In all the discussions about black, white, color, and technology, I became interested in the idea that in today’s world we need to be able to decipher what is real and what is not.  This is laid out in the reading by Nancy Allen, “Ethics and Visual Rhetorics: Seeing’s Not Believing Anymore.”  In the article, Nancy says “Because technology has made enhancement and, in some cases, distortion so easy, visual alterations are becoming common.”  It is so easy to create an original picture or idea just based on the manipulation of visuals.  The art of photo shop can introduce entirely new creatures such as these:

While the first picture is recognized immediately as a fake, because most adults know without a doubt that a Crocaduck does not exist, the second image may take a moment to catch the cut and paste.  If you pay a little more attention, you see that one of the ducks has evolved into the beautiful Duckatoo.  The perfection of the photo shop is so impressive that the imagination runs wild picturing creatures like these in our normal environments.
Not only can this art create brand new creatures of the animal kingdom, it can also completely change the meaning and perception of an everyday picture.  The picture below takes what may be a very bland and “normal” picture of a bus in London, and transforms it into something full of wonder with a dark and elegant feel.  If this picture were not modified, we would most likely see a simple overcast sky during the day, with some people, a dingy bus, and a clock tower in the background.


Lastly, there is virtually nothing that we (humans) look at in the natural world that is viewed through our lens as black and white.  It makes the picture below seem odd to me, because we all know what Lucy and Ricky really look like; one being a bright red-head, the other having hair of jet black that is actually lightened by the black and white picture.
 
Nancy is right, what looks real, is oftentimes not real at all with technologies today.  Or in this case, technologies of the past as well.
0

Add a comment

Trap. The combination of the genres of trance and rap usually through sound mixing and editing, has become a staple of parties and festival shows. They share similar use of synth, heavy base and spoken words to create music.
When we talked in class about usability and the internet, it sounded like the conclusion as to what makes a usable website is simplicity. Creating a website to serve a very obvious purpose is the key to usability.
Every day we are faced with multiple typefaces: the good, the bad and the ugly. Some help us to read faster and more clearly, some to invoke a specific feeling or emotion, all the while persuading us to do something (or buy something).
... and how clashing implications continue to shape our reactions to these colors.

Depending on the region and cultural upbringing, one may have different connotations associated with the colors black, white, and red.
When talking about the ethics and rhetoric of data displays in class, I brought up the example of geographic information system (GIS) and their technique of interpolation.
"The Cognitive Style of Powerpoint" makes the assertion that:

The core ideas of teaching- explanation, reasoning, finding

things out, questioning, content, evidence, credible authority not patronizing

authoritarianism-are contrary to the cognitive style of PowerPoint.
When I first pulled out Tufte's packet on Power Point, it looked like one of the most boring texts on the planet. 30 pages on the style of Power Point? But as I read, I started to see his point and even found myself laughing at certain parts (talking about the “stupefied audience”).
Since media technology has advanced past the typewriter, the capabilities of visual, and eventually digital, rhetoric using images have grown exponentially. By appealing to different human attitudes and emotions, digital images have the ability of persuasion and gaining compliance alike.
Often referred to as graffiti, tagging, or more negatively as vandalism, street-art has been around for 40ish years as it was birthed in the 70 but only gained a real popularity in the mid-80’s.
Blog Archive
Contributors
Loading
Dynamic Views theme. Powered by Blogger. Report Abuse.