HOMEWORK
Our homework was to find 3 or 4 images representing image and text / in a creative way / in an unusual way / in a very predictable or well known way.
KATE MOROSS
'pepsi lips'
This is an advert for pepsi where the words are cleverly and creatively integrated into the image. Some of the words look like they are image and not text until you look very closely. The image is made up of the three main colours associated with pepsi (red / white / blue) and black. Moross creates some really interesting patterns that slowly develop into text / combining text and image.
TRACEY EMIN
'neon sign'
Here, the text is used to create the image and by doing so, it becomes the image.
Because the text is up on a wall / like in an art gallery / it is viewed as an image including text. I also think that the neon lighting makes the text more image-like.
STOP SIGN
This is a widely recognized sign that provokes a reaction (stopping). The text is also the image. If you took away the word 'stop', we would still recognize it as a stop sign / it would have a little less meaning. If it was white instead of red, it would not grab our attention as much as it needs to.
Red is a warning colour and we respond to it accordingly accordingly. The shape of the sign is recognizable as a 'stop' sign because no other sign is octagonal like this one.
ANSELM KIEFER
'lead book sculpture'
This sculpture by Anselm Kiefer implies text by the use of books. We all expect books to have text inside them and these heavy / thick / large books look as though they are full of writing. This piece evokes movement / you can immediately imagine what it would feel l like to pick up these books and turn the pages.
TASK
We were split into two groups; one with a description of x and the other with a painting. Those with the painting had to try and describe it in writing, and those with the description had to draw what they thought it was.
'x'
The prehistoric-looking x has thick, silver-brown skin which becomes pinkish near the large skin folds that cover its body. Males develop thick neck-folds. Its upper legs and shoulders are covered in wart-like bumps. It has very little body hair, aside from eyelashes, ear fringes and tail-brush. The horn, like human fingernails, is pure keratin and starts to show after about 6 years. In captivity the horn is frequently worn down to a thick knob.
One record-sized specimen was approximately 3500kg. x can run at speeds of up to 40 km/h for short periods of time and is also an excellent swimmer. x has excellent senses of hearing and smell, but relatively poor eyesight.
They are known to have lived over 40 years, the oldest living to be 47.
They are active at night and early morning. Feeding occurs during the morning and evening. The x uses its prehensile lip to grasp stems, bend them down, bite off the top, and then eat the grass. With very tall grasses or saplings, the x will often walk over the plant, with its legs on both sides, using the weight of its body to brush the end of the plant to the level of their mouth. Mothers also use this technique to make food edible for their calves. They drink for a minute or two at a time, often imbibing water filled with urine.
In aggregations x are often friendly. They will often greet each other by waving of bobbing their heads, mounting flanks, nuzzling noses, or licking. However, they are mostly solitary creatures.
x makes a wide variety of vocalizations. At least ten distinct vocalizations have been identified: snorting, honking, bleating, roaring, squeak-panting, moo-grunting, shrieking, rumbling and humphing. In addition to noises, x uses olfactory communication. Adult males urinate backwards, as far as 3-4 meters behind them, often in response to being disturbed by observers. It often defecates near other large dung piles. Males have been observed walking with their heads to the ground as if sniffing, presumably following the scent of females. Males will chase females over long distances and even attack them face-to-face.
knowledge of the debate of 'text and image' / methodologies connected to 'text and image' work / application of the above to our own specific practice
words have a dictionary / pictures do not
pictures are subjective / more difficult to translate the other way
we can agree on words / we cannot agree on pictures
it would be difficult to paint a painting from words / easier to write words describing a painting
'In Greek mythology, Apollo and Dionysus are both sons of Zeus. Apollo is the god of the Sun, music, and poetry, while Dionysus is the god of wine, ecstasy, and intoxication. In the modern literary use of the concept, the contrast between Apollo and Dionysus symbolizes principles of individualism versus collectivism, light versus dark, or civilization versus primitivism.'
The principal of Dionysus refers to something that is unstructured rather than structured.
IMAGE
'a physical likeness or representation of a person, animal, or thing, photographed, painted, sculptured or otherwise made visible.'
An image can be / include text.
TEXT
'the original words of something written or printed, as opposed to a paraphrase, translation, revision or condensation.
the words of a speech appearing in print.'
Text can be suggested by things like an empty speech bubble or an open mouth (speech).
Look at image and text as two different but related languages.
SEMIOTICS
'the study of signs and symbols, esp the relations between written or spoken signs and their referents in the physical world or the world of ideas.'
WILLIE DOHERTY
'same difference'
Same Difference is a projection of a static image with changing text. It challenges the emotive use of language, changing our perception of the person projected with each word; 'damaged, volunteer, murderer'.
