Images, reviewed as a group, can help you understand the development of concepts, social movements and issues. When images are critically reviewed and compared against one another, there can be a richer and deeper understanding.
Example 1
Below are thumbnails of work environments from an Artstor image group. A variety of photographs can assist in visualizing how office space has changed over time. While a photo may have been created with the intention of documenting an architect's design (such as the interior of Zaha Hadid's BMW Central Building photo at the far right in the thumbnails below), an individual photo within a group becomes a visual analysis that is less about a specific building and more about the concept of work space.
Example 2
Below is an image of a prestige stool from Ghana and the ECOWAS building built in Lome, Togo by Pierre Goudiaby Atepa. Is there a relationship between the sweep of the stool and the sweep of the building's form? What about the curve found in Egyptian head rests? Patterns and forms can have a direct or indirect symbolic tie to culture as opposed to simply being decorative. This relationship was discussed during a NOMAS symposium (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign).
Metropolitan Museum of Art collection (upper left): Prestige Stool: Lion Base, 19th century, Ghana, Akan people, photo in public domain. ECOWAS head office in Lome (lower right), Togo, circa 1980s, Architect: Pierre Goudiaby Atepa, photo by Willem Heerbaart, CC BY 2.0
Films can assist in contextualizing aspects of cultural and social concepts that allow for a depth of empathy that may not be as easy to assimilate through still images or reading articles/books. If a Gateway project through BAC Practice involved working with a community to create a food market which included a facial detection system for security - it might be helpful to understand why a community may not trust that type of system.
The BAC Library has licensed a film, Coded Bias, which might be helpful and lay the groundwork for better communication so students understand community concerns and that may lead to more acceptable solutions.
Images can be understood in seconds without supportive text. Critically examine images to appreciate how to create or choose images that can be understood quickly and will be supportive of your presentation in front of an audience.
Universal Icons
Below is an example of how quickly images can be put into context. These icons (starting from approximately thirty years ago to the present) represent icons from daily life. They were created with the intent to be understood immediately on a universal level with very limited text and little need for language translation.
Presentation screen from seminar presented by Lesley University staff member, held at Lesley University at the International Visual Literacy Association Conference, 2018
