It is interesting to consider how unconscious we are with the act of seeing? Different to our senses touch, taste and smell (where we actively participate), hearing and sight seem to be involuntary. Unless we close our eyes (or go to sleep) we are constantly seeing the world through our eyes. However, what we choose to see is in fact very deliberate.
Time continues to move forward and so it can be impossible to capture all that is around us in each glance. Artists have worked to capture the essence of a moment (in one frame) for years. Painters create scenes where a moment of time stands still long enough to analyse and interpret. Original paintings from the Renaissance period of the 14th, 15th, and 16th Centuries (in Europe) captured these moments, however, they could only be shared in one place at one time. The invention of the camera in the early 19th Century[1] allowed for visual messages to be reproduced and shared.
Russian Film Director, Dziga Vertov, wrote a manifesto in 1923 about the capabilities of film and the camera itself. He states that this advance in technology meant that we were “freed from the boundaries of time and space.”[2] The images captured with a camera can be shot from different angles with different lighting and containing different subject matter, but this is still restricted to the confines of the camera frame. Moving picture varies slightly in that images are arranged in a linear fashion to tell a story – rather than the complete story being told in one single frame.
Similarly to the lens of the camera, we constantly focus, zoom and select the visual elements that are of interest. The message or interpretation of an image can alter dramatically depending on the angle, lighting and scale of the elements. Take a look at this image by Photographer, Paul Strand (below). This frame focuses specifically on the elements of the automobile – in this case, the wheel. We focus on the machine and its composition. Quite a different story would be told if we zoomed out and could see passengers in the car… driving down a country road… heading towards a farmhouse.
Paul Strand, Wire Wheel (1917). Image Source:http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/49.55.318
Digital images exist in such a transferrable manner, which means that the placement of imagery is endless. The stillness of a painting (free of distraction) is not emulated in modern media, where there are more competing elements and visual noise on a page. Take this example of a programme of upcoming exhibitions for the National Gallery of Victoria. The audience is challenged to select focal points as all of the imagery is scaled to the same ratio and there are multiple images to choose from. Anchor text may narrow the selection (via location), but ultimately the viewer makes the decision of what they wish to look at.
National Gallery of Victoria: Calendar of events. Image Source: http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/whats-on/exhibitions
Convention also alters the perception of the viewer. They way we decode visual communication is affected by what we understand and what we believe. This advertisement (below) shows an image of jerry cans with a significantly smaller product marked “Smart”.The smaller can is used to suggest that the Smart car takes less fuel and is more fuel efficient – one of the cars unique selling points. Little sense would be made of this advertisement prior to the sales of the Smart carin 1998.[3] Today, the logo is used as the only signifier in the print ad, denoting the brand of the car.
Smart Car Advertisement. Image Source:http://www.designyourway.net/blog/inspiration/70-creative-print-ads-from-the-automotive-industry/
As you can see, “images can be used like words; we can talk with them.”[4] There is great power in the way that we communicate through image and designers have the ability to alter perception through the way that we convey visual messages.
References
[1] Bellis, M. (2014). From Pinholes to Polaroids: The History of the Camera. [online] About.com. Available at: http://inventors.about.com/od/pstartinventions/a/stilphotography.htm [Accessed 2 Dec. 2014].
[2] & [4] Bergers, J. (1972). Ways of Seeing; Episode 1. Available at:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pDE4VX_9Kk [Accessed 2 Dec. 2014].
[3] Autoevolution.com, (2014). SMART models & brand history – autoevolution. [online] Available at: http://www.autoevolution.com/smart/history/ [Accessed 2 Dec. 2014].
Metmuseum.org, (2014). Paul Strand: Wire Wheel (49.55.318) | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art. [online] Available at: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/49.55.318 [Accessed 2 Dec. 2014].
Ngv.vic.gov.au, (2014). NGV > What’s On > Exhibitions. [online] Available at:http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/whats-on/exhibitions [Accessed 2 Dec. 2014].
Designyourway.net, (2014). 70 Creative Print Ads From The Automotive Industry. [online] Available at: http://www.designyourway.net/blog/inspiration/70-creative-print-ads-from-the-automotive-industry/ [Accessed 3 Dec. 2014].