Visual Languages
and Analysis
By Kat Bayliss
Introduction
This essay will explore some examples of
work by James Gillray, Arthur Rackham, Helen Ward, Iginio Straffi, Andy Warhol, Hazen, Sidney Paget and
the Columban monks of Iona and discuss the roots of the symbolism portrayed
within them and whether they successfully conveyed intended narratives and
situations.
1. Using caricature
and satire to represent cultural and political viewpoints
Image 01 - Barbarities in the West Indies – James Gillray
1792
Gillray’s swiftly drawn, immoral and
witty satiric works soon found him recognised as one of the most important and
competent artists in his field, his only adversary being, the etcher, James
Sayers.
“The
purpose of satiric illustration is to inform and persuade – though some satiric
works clearly entertain as well.”(1)
Did Gillray succeed in portraying his
intended point of view?
Satirists,
such as Gillray and Cruikshank, although successful in their careers and their
works very popular, regularly portrayed vague messages, leaving the
illustrations open to misinterpretation.
“...by
focusing on barbarities in the West Indies, on sensational incidents...artists
like Gillray...frequently tended to blur the distinction between slavery and
the Slave Trade, thus making the task of abolitionists that much more
difficult.”(2)
“Often only an exaggerated gesture, an
ironic title or a carefully worded caption offered the viewer a clue as to the
artist’s moral and political viewpoint.”(3)
However, this
disturbing image does succeed in portraying a terrible and true story that
William Wilberforce used to support his argument for the abolition of the slave
trade in 1792, when he told of how a young negro slave,
who was too poorly to work, was thrown into a giant pot of sugar juice and boiled
for forty-five minutes, and then thrashed severely.(4)
James Gillray’s original vocation was to
be an artist, in the traditional sense of the word. However,
“From about 1775
a small number of etched caricatures began to appear, unsigned, like all his early
prints…”(5)
At this time engravers at the Royal
Academy were not appreciated as real artists and caricaturists were bottom
ranking. But, try as he might, Gillray’s fate was set. Unlike William Hogarth,
who,
“…composed in a
rational, balanced manner…Hogarth was a moralist who believed that his art
could improve the condition of mankind.”(6)
2. Arthur Rackham and Anthropomorphism
Image 02 - The Old Woman in the Forest – Arthur Rackham 1909
Anthropomorphism
is the humanising and/or the personification of gods, animals or objects.
Arthur Rackham
produced a myriad of beautiful, grotesque and imaginative illustrations to
accompany many classic texts, from the plays of Shakespeare and the moralistic
fables of Aesop to the poetry of Christina Rossetti. Many of them featured
anthropomorphic characters. Rackham took his anthropomorphism seriously. He had
an interest in phrenology and physiognomy, controversial pseudosciences; which
were based on judging by appearances; during the Victorian era, although,
“The earliest-known systematic treatise
on physiognomy is attributed to Aristotle.”(7)
“Rackham’s illustrations depict physical
types similar to those designated in phrenological charts and descriptions. His
scenes are full of characters—amalgams of trees, animals, and humans—
displaying various dispositions….”(8)
Human beings
are judged by their appearance, so this is an effective means of portraying
character in an illustration.
“…people
assess your competence and trustworthiness in a quarter of a second (250
milliseconds)-based solely on how you look.”(9)
In Rackham’s
illustration The Old Woman of the Forest, the tree is actually in the process
of morphing into a handsome prince, who had been under the spell of a wicked
old woman.(10) In this sense, it is an unusual anthropomorphic image, in that the
tree character will not be suspended in the form depicted at this captured
moment in time. The tree is no longer inanimate, but was it anyway? It is after
all a living organism. It is acquiring some anatomical features, arms and hands,
a face and a leg is just beginning to uproot; even some of his clothing is
appearing behind him resembling ragged fairy wings. Unlike most of Rackham’s
tree morphs, he is elegant and beguiling.
“Trees
whose branches are arms and whose roots are clawed feet, whose heads sprout a
bristling crown of twigs. Trees with knots that might be eyes and gashes that
seem to leer, trees that dance and point and gesticulate and generally mock the
absurd pretensions of men.”(11)
3. Cross
Cultural – The Fusion of East and West
Image 03 – Winx Club fairy ‘Aisha’ - Iginio Straffi 2004
The booming Japanese comic
industry thought it pointless to export its manga publications, already being
worth a fortune larger than the same industry in the whole of Europe.(12) Not only that, but the complications of converting the panels,
text and reversing the reading direction for the western reader meant almost
producing from scratch.
However this has not stopped the
manga ‘style’ permeating into western culture. With the hugely successful Italian
‘anime’ Winx Club fairies, developed by Iginio Straffi and broadcast in over
150 countries,(13) to the BBC’s designs, by Paul Hancock(14), for the 2002 World Cup.(15)
Although the trend for manga
style has been cropping up more in the last decade in Europe and the U.S. it is
not the first time Japanese ‘comic’ style has appeared in English; there was
“Astro
Boy, Gigantor and Speed Racer cartoons in the 1960s”(16)
And World War
II saw
“…bilingual colour comic strip
leaflets…issued by the Japanese Military”(17)
intended as, “…psychological
warfare…”(18)
In Italy,
“83 different anime series were broadcast
between 1978-1983”(19)
on private TV
stations, following their popularity, actual translated manga comics also
became prevalent. Following decades of copying and translating, a demand for
non-translated genuine Manga began to grow in the West, baffling parents and
retailers alike.
“Westerners now consume Manga…how
Japanese artists and publishers wanted them to…reading them from left to
right.”(20)
A cinematic
approach dominates the Manga style. The Godfather of Manga, Dr Osamu Tezuka
(1928-89), pioneered this cinematic look,
“…Tezuka’s prime storytelling influence
came from the cinema.”(21)
In an email to
Fumio Obata, Japanese Artist, Writer and Lecturer, living and working in the
UK, I asked him,
Paul Gravett
says in Manga
Sixty years of Japanese Comics that
comic art influences have been
travelling back and forth over the seas for decades. Bande
Dessiner and Manga have merged successfully, for example in the work of Taiyo
Matsumoto’s comic Go-Go Monster. What do you predict could be the next episode
of fusion between Eastern and Western illustration?
He said that
most of the fusion happens in the comic book genre. Western children grow up
reading the Manga comics then creating and drawing their own, not necessarily
in the manga style though, then they start to read American comic books in
their teens.
“However there
are definite influences still left from Manga…It is very gradual and discreet
but that's what I think the next fusion is. A very gradual adaptation of these
[Manga] codes - describing movements, various emotions, dramatic effects,
rather than in styles of Illustration. And it will be led by many average
creators rather than few exceptional.” (Fumio Obata, University of
Gloucestershire - March 2014)
4. Formal
qualities
Image 04 – From
The Cockerel and The Fox – Helen Ward 2002
Some of the finest examples of layout are
by the children’s book author and illustrator Helen Ward.
Helen Ward uses her configuration
expertly to add to the sense of drama and accommodate text panels. Often using
the entire double-page spread and playing with scale to create a cinematic
effect, her illustrations are dynamic and exciting.
The colours are particularly
vibrant in this example, although she does use a muted sensitivity, when nature
demands it, as in the earthier toned, but no less
beautifully created animal characters in her retelling of The Tortoise and The
Hare.(22)
“It
is unusual to see such a fundamentally traditional or realist approach to
illustration combined with an essentially graphic approach to the page.”(23)
Martin Salisbury says in his
book, Illustrating Children’s Books, that Helen is acutely aware of the
importance of the design aspect of her drawings and plans them “meticulously”(24).
The white spaces, which her
characters inhabit, are bold and wisely used, giving the images,
“…an
uncluttered clarity.”(25)
The farm animals are leading
us diagonally across the page following the fox, only visible by his tail and
hind foot, from a bird’s perspective in the blossom filled tree above, to the
bottom right corner of the page enticing us to turn it. Helen has used
watercolour and Radiograph pens for the fine lines(26). The animals are
realistically portrayed, yet stylised. A significant
influence on her work were the natural history paintings by Mughal-trained
artists of India who were commissioned by Lady Impey in 1780s to portray the
animals in the Calcutta menagerie at the home she shared with her husband.(27)
"I was struck by the crispness
of the execution, and the fact that the drawing, though objective, is not
entirely realistic. I loved the way those burnished images sat on the page...”
Helen Ward(28)
5.
Text Panels and Lettering
Image
05 – Chi Rho, the Book of Kells – Colomban Monks around 800
The Chi Rho page of The Book
of Kells is said to be its most famous. The intricate patterns have been
expertly executed. Here I am going to discuss the incorporated lettering and
the interesting use of abbreviation within this colorful illustration.
Completed around 800, by Columban Monks on the island of Iona, the Book of
Kells is a prime and exceptionally early example of decorative text.
This “Christmas page”(29) depicts the birth of Christ. All the text in the
book is Latin, except for the abbreviation on this page, ‘XPI’, which is in
Greek. These letters have been highly stylised,
“…abstracted
to form the dominant graphic elements of the image.”(30)
There is a head motif inside
the ‘P’, thought to be a young Christ. Birds, animals and people feature throughout the design, including the peacock, an ancient
symbol of immortality in Christianity.(31) There are an otter with the fish
in its mouth and amicable cats playing with mice, the pointy noses and the
shape of the ears suggests a creature of rodent genus; although the affable nature portrayed could be because they are cats
and stylised kittens, not mice at all.(32) In the top left hand corner of
the ‘X’ there are two delicate tiny moths.
“Many
capital letters in the Book of Kells spring to life in this way.”(33)
The two other words, in the
bottom right-hand corner of the page ‘h generatio’ translate to, “now the birth”.(34)
The text and design has rhythm
and grace discernible in the use of calligraphy and the repetitive decorative
swirls, curls and intertwining tendril patterns.
"Both
in writing and in music, rhythm is the most outstanding element. It is rhythm which
lends calligraphy the breath of the individual."(35)
The illumination of text in
this fashion was on practical grounds, facilitating orientation of the book. This
type of, indisputably, magnificent book was used to dazzle and wow,
“…often
primitive and usually illiterate congregations.”(36)
6.
Graphic Symbolism
Image
06 – From Darkness to Light – Hazen 1908
During a recent visit to the
United Grand Lodge of England, founded in 1717, it
was particularly interesting to notice the abundant use of sunrays. Although
the use of symbolism is prevalent in Masonic decoration and illustration, the
use of the rays of sunshine is equally graphic. Light is often depicted in this
way. It is used in religious paintings for halos and bright stars, lines around
a lit bulb for an idea in a cartoon strip, yellow lines emanating from a
shining sun in a child’s painting.
Fumio Obata of University of
Gloucestershire says that “Manga comics
have a set of visual codes, which makes communication smoother…”
Graphics symbols such as lines
to indicate movement; like the wagging of a dog’s tail, or a moving car, punctuation
marks; such as question or exclamation marks to enhance puzzled or surprised
facial expressions without using words are commonly seen.
Graphic symbols are
used in comic art,
“Cartooning, as Art Spiegelman has observed, is as much
diagrammatic as it is illustrative”(37)
and in
education, particularly with special educational needs children,
“Graphic symbols are used with a wide range of children for a
diverse range of purposes.”(38)
James Gillray
frequently added graphic symbols into his etchings, the sun’s rays in Phaeton alarm’d! even including text
within them, as in the sea-sick man in Charon’s-Boat;
or the Ghost’s of ‘all the Talents’ taking their last Voyage, and the farting
bird!
7.
Cliché
Image
07 – Che Guevara – Andy Warhol 1962
Image
08 – Cliché Guevara T-Shirt Design - RedMolotov
Cliché is not limited to
language alone, it is a result of,
“mechanical
reproduction”(39)
The word cliché is
derived from the French onomatopoeia, Clicher, a printing technique, whereby
frequently used words, phrases and pictures were maintained for ease of repetitive
use when typesetting. Cliché is used today to mean the overuse of a once
interesting phrase or image.(40)
“The cliché is a cultural product of a technological change…”(41)
Is it a good thing or a bad
thing?
Walter Ong said in Orality and
Literacy (1982) that ancient Greeks relied heavily on the use of cliché and
repetition, being an oral culture. However,
John Paul Satre thought clichés were “Hell”.(42)
A photograph of Che Guevara, “Guerillo Heroico”, taken on March 5th 1960(43)
by Alberto Korda, used in 1962 for a silkscreen design by Andy Warhol, has
become so popular an image that it has been reproduced time and time again on
‘art’ posters for your home to T-shirts, lighters, tea and beach towels.
Andy Warhol’s colourful
silkscreen ‘style’, iconic in the 1960s is now available to everyone in photo
editing software in your own home.
8.
Character and Archetype
Image 09 - Holmes and Moriarty in Mortal Combat at the Edge of the Reichenbach Falls
– Sidney Paget 1894
Archetypal characters have
been part of all cultures worldwide, present in art and narratives, myths and
fables, since the beginning of civilization. These legendary personalities are
deeply imbedded in societies; indeed they play an important role, and follow
similar traits cross-culturally. They are used to teach and shape behaviour in
the audience who hear or view them.
“People
in the world share practices like myths, legends and certain ritualistic
patterns. The fundamental belief in myth criticism is that these practices have
survived for a long period of time and are deeply rooted in the mental and
emotional lives of the people. They are projected in artistic and literary
works as recurring symbols, motifs and images.”(44)
Here is an illustration of
Sherlock Holmes, one of the greatest and most famous hero’s of literature.
Unconventional, he is a drug addicted, narcissistic, genius. A romantic example
of a hero, reminiscent of the hero’s in Byron’s poetry. A hero trapped by weaknesses;
more human, imperfect and accessible.
“…why, in the work of the most famous
Romantic champion of liberty [Byron] – and most famous Romantic libertine – do
so few characters achieve any kind of freedom?”(45)
“[Byron’s] rebellion against
conventional morality and the passion expressed in his works and life were
perceived as the token of ‘authenticity’…(46)
Conclusion
During the research for this
essay, I discovered and began devouring the essays of Susan Sontag. Marshall
McLuhan’s forward thinking of The Medium is the Massage astounded me. I learned
about the importance of artisans in ancient civilization from Kenneth Clark. I
am the proud owner of a big stack of books by Herbert Read, now in prime
position for bedtime reading. I agree with Dolores Phelps that John Berger’s
Ways of Seeing has many unreferenced points from Walter Benjamin’s The Work of
Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. I found that Sharon Kinsella is an
informative and easier read than Rudolf Arnheim (who I am intrigued to tackle
further, due to the cognitive versus visual, psychology angle). And I would like
to thank Paul Gravett and Fumio Obata for finally fulfilling my curiosity about
Manga.
I decided to choose one image
for each of these eight topics in order to understand better the use of “visual codes and sign systems to
communicate complex narratives and situations.”(43) The complex task of
research of cross referencing was particularly interesting; having access to
libraries at the University of Gloucestershire and international university
libraries, museum and gallery websites and databases all at my fingertips was
advantageous and a desirable skill gained that I will treasure and develop
further.
The research for this essay
has also sparked an interest in the psychology of visual language, which I will
consider when embarking on my own illustrations.
Footnotes
- Heller, Steven & Chwast,
Seymour, (2008) pg.225
- Oldfield, John R, Popular
Politics and British Antislavery: the Mobilisation of Public… (1998) pg.177
- Oldfield, John R, Popular
Politics and British Antislavery: the Mobilisation of Public… (1998) pg.177
- The National Portrait Gallery
Website: http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw61443/Barbarities-in-the-West-Indies
- Godfrey, Richard, James
Gillray The Art of Caricature (2001) Tate Gallery Publishing Limited pg.12
- Godfrey, Richard, James
Gillray The Art of Caricature (2001) Tate Gallery Publishing Limited pg.14
- Encyclopedia Britannica
online: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/458823/physiognomy
- Atzmon, Leslie, Arthur Rackham's
Phrenological Landscape: In-betweens, Goblins, and Femmes Fatales. Design
Issues. Fall 2002, Vol. 18 Issue 4, p64-83
- Goudreau, Jenna, Forbes
Woman: The Seven Ways Your Boss Is Judging Your
Appearance. 11/30/2012
- Grimm, Brothers (translated
by Zipes, Jack), The Complete Fairy Tales (2007) Vintage Books pg.540
- Denny, Ned, Tree Spirits -
New Statesman 13 January 2003 pg.42
- Gravett,
Paul, Manga Sixty years of Japanese Comics (2004) Laurence King Publishing Ltd.
Pg.152
- http://www.iginiostraffi.com/en/about-me/
- http://www.paulhancock.co.uk/content_bbc_worldcup.html
- Gravett,
Paul, Manga Sixty years of Japanese Comics (2004) Laurence King Publishing Ltd.
Pg.152
- Gravett, Paul, Manga Sixty
years of Japanese Comics (2004) Laurence King Publishing Ltd. Pg.154
- Gravett, Paul, Manga Sixty years
of Japanese Comics (2004) Laurence King Publishing Ltd. Pg.154
- Gravett, Paul, Manga Sixty
years of Japanese Comics (2004) Laurence King Publishing Ltd. Pg.154
- Gravett, Paul, Manga Sixty
years of Japanese Comics (2004) Laurence King Publishing Ltd. Pg.155
- Gravett, Paul, Manga Sixty
years of Japanese Comics (2004) Laurence King Publishing Ltd. Pg.156
- Gravett, Paul, Manga Sixty
years of Japanese Comics (2004) Laurence King Publishing Ltd. Pg.026
- Carey, Joanna, Animal Magic –
The Guardian, Saturday 29 March 2008 para.6
- Salisbury, Martin,
Illustrating Children’s Books Creating Pictures for Publication (2006), A &
C Black Publishers/Piers Spence pg.121
- Salisbury, Martin,
Illustrating Children’s Books Creating Pictures for Publication (2006), A &
C Black Publishers/Piers Spence pg.120
- Carey, Joanna, Animal Magic –
The Guardian, Saturday 29 March 2008 para.9
- Carey, Joanna, Animal Magic –
The Guardian, Saturday 29 March 2008
- Ashmolean Oxford-Online:
http://jameelcentre.ashmolean.org/collection/6980/10198
- Carey, Joanna, Animal Magic –
The Guardian, Saturday 29 March 2008
- Simms, George Otto, Exploring
the Book of Kells (1988), The O’Brien Press, Dublin pg.36
- Under “Featured Pages - Chi
Rho Page” in The Book of Kells App for iPad: with material from a book
originally by Meehan, Bernard, The Book of Kells: An illustrated Introduction
to the manuscript in Trinity College Dublin (1994), Thames & Hudson
- Under “Featured Pages - Chi
Rho Page” in The Book of Kells App for iPad: with material from a book
originally by Meehan, Bernard, The Book of Kells: An illustrated Introduction
to the manuscript in Trinity College Dublin (1994), Thames & Hudson - Cross-referenced:
http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/symbols/peacock.htm
- Simms, George Otto, Exploring
the Book of Kells (1988), The O’Brien Press, Dublin pg.49
- Simms, George Otto, Exploring
the Book of Kells (1988), The O’Brien Press, Dublin pg.49
- Under “Featured Pages - Chi
Rho Page” in The Book of Kells App for iPad: with material from a book
originally by Meehan, Bernard, The Book of Kells: An illustrated Introduction
to the manuscript in Trinity College Dublin (1994), Thames & Hudson
- Pott,
G in Harris, D, Calligraphy: Modern
Masters – Art, Inspiration, and Technique (1991)NY: Crescent Books p.60
- Under “Manuscripts” in The
Book of Kells App for iPad: with material from a book originally by Meehan,
Bernard, The Book of Kells: An illustrated Introduction to the manuscript in
Trinity College Dublin (1994), Thames & Hudson
- English Language Notes. Fall/Winter2008, Vol. 46
Issue 2, Cartoon or Caricatures pg.134
- Greenstock, Louise, Child Language Teaching and Therapy, Vol 27(3),
Oct, 2011. Pg.331
- Berger, Lynn, Photographies Vol. 4, No. 2, September 2011, pg.176
- Berger, Lynn, Photographies Vol. 4, No. 2, September 2011, pg.176
- Berger, Lynn, Photographies Vol. 4, No. 2, September 2011, pg.178
- Berger, Lynn, Photographies Vol. 4, No. 2, September 2011, pg.182
- Photography
of Alberto Korda: http://jsma.uoregon.edu/new-exhibition-jordan-schnitzer-museum-art-explores-photography-alberto-korda
- Yazdani, Saeed & Farivar, Zahra, International Journal of the Humanities. 2011, Vol. 9 Issue 10,
pg.278
- Rawes, Alan, Byron Journal. 2012, Vol. 40 Issue 2, pg.129
- Rawes, Alan, Byron Journal. 2012, Vol. 40 Issue 2, pg.130
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Rudolf, Visual Thinking (1997), University of California Press
Atzmon,
Leslie, Arthur Rackham's Phrenological Landscape:
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Issue 4
Benjamin,
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Lynn, Photographies Vol. 4, No. 2, September
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Carey,
Joanna, Animal Magic – The Guardian, Saturday 29 March 2008
Denny,
Ned, Tree Spirits - New Statesman 13 January 2003
Gravett,
Paul, Manga Sixty years of Japanese Comics (2004) Laurence King Publishing Ltd.
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Brothers (translated by Zipes, Jack), The Complete Fairy Tales (2007) Vintage
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http://www.paulhancock.co.uk/content_bbc_worldcup.html
Photography of Alberto Korda: http://jsma.uoregon.edu/new-exhibition-jordan-schnitzer-museum-art-explores-photography-alberto-korda
http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/symbols/peacock.htm
The
Book of Kells App for iPad: with material from a book originally by Meehan,
Bernard, The Book of Kells: An illustrated Introduction to the manuscript in
Trinity College Dublin (1994), Thames & Hudson
