Culture and Visual Communication

How does your own culture, memory, or background have an impact on what you see and the message the image communicates to you? 

This mural of iconic African American photographer Gordon Parks is painted on the wall of a retail store at an outdoor shopping mall. My own culture as a photographer and public art lover, especially of murals, impacted my decision to pause my shopping experience to engage this mural. I stood in front of it gazing at all of the elements and I was compelled to take a picture of it with my smartphone to share on my Instagram account. In 2018, Instagram recorded that the platform shared more than 50 billion photos (Page and Duffy 8). According to Page and Duffy, “media are our environment as much as the physical spaces we inhabit. Old ways of belief are challenged even more in a world built of visual communication” (6). My smartphone empowers me to capture images that represent my brand and my values. “Smartphones and tablets capture both the mundane and extraordinary in digital photography and video” (Page and Duffy 9). The image communicates to me the impact Gordon Parks has had on the field of photography with his style of taking pictures of the daily life experiences of African Americans.  This image further communicates to me that Black is Beautiful. 

What signs and symbols are present in the image? 

The most important symbol of this image is the camera. It is an important tool that captures beautiful images of African American people experiencing life. Other symbols are the tree, which symbolizes wisdom and growth, and a book that the girl is reading, which also represents history, or recording life to be studied and shared. 

How does the image persuade you? 

This image persuades me to use my camera to capture images of everyday life that people experience. The “visual system must rely on context at all levels" (Allen Institute). When I look at this image, the camera is the most distinguishing feature. The symbol of the camera gives me context that Gordon Parks is an observer of life and he uses his camera to document history. His name written at the bottom of the mural reinforces his importance in photography. 

What message is the image communicating to you?

The main message I receive is that it is my duty as an artist to capture the beauty of the human experience with my camera. I use my smartphone the same way Gordon Parks used his camera to observe humanity. I also receive the message that human subjects are important elements to document because they tell us stories that words can’t convey. 

What are the connotative meanings in the image? 

“Artists can manipulate our visual system to tap into context from the gist of a visual scene to the emotional resonance we might associate with a time or place so that a painting or photograph becomes more than the sum of its parts" (Allen Institute). Gordon Parks connotes a feeling of human dignity and freedom with the subjects out in nature. The woman is free to read, which digs into the historical past of African Americans not being allowed to read during slavery or own a library card or legally check out books during the Jim Crow era. At first glance, this is a simple image of a photographer capturing human subjects, but a closer look reveals a history lesson and a sense of Black pride.

Works Cited 

Page, Janis Teruggi, and Margaret Duffy. Visual Communication Insights and Strategies. 1st ed., Wiley-Blackwell, 2021. 

“The Nature of Seeing How the Brain Constructs the Visual World.” YouTube, uploaded by the Allen Institute, 9 January 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-7mO2FhaVE.