For
centuries, Artists and images have been often glamorized and studied throughout
human history. Historians attempt to interpret and learn from the remarkable
talents demonstrated by Renaissance Artists such as Michelangelo, Raphael, and
Donatello. We can learn how images influence wars by looking at Nazi propaganda
during World War II, and the oppression of African-Americans throughout
American history. Many paintings and artistic imagery have been carved in human
history, and it can help us understand the affects that images can have to
influence and argue a social agenda.
David
Fleming rejects the idea that images cannot argue because images do not have
both statement and proof. He also stats that pictures “lack the internal linear
arrangement that characterizes verbal discourse” and also lacks a two-sided
proposition of an argument. I on the other hand, believe images, especially
art, can not only argue but also persuade, reflect and influence society.
An
argument, based on its definition, is a reasoned attempt to convince the
audience to accept a particular point of view about a debatable topic (being two-sided).
In order to first develop an argument, communicating a premise is necessary.
Artists communicate this through their work in several ways.
There
are many reasons why artists create. Some feel that it is a way for them to
relax and make something that they find beautiful. Some find art as an escape
from pressure or a way to deal with stress. Others find it as a way to convey a
certain feeling or idea. In other words, artists can convey an idea through their
own artistic work of visual communication. Artists can express society’s
ideologies or their own ideas through their own interpretation. Nonetheless,
artists can manifest images to state a premise (and sometimes conclusion) and
its up to the audience to interpret what the artist is revealing.
Not
only do images create statements of a claim, but also indirectly stat proofs of
that argument. Humans have the ability to interpret, analyze, and make
rationale decisions. Helen Keller still had the ability to interpret the world
around her even though she was limited by being both blind and deaf. This is a
great example of how humans can interpret and rationalize the world around them
even without verbal and visual communication. It is up to the audience to interpret
an image’s statement and it’s proof. Neither words nor images do this alone.
It’s within the viewer’s power to understand and interpret through our own
analysis of what those words or images mean.
Christian Boehm
