mention these differences to stress the fact that there are many different ways to generate context around an image. It can be different things or actions that would make a link and will help to comprehend a meaning or communicate a message. In the second pair for example there is another way to do so. Theoretically we can still feel confused about the objects we see, but we can defiantly make more out of these two than from only one fragment of it. We can assume that our initial image depicts a detail of some bigger structure which has a certain function. If we don’t have previous experience with this object we can’t say what function, but certainly we are not totally disorientated reading these images.
But adding another element to this string we would be able to make a conclusion about the function of given object without even knowing in the beginning what it is. So narrowing down the possibilities of interpretation we can get closer to a unified message. Here we can see how from a small detail we moved to a bigger structure and finally, seemingly unrelated object, set of cups, we arrived to the original function of the object.
The third pair illustrated the dilemma that can appear on the way of context generating process. Both of the depicted objects could be placed in two categories. We can consider them as a brown object and as exotic fruit. So third added element would be important for the whole reading process.
So we say the whole string is about exotic fruits. But showing for example just the round ones would open up a possibility of wrong interpretation. We could assume that it is about the shape rather than about the content. So the more shared qualities between the objects the bigger chance it would be interpreted in different ways. There is another important remark resulting from this example, that our reaction on the formal qualities is quicker than on contensive qualities.
Pairs of images above illustrate the mechanism of visual perception in a similar way. Introducing another object next to something created more context around and directs our attention. Naturally we are interested in the process of looking for some connection between objects, turning them into a story, through this process we try to find an explanation to the things we see around us. After all, skills in visual literacy are meant to increase level of our understanding. It is not about form, but more about how through the form get to the context. And how different factors and influences on the form reflect on out interpretation of a visual information. We should remember that this course, even though we base it on simple examples, is made to point out problematic issues of visual communication and develop some certain level of critical thinking towards an image. And pragmatics, I think, illustrate the necessity of such a thinking in the best way possible. In pragmatics there is no attend to unify and systematize our perception mechanisms, but simply point out different ways we use to interpret an image, and explore possibilities to direct them bringing varieties of interpretation together.