Media and Visual Literacy has been an interesting course that I have undertaken. I have never thought that the course was going to change my perspective about media and visual literacy in different ways. Media and visual literacy are two different things in understanding the media. Media literacy is a critical understanding of mass media, while visual literacy is the ability to understand and create visual messages, interpret and make meaningful information from the image presented. This report covers how this course has changed my perspective about media and visual arts, including how I am thinking differently between media and culture.
Interpreting visuals was one of the most serious challenges I was experiencing before being introduced to the course. I found it difficult to interpret a picture or an image even though I was much interested in trying to figure out what most of the images communicated. After joining the class, I have developed the skill of interpreting images from the very first moment of seeing an image. I have realized that visual literacy is very important to a consumer and understand why most organizations have pictures labeled on their outside walls, especially food and beverage organizations (Krause et al. 325). Visuals are ways of communication to the consumers; for example, KFC has a very good image. The image presents a fantasy of how sweet their fries and chicken are, and for some reason, some customers visit the place for the first time due to the visual art available.
Art is a combination of images, and it has played a major role in the development and participation of culture. Images have provided a culture in which people can explore and understand the world. The frame and shape life by up-taking techniques together with visuals that inform visual displays (Zaidel 30). Authors are able to examine how cultural values and traditions shape particular visual styles. I have never thought art at some point is created to present a certain culture and the world that we are living in. According to me, art was just a fantasy that a person was living in and would like something like that to happen in the future. No one creates art from something that does not literally exist. Every art is based on existence even though the idea has not yet been published to the public. Art is a sign of communication from the author to the people who can understand the statements.
For example, an image of a white sharing a table in a restaurant will communicate a lot to different people. From my own perspective, the image portrays peace and creates a possibility of such happening in feature. The image also gives an overview of the relationship between the Whites and Blacks. Viewing such a portrait, both white and black people would have a different reaction based on different views moments. Some might think the author is trying to provoke conflicts between the Whites and the Blacks. An image can have a million perspectives based on a person’s view and the relationship between the picture and the individual.
Another lesson learned from the course is that visual arts have an impact on learning and teaching. Most instructors and teachers understand the power of visual aids in helping students to capture various concepts in learning. For example, a teacher can use a diagram to demonstrate a certain process that might look very difficult in understanding the theory. Diagrams help a student trace back and forward some concepts that the teacher has not taught in class (Kolesnik et al. 237). Children with low learning capability have the possibility to improve their learning through the use of visuals that broaden their way of thinking and improve their ability to understand things.
During my high school learning, I could not understand why some subjects had so many drawings, and some had none. What I have gathered from the course is that visual arts are meant to create reality in the mind. For example, when you see someone for the first time, it will be very easy for you to identify them when you meet them for the second time. The same principle applies in learning that an image is once seen, it is difficult for you to forget it. I feel at some point that art should not be an optional subject in high school. This is to help enroll people in different learning times about art. Art is fun only when some people misinterpret the situation but with the best positivity and embracing the creativity of art, it will be a success.
In conclusion, art is a beautiful thing, and it can be used to communicate a lot in terms of culture, personal experiences, and nature. Most people have never visited different places, but through art and images, they can be to tell that different places exist in different parts of the world. A good number of people have not been able to appreciate the depth of art due to a lack of the idea of how to interpret pictures. Some view images because they look beautiful, but as a matter of fact, that beauty has a lot of hidden information, which makes the image more beautiful.
Works Cited
Kolesnik, Maria Alexandrovna, Natalia Mikhailovna Libakova, and Ekaterina Anatol’evna Sertakova. “Art Education as a Way of Preserving the Traditional Ethno Cultural Identity of Indigenous Minority Peoples from the North, Siberia and the Far East?” Novosibirsk State Pedagogical University Bulletin, vol. 8, no. 4, 2018, pp. 233-247.
Krause, Amber, and Erik P. Bucy. “Interpreting Images of Fracking: How Visual Frames and Standing Attitudes Shape Perceptions of Environmental Risk and Economic Benefit.” Environmental Communication, vol. 12, no. 3, 2018, pp. 322-343.
Zaidel, Dahlia W. “Culture and Art: Importance of Art Practice, Not Aesthetics, to Early Human Culture.” Progress in Brain Research, vol. 237, 2018, pp. 25-40.