In order to create visual culture, one must view it. In order to do that effectively, we have to create critical thinkers of our students, rather than those who take our visual culture at face value and enjoy imagery based on what is most popular, or what someone else feels is important. “Critical reflection is important to artistic production and to everyday viewing experience in a democracy where analytical viewing skills are ideally necessary to assist individuals in making important decisions” (Freedman & Boughton, p.4). I think an important part of critical reflection is to look inward, not just at what you like and dislike, but examine the place you come from, the culture you are a part of, and how you are privileged or otherwise. Starting from a place within, rather than the socially influenced is important in developing the confidence in student’s criticality, so that they can form their own opinions, make informed decisions and ultimately, create more meaningful art that is both powerful on a personal level and engages with society.
It is important to maintain this level of constant investigation, into ourselves and what we create, as well as what others think and do. We can start by teaching this to the very youngest of children, as they do notice their worlds around them and their visual culture, practically from birth. My children have been viewing television and You Tube from a very young age, however, visual culture is not just what we see on our screens. It is all around us and influencing us on every level. Today, I took my kids to Dairy Queen, which we pass almost every day on the way to and from their school. Although we have been there many times and they love ice cream in general, today my 8 year old son noticed the Dairy Queen logo, and he said “It looks like lips.” Instead of saying “Oh yeah, it does!” and leaving it at that, I kept the conversation going and said, “Maybe they did that on purpose, so that you would think of your mouth when you saw it and how delicious their ice cream is.” He found that interesting, and I told him that a lot of logos are made to give us messages that aren’t readily apparent, so that we get the message they want to give us without knowing quite why. This type of critical thinking is important for self-reflection, because you want to understand your feelings and why are you having them when you react to imagery, and not just make snap judgments.
Image retrieved from: http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/warren-county/index.ssf/2017/12/dairy_queen_sign_auction.html
Image retrieved from: https://pixabay.com/en/lips-lipstick-mouth-red-teeth-2024681/
It is also important to teach students that visual culture is not just trickery or subliminal, but that it can be used to inspire new ideas. My brother, Andrew Lowery, started a company called RealWear, which created the HMT-1, a wearable tablet computer, meant to facilitate training and industry. The design was based on the character Boba Fett’s “Range Finder” from the Star Wars movies (check out the full story athttps://www.realwear.com/products, and scroll to the bottom of the page). Although the original was not functional, the idea behind this inspired new technology, and that type of art making and popular culture has done the same thing many times before and probably will far into the future. Not just in a galaxy far, far away, but on our own planet. The meaning behind art does not just have to be an emotional response. It can be functional as well. It can inspire us to live better lives.
Images retrieved from: http://www.realwear.com
References
Boughton, D., & Freedman, K. (n.d.). Elementary art education: A practical approach to
teaching visual culture. New York, NY: McGraw Hill.
Products - RealWear. (n.d.). Retrieved January 26, 2018, from http://realwear.com/products