For as long as I can remember I've been strongly drawn to visual images. Pictures, photographs, illustrations, artworks, street signs, graffiti, doodles, drawings, labels, patterns, reflections - all kinds of images catch my eye and resonate in my mind on a daily basis. Along with my initial attraction to images as viewer, which is based on their visual and aesthetic appeal, I question the meanings and forms of persuasive communication these images engage in - their visual rhetoric. The goal of this blog is to not only present a collection of inspiring images that energize my life, but to question their existence. Questioning the "living" aspect of these pictures means analyzing the deeper meanings and communication strategies beyond their surface appeal. All images, although stationary are in a sense alive and beaming with messages. Messages that tell us about the creator, the audience and the text. We live in a sea of images that impact us whether we may realize it or not. Developing a sense of visual literacy proves useful in our image-saturated world, yet I also believe it is just as important to appreciate images for their simpler and perhaps more raw purpose; to connect to the realm of creativity that lives in us all. I hope this collection of images which inspire my own life and artistic pursuits may also inspire you creatively, as well as your thinking about their deeper meanings.
This image, found online intrigued my visual senses. It spoke to my strong personal interest in collage and mixed-media art. I love the patchwork effect that one can achieve with collage, the combination of overlapping images creates an entirely new form of work. Within this image it appears there is photographic and magazine cut-out materials used. Each layer brings a different story to the image. Where did these images come from and why did the artist choose to assemble them this way? Collage art often raises these open-ended questions and leaves the viewer wondering...
Tvillum, Patrick. "Trash Talking From the Upper Class." Collage. Visualizeus. Web. 29 September 2010.
