The Contemporary Image in Art Education

National Art Education Association

The Contemporary Image in Art EducationAuthor(s): Heta KauppinenSource: Art Education, Vol. 40, No. 2 (Mar., 1987), pp. 38-45Published by: National Art Education AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3193067 .

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The Contemporary

Heta Kauppinen

The polarization of an image

38 Art Education March 1987



Image in Art Education

Left: The polarization of images within a picture. Center and right: Historical studies.

•Contemporary images are our constant com- panions. We are continually exposed to them, willingly and unwillingly, by choice and by chance. They shape our emotions, beliefs, and

attitudes. The media amplifies the effect of the images it carries. The contemporary image is powerful. It can serve us well or ill. The better we understand it and the ways it operates, the more control we will have over it and over ourselves.

A body of knowledge about the effects of mass media has developed over the past fifty years. Media theory has moved from the concept of a passive helpless audience to that of an obstinate and active one; from the concept of mass media as an irresistible force to the concept of mass media as one force among many, interacting with the others. Mass media have direct and immediate effects as well as cumulative long-term effects (Bauer, 1964; Schramm, 1973).

The contemporary image leaves its imprint on the personality and social concepts of children and young people (Bockelman, 1975; and Schramm, 1973). Images can be used to indoctrinate the public into uncritical acceptance of ideas and social systems. (Diel, 1969). Images can act as a social narcotic which makes the child passive rather than active, producing alienation and impoverishment of emotion (Lazarsfeld & Merton, 1948; Klapper, 1960). Manufactured images overpower the child's personal men- tal images. Passive untutored consuming of mass media can cause regression in listening, perceiving, and reading

(Bockelman, 1975). Information acquired via images with mixed meanings predisposes the child to uncritical thought and impulsive action. Shooting, killing, and suicides by youths have occurred as direct imitation of violence in movies and games such as Dungeons and Dragons (NCTV News, 1985). In a study of second-grade boys, exposure to aggressive films was related to aggressive interpersonal acts (Hall & Cairns, 1984). Dominick (1984) suggests possible negative consequences from videogame playing. Students who watched violent programs showed a decrease in self- restraint and greater aggression, restlessness, and fear (Singer, Singer & Rapaczynski, 1984).

Media scholars have made numerous appeals for stan- dards for media consumption. They urge control of the speed and direction of change which the mass media bring to values in our lives and culture (Seldes, 1956; Scornia, 1976). Gazo (1978) charges that mass produced images damage or destroy our identity. The world appears chaotic. Traditional education in the school or at home cannot prepare us for life in the civilization produced by technology. Glessing and White (1976) suggest that we must be educated to be aware of the forms mass media develop and the content they present. Children and young people need skills to deal with contemporary images. Mass Media Studies in Art Education

Most mass media studies have followed Lasswell's (1948) model of mass media (Fiske, 1982). -WHO -SAYS WHAT

Art Education March 1987 39



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Historical studies.

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-IN WHICH CHANNEL -TO WHOM -WITH WHAT EFFECT? The model facilitates speculation about the consequences of changing any of the stages, i.e. what would happen if we change the sender, the channel, the message, or the receiver.

The message may be analyzed by coding its characteristics into the categories of denotations and connotations (Barthes, 1968). Denotations include characteristics we associate with formal aspects of style such as color, shape, texture, patterns, or ornamentation. Denotations indicate the type of message, its functions and possible antecedents, and development. They describe external reality and refer to the commonsense meaning of the message. They do not involve any interpretive statements.

Connotations describe the interaction that occurs when the message meets the feelings and emotions of the receiver and the values of the culture. The analysis moves towards the subjective and interpretive. In connotative analysis the denotations are interpreted in relation to their impact on our beliefs, emotions, attitudes, and to social theory. Connotative analysis finds consequences and the implicit perhaps hidden aims of a message.

The mass media have four basic functions to perform. They are: 1) to entertain, 2) to inform, 3) to influence and 4) to make money (Sandman, Rubin & Sachsman, 1972). Images in mass media can be classified according to their basic functions. Although an image may have more than one function, mapping the field can help locate useful units for teaching. Images in mass media may have the following categories and function.

TYPE OF IMAGE FUNCTION Instructive image instruction, education Informative image guidance, identification Propaganda image influence, persuasion Commercial image exchange, consuming News image reporting Entertaining image entertainment

Instructive images may be illustrations or visualizations in instructional materials and texts such as maps, charts, diagrams, or tables.

Informative images include signs, symbols, logos, and stamps. Traffic signs guide; flags, coat of arms, or business signs identify.

Propaganda images may be political or religious. Their function is to transmit ideologies, attempt to influence people, change attitudes, or implement beliefs. They incor- porate the seven propaganda techniques; name calling, glittering generalities, transfer, testimonial device, plain folks device, card stacking, and band wagon.

Commercial images advertise and promote exchange of goods and services. They use propaganda techniques to persuade.

News images depict events as they happen. They have an aura of authenticity. However, only a fragment of what happens in the world appears in the media. In the selective process 'gatekeepers' may eliminate items relevant to the event or incident, intentionally or unintentionally intro- ducing bias.




An illustration related to mass media theory by an elementary school student.

Historical studies.

Language has a strong role in mass media analysis.




Illustrations related to mass media theory by elementary school students.

Entertaining images include the major portion of film and television features, toys, video, video games, book illustrations, comics, and cartoons. Children especially consume large amounts of entertaining images.

Comparative analysis is a technique for analyzing an image. In mass media pedagogy the technique is called polarization (Sandberg, 1971). A number of images on a common theme are brought together for analysis. The images represent diverse cultural and historical views of the theme. The purpose is to present a variety of views through images.

Students can begin by finding examples of each category of pictures in magazines and newspapers. A useful assign- ment is the transformation of an image, for example a news image into a propaganda image. For this kind of transformation students need to analyze the image selected by identifying denotative and connotative aspects, and altering them.

In historical study a comparison can be made between an advertisement from 1960's and a current advertisement on the same theme, or between a picture from the history of art and a mass media image on the same theme.




In critical study students analyze visual and verbal elements in a mass media image to identify similarities and differences between the visual and verbal message. Com- mercial pictures are especially useful in this kind of analysis. Students may present their findings by making a picture of what the text says and verbal statements of what the picture says. They can create an anti-ad. Or they can make propaganda pictures both for and against an idea or cause. Making an anti-image which contradicts the message in a given picture fosters critical thinking.

Mass media characters can become role models and idols for children and young people. It is useful to make students aware of the nature and impact of the characters. Students can analyze a mass media image such as a super hero by identifying the characteristics of his/her personality and social relations. They can present their findings by placing the character in an environment and activity in which the character is never seen in comic books or cartoons.

In polarization a number of images can be analyzed in their historical and cultural contexts. Themes such as friendship, love, sorrow, work, happiness, old age, recreation, war, violence, death, children, heroes, animals, flora, seasons, landscape, buildings, or cities can be found in art and mass media images. Bringing together various images of a single theme for careful comparative analysis provides a diversity of views. Works of art and related mass media images can be collected.

Polarizing pictures about a news event helps students to understand news making and opinion formation. Students can make their own interpretation of the news event by depicting what happened before and/or after the news picture was taken. Or they can depict what they assume would have happened outside of the frame of the news picture.

Varying the sender, channel, receiver, or message offers a variety of means to study the nature and effect of mass media. To study the effect of the channel, students can transform an advertisement into a series of pictures for a commercial. Or they can convert it into a radio message to study the differences between the visual and auditory channel. To study the role of the sender, students may recreate an advertisement for skate boards when the sender is a mother or a doctor. They can study the influence of the receiver by directing an advertisement to a very old person, Princess Diana, or themselves. The message can be studied by replacing either the picture or text. Students can include a detail or a portion of an image in another kind of message they create. These assignments can use pictures or can be dramatized.

Grouping the characteristics of a mass media image into denotations and connotations is useful in helping students organize their ideas. For denotations students can list and describe the formal aspects of a mass media image. For connotations they describe their beliefs about the image and what kind of impressions and feelings the image evokes in them. Students can then compare their findings to indicate how denotations and connotations interact to create an effect upon the receiver.

Denotations and connotations can also be studied in visual representations. For denotations students can study the impact of color by reproducing an image such as an

Images from mass media sources in student drawings.




Images from mass media sources in a student drawing.

Images from mass media sources in a student drawing.

advertisement and replace the colors by contrasting colors. They can replace textures or change the quality of lines to stud'y their impact. For connotations students can replace the character in a cartoon or advertisement. They can change the clothing style or facial expression, gestures or attributes.

In studies of mass media images it is useful to have AV- equipment, light tables, transparencies, tracing papers etc. readily available for reproduction, repeating images, en- largements and the like. Because language has a strong role in mass media studies, careful attention is to be given to verbal analysis and layout skills. Conclusion

Students are heavy consumers of mass media and are naturally interested in exploring it at a more conscious level. McLuhan (1970) observed that children more and

44 Art Education

Mass media images cross cultural boundaries.

more frequently turn to commercial print, film, radio, and television for their education and information. The field of visual imagery in mass media is the territory of art education. It must not be ignored. O

Heta Kauppinen is an Assistant Professor in the School of Fine Arts at The University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.

March 1987

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Bockelman, F. (1975). Theorie der Massenkommunikation. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp Verlag.

Barthes, R. (1968). Elements ofsemiology. London: Cape. Diel, A. (1969). Die Kunsterziehung im Dritten Reich. Munich: Verlag

UNI-Druck.



Ostensible neutral instructive images may transmit values and attitudes.


Dominick, J.R. (1984) Videogames, television violence, and aggression in teenagers. J. Communications, 34 (2), 136-147.

Fiske, J. (1982). Introduction to communication studies. London: Methuen & Co., Ltd.

Gazo, E.W. (1978) Kommunikation und Identitat. In W. Zimmerli (Ed.) Kommunikation, Basel: Schwabe & Co.

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The Contemporary Image in Art Education