Driscoll 1

Molly Driscoll
Professor Marinara
ENC 3315
September 27, 2014



A Little Perspective
I have to continue writing this essay, but first let me take a selfie! click! This type of
sentence is typical in todays world where the term selfie is used in every day conversation.
The word selfie has just this year been added to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary and is
defined as an image of oneself taken by oneself using a digital camera (Selfie 1). This picture
above is an example of visual advertising using the well-known Self-Portrait painting by
Vincent Van Gogh, all the while incorporating todays activity of taking a selfie. Displayed in
Driscoll 2

the bottom right of the picture is the name of the company Alliance Franaise, which is a
company dedicated to the understanding of the French language, literature, history and culture.
With the combination of a famous French artist and a familiar activity of today, the company
takes on the goal of encouraging people to view the world differently by learning about French
culture.
Before further analyzing this advertisement piece, let me first explain who Vincent Van
Gogh was as a person and as an artist. Van Gogh was born Dutch, but spent the majority of his
years in France and therefore is classified as a French Post-Impressionist painter. He was a Post-
Impressionist painter due to his expressive emotions, abstract images, and simplified colors (Bio
1). Though Van Gogh was a talented artist he did not lead a lavish life, in fact hes artwork
didnt gain recognition until years after his death. During the course of his life he was an isolated
artist, constantly being told that his work was worthless and unappealing. On top of his struggles
with his art, he also suffered from mental illness, seeing hallucinations and hearing voices. In the
end Van Gogh took his own life by shooting himself in the chest (Heilbrunn Timeline of Art
History 1).
After reading all about Van Goghs life one cannot help but think how much different his
ending could have been if he just got a different perspective on the world. I think this is the main
reason the Alliance Franaise agency uses his self-portrait painting as a tool in their ad. If Van
Gogh just turned his point of view around, like the portrait of him does with the camera, maybe
he wouldnt have felt the need to take his own life. The company is trying to demonstrate how
much ones views can change by directing ones attention elsewhere, in this case directing it
towards learning about French culture.
Driscoll 3

The audience target of the company is very clear, youths. It is the younger generation,
Generation X if you will, that is extremely familiar with the phenomenon known as the selfie. I
think it is safe to say that almost every teenager in America can relate to this image. Selfies have
taken over social media by exploding all over everyones new feeds on social media sites such as
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and the ever popular Snapchat. Statistics show that an average of
93 million selfies were taken per day throughout the year 2013 on Android phones alone
(Android 1)! Also, children should have learned in either primary or secondary school about the
famous Vincent Van Gogh, therefore seeing the comedy of putting the two subjects together. By
grabbing the attention of the youth with this humorous display of art, the company can only hope
that the children will follow their intrigue with the subject by exploring the company that
advertised it. Those who are already interested in art or art history are also a great target of
interest for the company, attracting their interest with the stylings of Van Gogh.
The purpose of the image is to get the viewer to look at things from a new perspective.
Its simple, the information is out there one just needs to see it from a new angle every now and
then. By turning the lens of a camera the photographer can see a completely different scene. The
Alliance Franaises objective is to get the viewer to see their scene, the scene of exploring the
world of the French. They purposely show the fun act of taking a selfie to have the viewer
correlate it to the fun act of learning the French language, history, and culture. Lastly, they
purposely display the abstract post-impressionistic style of Van Gogh to show how visually
appealing the French can be.
The big claim that is made with this piece of advertisement is that if the viewer changes
their point of view, in this case their camera, then they can achieve a different perspective on life.
A hidden claim could be that if Van Gough maybe had a different outlook on the world then
Driscoll 4

maybe his life would have turned out differently. Another claim that could be made is that the
viewers eyes are immediately drawn towards the center of the picture, where the camera is
placed. This placement of the camera could have been a strategically executed since the gesture
of the selfie is familiar to everyone in this day and age and automatically draws the audience
inward. It is only after the viewer sees the camera that their eyes glide over and see Van Gogh.
This shows that Van Gogh is a mere support of the camera since the camera is the thing in the
picture that holds the view point. It could also be claimed that the ad uses the help of ethos by
appealing to the emotions of the onlooker making them feel curiosity and the desire for a new
perspective (Rhetorical Appeal 1). Furthermore, this further supports the claim that each person
is solely in control of their views on the world. Each person has the ability to change their
outlook, and for the Alliance Franaise hopefully that outlook is in the direction of France!
This advertisement makes a lot of assumptions. The first assumption being that everyone
knows who Vincent Van Gogh is which may not always be the case. We hope that everyone has
learned about the fantastic artist in their years of schooling, but we cannot assume that every
viewer has had a proper education. The second assumption the advertisement makes is that
people are up to date with technology. The term selfie is still fairly new and if the audience
doesnt own a mobile device or isnt in touch with social media, chances are they probably wont
understand the comical gesture Van Gogh is making at all. Finally, the biggest assumption that
the company is making is that the viewer will be intrigued enough to further research the
Alliance Franaise. Honestly, without looking up the company online the viewer there is no
information provided in the ad that explains the company is promoting French culture. They only
can assume that they are promoting a different way of viewing something.
Driscoll 5

Overall, this is image is trying to persuade the viewer into taking on a different viewpoint
and being open to new ideas and phenomenons. If everyone in the world took a second to look
at the world differently they could learn a lot. The Alliance Franaise wants just that, for
everyone to change their normal outlook and learn something new, and if that something new is
the French culture then great! In the words of the featured Vincent Van Gogh, What would life
be if we had no courage to attempt anything? This advertisement is challenging the viewer to
have the courage to do just that, attempt to see the world in a different light.
















Driscoll 6

Works Cited:
"Android Has 1 Billion Active Users in the past 30 Days (and Other Interesting Numbers from
IO)." Phandroid. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2014.
Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2014.
"Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History." Post-Impressionism. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2014.
"Rhetorical Appeals - Writing Commons." Rhetorical Appeals - Writing Commons. N.p., n.d.
Web. 28 Sept. 2014.
"Selfie." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster. Web. 28 Sept. 2014.