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VisualrhetoricWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Visualrhetoric
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Visualrhetoricisthefairlyrecentdevelopmentofatheoreticalframeworkdescribinghowvisualimages
communicate,asopposedtoaural,verbal,orothermessages.Visualrhetoricgenerallyfallsunderagroup
ofterms,whichallencompassvisualliteracy.[1]PurdueOWLdefinesvisualliteracyasone'sabilityto
"read"animage.[1]Inotherwords,itisone'sabilitytounderstandwhatanimageisattemptingto
communicate.[1]Thisincludesunderstandingcreativechoicesmadewiththeimagesuchascoloring,
shading,andobjectplacement.[1]Thistypeofawarenesscomesfromanunderstandinghowimages
communicatemeaning,alsoknownasvisualrhetoric.[2]Thestudyofvisualrhetoricisdifferentfromthatof
visualorgraphicdesign,inthatitemphasizesimagesassensoryexpressionsofculturalmeaning,as
opposedtopurelyaestheticconsideration.[3]Visualrhetorichasbeenapproachedfromavarietyof
academicfieldsofstudysuchasarthistory,linguistics,semiotics,culturalstudies,businessandtechnical
communication,speechcommunication,andclassicalrhetoric.Asaresult,itcanbedifficulttodiscernthe
exactrelationshipbetweendifferentpartsofthefieldofvisualrhetoric.[4]Someexamplesofartifacts
analyzedbyvisualrhetoriciansarecharts,paintings,sculpture,videogames,diagrams,webpages,
advertisements,movies,architecture,newspapers,orphotographs.Visualrhetoricseekstodevelop
rhetoricaltheoryinawaythatismorecomprehensiveandinclusivewithregardtoimagesandtheir
interpretations.[5]Visualimagesandmaterialobjectshavebecomemorerelevantinlightofrecent
technologicaldevelopmentsforunderstandinggeneralcommunicativemeans.[5]Visualrhetoricisa
conscious,communicativedecisionthecolors,form,medium,andsizeischosenonpurpose.[6]However,a
personmaycomeincontactwithasign,butiftheyhavenorelationtothesign,itsmessageisarbitrary.
Therefore,inorderforartifactsorproductstobeconceptualizedasvisualrhetoric,theymusthavethree
characteristics:theymustbesymbolic,involvehumanintervention,andbepresentedtoanaudienceforthe
purposeofcommunicating.[7]

Contents
1History
2Areasoffocus
3Semiotics
4Arthistory
5Science
6Composition
7Classicalrhetoric
8Visualrhetoricoftext
9Seealso
10References
11Externallinks

History
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Theexacthistoryofthefieldofvisualrhetoricisdifficulttotrace,asitcouldbearguedthat"visual
rhetoric"hasbeenstudiedandpracticedaslongasimageshave.Thetermemergedlargelyasamechanism
tosetasideacertainareaofstudyandtofocusattentiononthespecificrhetoricaltraitsofvisual
mediums.[4]Inthehistoryofrhetoric,studyhasbeengearedtowardlinguistics.[5]Visualsymbolswere
deemedtrivialandsubservient,thuswerelargelyignored.Asaresultrhetoricaltheoryhasbeencreated
withasignificantexclusionofvisualrhetoric.[5]Asvisualrhetoricisstudied,itcatalyzesaseriesof
challengesagainstlinguisticrhetoricaltogether.Linguisticrhetoricalonecreatesmanyboundaries,andthe
holisticpictureemergeswiththeintroductionofvisualelements.[5]AccordingtoSonjaFoss,scholarsof
visualrhetoricanalyzephotographs,drawings,paintings,graphsandtables,interiordesignandarchitecture,
sculpture,Internetimages,andfilm.[5]Fromarhetoricalperspective,thefocusisonthecontextualresponse
ratherthantheaestheticresponse.[5]Anaestheticresponseisaviewer'sdirectperceptionwiththesensory
aspectsofthevisual,whereaswitharhetoricalresponse,meaningisgiventothevisual.[5]Suddenly,every
partoftheartifacthassignificanceinthemessagebeingconveyedeachline,eachshading,eachpersonhas
apurpose.[6]

Areasoffocus
SonjaFossstatesthatwhilestudyingvisualobjects,rhetoricalscholarstendtohavethreeareasofstudy:
nature,function,orevaluation.[5]Natureencompassestheliteralcomponentsoftheartifact.[5]Thisisa
primaryfocusofvisualrhetoricbecausetounderstandthefunctionofanimage,itisnecessaryto
understandthesubstantiveandstylisticnatureoftheartifactitself.[5]ForFoss,functionholdsasomewhat
literaldefinitionitrepresentsthefunction(orperhapspurpose)animageservesforanaudience.[8]The
emotionanimageaimstoevokeisitsfunction.[5]Theevaluationofanartifactdeterminesiftheimage
servesitsfunction3.Forexample,ifthenatureofanimageisdarkandedgy,andthefunctionoftheimage
istoinstillfearintheaudience,theevaluationwoulddeterminewhethertheaudiencewasscared.[5]

Semiotics
AsshownintheworksoftheGroupe,[9]visualrhetoriciscloselyrelatedtothestudyofsemiotics.
Semiotictheoryseekstodescribetherhetoricalsignificanceofsignmaking.Visualrhetoricisabroader
study,coveringallthevisualwayshumanstrytocommunicate,outsideacademicpolicing.[3]
RolandBarthes,inhisessay"TheRhetoricoftheImage"[10]alsoexaminesthesemioticnatureofimages,
andthewaysthatimagesfunctiontocommunicatespecificmessages.

Arthistory
Visualtropesandtropicthinkingareapartofvisualrhetoric(theartofvisualpersuasionandvisual
communicationusingvisualimages).Thestudyincludes,butisnotlimitedto,thevariouswaysinwhichit
canbeappliedthroughoutvisualarthistory.

Science
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Althoughvisualrhetoricismorecommonlylinkedwithareassuchasmarketing,advertising,andart,it
pervadesineverymediumincultureevenscience.Critic,NathanStormer,offerssuchananalysisofvisual
rhetoricsurroundingimagesofreproduction,usingTheMiracleofLife[11]ashisscientificartifact.
AlthoughproducerLennartNilson,rejectsanyresponsibilityforestablishingapparenttruthssayingIam
notthemanwhoshalldecidewhenhumanlifestarted.Iamareporter.Iamaphotographer,Stormer
arguesthattheportrayalofthereproductivejourneyfounditswayintopoliticaldefinitionsoflife
exemplifyingAmericanpeoplesrelianceonbiologyandsciencetounderstandallunknownhuman
processes.Stormerarguesthatthefilmisdeeplyproblematicbecauseitseffectdeemsthecreationof
humanlifeavaluethatsupersedesculturalandindividualconsiderationsandthatcentralizeslifesworthin
reproductivestructuresandpractices.[12]Nilsonsinspiredimagesofthefetusbecameacentralpartof
prolifevisualclaimsthatlifeisrealafterconception.Stormerarguesthathisportrayalofthevirtualbody
servesasthefoundationformedicaldiscourseaboutlifeversusdeathandsupportsavisionofthe
normalized,gendered,heterosexualindividualforthepublictoconsumeasscientifictruth.[13]Hecalls
uponspecificexamplesinthefilmsuchasthevisualpowergiventosexhormonesthatappeartodominate
thecycleofreproductionandcreateagenderednarrative.Thespermareproactiveagentswhomake
rationaldecisionsbasedontheeconomyandpoliticsofthewomansreproductivesystemwhiletheegg
waitsandthennurtures.[14]Stormercritiquesthereproductioncycleasprimal,basedongender,and
beyondourcontrolintheexteriorworldaswell.Heurgesconsumersofvisualrhetoric,evenifitappearsto
beabsolutetruth,tobeawareofitsconstructionaspurposeful,bias,andreflectiveofculture.When
consideringdefinitionsoflifeandourbodilyrightsintermsofsexualpractices,weshouldquestion
establishedtruthscarefullybecauserhetoricsuchasNilson'sisoftenunwittinglyaccordedthestatusof
absolutetruth.[15]

Composition
Mainarticle:Visualrhetoricandcomposition
Thefieldofcompositionstudieshasrecently(re)turneditsattentiontovisualrhetoric.Inanincreasingly
visualsociety,proponentsofvisualrhetoricincompositionclassessuggestthatanincreasedliteracy
requiresskillnotonlywithwritingbutalsowithvisualcommunication.Thisskillrelatestoan
understandingofthemediatednatureofallcommunication,andtoanawarenessoftheactof
representation.[16][17]

Classicalrhetoric
The"canonicalapproach"tostudyingvisualrhetoricrelatesvisualconceptstothecanonsofWestern
classicalrhetoric(Inventio,Dispositio,Elocutio,MemoriaandPronuntiatio).InthetextbookDesigning
VisualLanguage:StrategiesforProfessionalCommunicators,[18]itsauthorslistsixcanonswhichguidethe
rhetoricalimpactofadocument:arrangement,emphasis,clarity,conciseness,toneandethos.Accordingto
KostelnickandRobertsthesecanonscanbedefinedas:
Arrangementtheorganizationofvisualelementssothatreaderscanseetheirstructure
Emphasismakingcertainpartsmoreprominentthanothersbychangingitssize,shapeandcolor.
Clarityhelpsthereadertodecodethemessage,tounderstanditquicklyandcompletely
Concisenessgeneratingdesignsthatareappropriatelysuccincttoaparticularsituation
Tonetonerevealsthedesignersattitudetowardsthesubjectmatter
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Ethosearningthetrustofthepersonreceivingthemessage.
Thesesixvisualcognatesprovideanextensionofclassicalrhetoricthatcanbeusedasastartingpointfor
analyzingimagesrhetorically.[19]

Visualrhetoricoftext
Visualrhetoricisusuallyusedtodenotenontextualartifacts,yetanymarkonasurfaceincludingtext
canbeseenas"visual."ConsiderthetextsavailableatProjectGutenberg.These"plainvanilla"texts,
lackinganyvisualconnectiontotheiroriginal,publishedforms,neverthelesssuggestimportantquestions
aboutvisualrhetoric.Theirbarebonesmannerofpresentationimplies,forexample,thatthe"words
themselves"aremoreimportantthanthevisualformsinwhichthewordswereoriginallypresented.Given
thatsuchtextscaneasilybereadbyaspeechsynthesizer,theyalsosuggestimportantquestionsaboutthe
relationshipbetweenwritingandspeech,ororalityandliteracy.

Seealso
Mediainfluence
Visualculture
Mediatheoryofcomposition

References
"VisualRhetoric:Overview".PurdueOnlineWritingLab.Retrieved20131021.
"VisualRhetoric/VisualLiteracy:WritingAboutPhotography"(PDF).DukeUniversity.Retrieved20131021.
Kress,Gunther,andTheovanLeeuwen.ReadingImages:TheGrammarofVisualDesign.NewYork:
Routledge,1996.
Hill,Charles,andMargueriteHelmers,eds.DefiningVisualRhetorics.Mahwah,NJ:LawrenceErlbaum
Associates,Publishers,2004.
Foss,Sonja."FramingtheStudyofVisualRhetoric:TowardaTransformationofRhetoricalTheory"(PDF).
Retrieved20131021.
Foss,Sonja."FramingtheStudyofVisualRhetoric:TowardaTransformationforRhetoricalTheory"(PDF).
Citeerror:Invalid<ref>tagname"10.2F21.2F13"definedmultipletimeswithdifferentcontent(seethe
helppage).
Foss,Sonja."FramingtheStudyofVisualRhetoricTowardaTransformationofRhetoricalTheory"(PDF).
Retrieved20131021.
Foss,Sonja."FramingaStudyofVisualRhetoric:TowardaTransformationofRhetoricalTheory"(PDF).
Retrieved20131021.
Groupe.Traitdusignevisuel.Pourunerhtoriquedel'image.Paris:LeSeuil,1992.
Barthes,Roland."TheRhetoricoftheImage."Image,Music,Text.Ed.andtrans.StephenHeath.NewYork:Hill
andWang,1977.3251.
name="Nilson1983"
name="Stormer1997"
name="Stormer1997"
name="Stormer1997"
name="Stormer1997"
Hill,Charles."ReadingtheVisualinCollegeWritingClasses."Intertexts:ReadingPedagogyinCollegeWriting
Classrooms.Ed.MargueriteHelmers.Mahwah,NJ:LawrenceErlbaumAssociates,2003.
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George,Diana."FromAnalysistoDesign:VisualCommunicationintheTeachingofWriting."College
CompositionandCommunication(2002).
Kostelnick,Charles,andDavidD.Roberts,DesigningVisualLanguage:StrategiesforProfessional
Communicators.Boston:AllynandBacon,1998.
Willerton,Russell,VisualMetonymyandSynecdoche:RhetoricforStageSettingImages.J.TechnicalWriting
andCommunication35.1(2005):331.
Handa,Carolyn,ed.VisualRhetoricinaDigitalWorld.NewYork:Bedford/St.Martin's,2004.
Rose,Gillian.VisualMethodologies:AnIntroductiontotheInterpretationofVisualMaterials.London:SAGE
Publications,2007.
Stormer,N.(1997).EmbodyingNormalMiracles.QuarterlyJournalofSpeech,83(2),172191.National
CommunicationAssociation.
TheMiracleofLife.Dir.LennartNilson.TimeLifeVideo.1983

Externallinks
visualrhetoricinsocialcampaigns(http://www.visualrhetoric.nl/)
viz.:Rhetoric,VisualCulture,Pedagogy(http://viz.dwrl.utexas.edu/)
SemioticsforBeginners(http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/S4B/sem07.html)
PictorialSemiotics(http://www.arthist.lu.se/kultsem/sonesson/pict_sem_1.html)
Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Visual_rhetoric&oldid=639660936"
Categories: Communicationstudies Graphicdesign Rhetoric Semiotics Scientificmodeling
Visualartstheory
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