Speak my Language
Photographs are often considered to convey subjective meaning to the observer. Even when an image documents a particular place or event, there is still room for interpretation. However, this is determined by the relationship that the image has with additional content such as text. Whether text appears within an image, is applied directly to an image, or is captioning an image, it will alter the visual rhetoric.
When text appears in a photograph’s analogue form, it denotes the context. However, by appearing in such a way, it then has the ability to create new connotations. In Lanna Apisukh’s documentary images of Astor Place Barbershop, the text provides a cultural context, but also evokes nostalgia, as often people enjoy conversation within a barbershop environment. As a result the subtle humour, conveys personality that might otherwise be missed.
https://www.lannaapisukh.com/astor-place-hairstylists
The idea that photography is part of a visual framework is interesting, as it poses questions about how an image might be received. The connotations of text ultimately affect how an image is read, leading the viewer to pre-defined conclusions. As Barthes conveys in the essay ‘The photographic message’:
“The structure of the photograph is not an isolated structure, it is in communication with at least one other structure, namely text”
Shout All About It
Desmond Palmer is a designer that uses text and photography to directly influence the viewer’s reading of his work. There definitely isn’t any subtlety here, as the viewer is addressed directly. The acidic colour palette and brash typography visually shouts at the viewer what the image connotes. Without the treatment and typography, the imagery would be read very differently and would be left open to interpretation.
Open to Interpretation
In my own work text is influential, as I explore the relationship between text and imagery on a daily basis. In my early work ‘Highly Desirable’, I explore how text influences the perception of the subject matter by loading each image with a given word and question mark. As a result the viewer is asked directly for their interpretation, despite the fact that they are being presented with words that allude to a specific meaning.
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