Image Cloud Analysis

The goal of these “Image Cloud” exercises is to get you to “think in images”. What we want you to do is to look at an advertisement and “see” other images that relate to it in one way or another. This can be literal, and it can also be more subjective…Meaning, it can be a “feeling” that another image relates to the advertisement outside of itself, and you just “know” it should be in relation to that particular advertisement. Also, this can be related to ANY element within the selected ad (language cues, image cues, etc).

Hopefully these exercises will help you to look at advertisements from various time periods in a unique way, and also perhaps shed new light on what’s going on “within” the advertisement from a deeper cultural perspective.

1) Chose ONE image to analyze from the three provided, below.

2) Brainstorm a word/pharase list related to the image: write down whatever comes to mind regarding the advertisement. What do you see? What don’t you see? What are the shapes? Colors? Messages? Objects? Symbols? What is it trying to “say”? What creative materials and forms are used within the image (mostly photography? Illustration?), etc…Let your mind wander…FOR THIS PART, you will turn it in as a TEXT ENTRY within the Assignment window (i.e., you don’t have to attach it as a separate file).

Break this “brainstorm” down into these components:

A) The “Literal Message(s)”

i) What are the literal, obvious things that are in the image? Do a direct, literal description of what is in the ad

B) The “Linguistic Message” – If there is text in the ad, evaluate it by discussing:

i) “Denoted” text: What are the linguistic messages (tag lines, other text in the ad, etc) that are obvious that are in the advertisement (if any…some ads many not have a lot of words in the them, or any).

ii) “Connoted” text: What are the messages in the text that are inferred? Meaning, what might the “hidden” messages be within the printed text? What are the words trying to say if it is not direct?

C) The “Symbolic Message(s)”

i) Find the signs or symbols that are within the Image (rather than the text). What are the NON-verbal (non-linguistic) parts of the message the advertisement is trying to show you? What does the “art” part of the ad (the illustration, the photograph, etc) say without using words? Just do your best to come up with things to find and talk about here!

Refer back to the image and description in the link we saw last week about Barthes for help:

https://tracesofthereal.com/2009/12/21/the-rhetoric-of-the-image-roland-barthes-1977/

3) Now, start Googling for images using your word and phrase list from the Brainstorm above.

4) Open up GIMP and start creating your Image Cloud…and have fun! 🙂 Upload your finished JPEG file to this Assignment page(NOT the original, saved GIMP file on your computer! As per the GIMP Training Video, FIRST save your Image Cloud collage as a GIMP file with layers, THEN “merge” all the Layers, THEN “Export As” as a JPEG format, THEN close GIMP (you can “Discard” any changes if it asks if you want to save them) once you are finished.