17.9: Portfolio- Interplay Between Text and Image
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Articulate your use of images in light of their rhetorical context and elements.
- Analyze images rhetorically both in and out of academic settings.
The consideration of visual rhetoric is not merely an academic exercise. Because visual and digital images are ever-present, thinking critically about them is a meaningful way of interacting with the world, reflecting on attitudes and behaviors, and communicating with others. You can apply what you learned in this chapter by considering the images surrounding you: those you see on advertisements in public spaces, those you view on television and other streaming services, and those you see and post on social media platforms.
Interacting with Images Online
As you add your essay to your portfolio, continue conscious and reflective practice in your own writing by thinking about an image you recently posted on one of your social media platforms. Consider the following questions, returning to “Reading” Images as needed.
- Does it contain information open to interpretation?
- What is its point of view?
- How is it arranged?
- What colors or symbols does it use, and what associations might these have for you or others?
Draft an analysis of your own image-posting behavior to include in your course portfolio. The purpose is both to showcase and continue practicing the writing skills and techniques you learned from this chapter and to assess and reflect upon the ways in which you interact with visual and digital images. Remember to include the following elements in your analysis:
- Introduction. Establish the context. Material here should include relevant information about you, your posting platforms and behaviors, and the image you posted. Should you choose to write a persuasive piece, your introduction should include a thesis statement identifying your position and one or more reasons for it.
- Paragraphs with clear topic sentences. Focus each paragraph on a technical element of the image, and ensure that it contains a mixture of description and either reflection, analysis, or persuasion. Begin each paragraph with a topic sentence identifying the paragraph’s focus.
- Image(s). Because you are describing and assessing the image you posted, a copy of it will go a long way toward helping your audience understand it. If the image is in the public domain, embed it with a citation. If not, embed a link so viewers can see it on the Internet.
- Citations. Understanding context often requires research. Furthermore, images have creators who deserve recognition for their work. Follow MLA guidelines to cite all of your sources, including the image.
- Conclusion. Go beyond summarizing to identify future image-posting practices that you intend to consider and would encourage others to consider.
In conclusion, this chapter explains the concepts associated with both visual rhetoric and writing about visual and digital images. Through the numerous examples, analyses, and procedures outlined here, you can connect your personal and cultural experiences to the visual and digital images with which you interact. In doing so, you can make meaningful connections with a variety of audiences, permitting a broader understanding of the world and its many visual depictions.
Further Reading
The following is a list of some texts and museums that can help deepen your understanding of visual rhetoric.
Creation Art Center. Miami, FL, www.creationartcenter.org/
El Museo del Barrio. New York, NY, www.elmuseo.org/
Helmers, Marguerite H. The Elements of Visual Analysis . Pearson Longman, 2006.
Honeywill, Paul. Visual Language for the World Wide Web . Intellect, 1999.
The Honolulu Museum of Art. Honolulu, HI, honolulumuseum.org/
Jenks, Chris, editor. Visual Culture . Routledge, 1995.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Los Angeles, CA, www.lacma.org/
McClean, Shilo T. Digital Storytelling: The Narrative Power of Visual Effects in Film . MIT P, 2007.
National Memorial for Peace and Justice. Montgomery, AL, museumandmemorial.eji.org/memorial
National Museum of Mexican Art. Chicago, IL, nationalmuseumofmexicanart.org/
O’Connell, Mark, and Raje Airey. The Illustrated Dictionary of Signs and Symbols . Anness, 2009.
Perelman, Chaïm, and Lucie Olbrechts-Tyteca. The New Rhetoric: A Treatise on Argumentation . Translated by John Wilkinson and Purcell Weaver, U of Notre Dame P, 1969.
The Rubin Museum of Art. New York, NY, rubinmuseum.org/
The Smithsonian National Museum Network. Washington, DC (collections with special cultural interests detailed below)
Asian Pacific American Center, smithsonianapa.org/
Latino Center, latino.si.edu/latino-center
National Museum of African American History and Culture, nmaahc.si.edu/
National Museum of the American Indian, americanindian.si.edu/
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art, asia.si.edu/
Stocchetti, Matteo, and Karin Kukkonen, editors. Images in Use: Towards the Critical Analysis of Visual Communication . John Benjamins, 2011.
Tuskegee Airmen National Historical Museum. Detroit, MI, www.tuskegeemuseum.org/
Whitney Plantation. Wallace, LA, www.whitneyplantation.org/
Works Cited
“Addressing the Statue.” American Museum of Natural History , www.amnh.org/exhibitions/addressing-the-theodore-roosevelt-statue.
Avery, Dan. “Mississippi Voters Decide to Replace Confederate-Themed State Flag.” NBC News , 3 Nov. 2020, www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/mississippi-voters-decide-replace-confederate-themed-state-flag-n1246244.
“Charles Demuth—Biography and Legacy.” The Art Story , www.theartstory.org/artist/demuth-charles/life-and-legacy/.
“Charles Demuth.” Encyclopædia Britannica , 4 Nov. 2020, www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-Demuth.
Freidel, Frank, and Hugh Sidey. “Theodore Roosevelt.” The Presidents of the United States of America , White House Historical Association, 2006. The White House, www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/ presidents/theodore-roosevelt/.
“Gaza Strip.” Encyclopædia Britannica , 12 May 2021, www.britannica.com/place/Gaza-Strip.
“Gaza Strip.” Mural Guide: The Worldwide Online Museum for Mural Art , Kultklecks, muralguide.org/murals/ prague/gaza-strip.
Herbers, John. “Mississippi: A Profile of The Nation’s Most Segregated State.” New York Times , 28 June 1964, www.nytimes.com/1964/06/28/archives/mississippi-a-profile-of-the-nations-most-segregated-state-through.html.
Jewitt, Carey, editor. “Multimodality.” Glossary of Multimodal Terms , MODE, 25 Feb. 2013, multimodalityglossary.wordpress.com/multimodality/.
“Ken Burns.” Ken Burns , 2021, www.kenburns.com/principals/ken-burns/.
Ludy, Sara. “Artist Sara Ludy on Lucid Dreaming, VR and the Digital Sublime.” Interview by Rosie Flanagan. Taupe , 23 Jan. 2020, www.taupemagazine.com/digitalsublime.
Ludy, Sara. “CV.” Sara Ludy , 2021, www.saraludy.com/pagecv.
“The Meaning of Colors in Cultures around the World.” The Shutterstock Blog , 30 Oct. 2020, www.shutterstock.com/blog/color-symbolism-and-meanings-around-the-world.
“Möbius Strip.” Encyclopædia Britannica , 10 July 2019, www.britannica.com/science/Mobius-strip.
Murphy, Paul P. “The SEC Said They Would Consider Pulling Championship Events If Mississippi Doesn’t Change Its Flag.” CNN , 19 June 2020, www.cnn.com/2020/06/19/us/mississippi-flag-sec-trnd/index.html.
Pearce, Matt. “148 Years Later, Mississippi Ratifies Amendment Banning Slavery.” Los Angeles Times , 18 Feb. 2013, www.latimes.com/nation/la-xpm-2013-feb-18-la-na-nn-mississippi-ratifies-slavery-amendment-20130218-story.html.
“Precisionism.” Encyclopædia Britannica , 1 June 2018, www.britannica.com/art/Precisionism.
“Theodore Roosevelt.” History.com , A&E Television Networks, 28 Feb. 2020, www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/theodore-roosevelt