Visual rhetoric
Visual rhetoric is the practice of using images as a means of communication and persuasion, distinct from traditional rhetoric, which typically involves speech or writing. Unlike visual art created solely for aesthetic enjoyment, visual rhetoric aims to convey symbolic cultural meaning and often serves a specific argumentative purpose. The analysis of visual rhetoric examines how images can effectively communicate ideas and influence audiences, making it relevant across various academic disciplines such as linguistics, semiotics, art history, and business communication.
The term "visual rhetoric" gained traction in the 1990s and early 2000s, paralleling the rise of visual media through the internet and television, highlighting the importance of visual literacy in modern communication. The scope of visual rhetoric is broad, encompassing diverse forms of visual expression, including paintings, photographs, advertisements, web pages, films, and more. It also recognizes the significance of how text is presented visually, suggesting a close interplay between written language and imagery. Scholars in this field often explore the emotional impact of images compared to words and investigate whether visual arguments require textual elements to be effective. Overall, visual rhetoric is a vital area of study that reflects the evolving landscape of communication in a visually driven world.
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Subject Terms
Visual rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art or practice of communication. Typically, rhetoric involves speech or writing. However, it may also involve the use of images as a way to communicate. This is called visual rhetoric. Visual rhetoric differs from visual art and design in that it communicates symbolic cultural meaning rather than being created solely for aesthetic appreciation. The object of visual rhetoric is used as a means of persuasion for a particular idea and may be accompanied by words or stand on its own. The study of visual rhetoric involves the analysis and description of the ways in which these images communicate meaning and/or persuasively advance an argument.
Overview
Visual rhetoric as a discipline does not have a particular history, as the study of images has likely occurred for as long as humankind has been creating them. The term itself emerged in scholarly texts of the 1990s as a theoretical framework of analysis and saw increasing usage in the early 2000s as scholars acknowledged that the modern world’s major sources of information—the internet and television—are primarily visual. These scholars have emphasized the increasing importance of visual literacy.
Visual rhetorical analysis may be used in a variety of academic fields of study, including classical rhetoric, linguistics, semiotics, art history, and business communication. Semiotics, which studies the significance of signs and symbols, is closely related to visual rhetoric but less broad in its scope. Visual rhetoric applies to all visual forms of human communication. Thus, the type of visual object under study varies, from paintings, photographs, sculpture, and architecture, to web pages, charts, diagrams, and advertisements. Visual rhetorical objects may also include videogames, films, and newspapers.
The visual object is often considered a different medium than the written word. However, visual rhetoric may apply to text. Traditional writing is viewed with one’s eyes, and which words are used and how they appear on the page (their typography) are of considerable importance in advancing an idea. In other words, the object of visual rhetorical analysis is virtually limitless as long as it involves images. Such an interpretation has led to further research into the relationship between written language, spoken language, and meaning.
Despite its limitless potential, visual rhetorical study of modern objects tends to focus on advertising, web design, film, and iconic photography. The belief that pictures may be more emotional than words is a key tenet of this study, as is the relationship between images and words—specifically the question of whether visual arguments need text attached to be effective.
Bibliography
Atzmon, Leslie, ed. Visual Rhetoric and the Eloquence of Design. Parlor, 2011.
Campelo, Adriana, et al. “Visual Rhetoric and Ethics in Marketing of Destinations.” Journal of Travel Research, vol. 50, no. 1, 2011, pp. 3–14.
Cyphert, Dale. “Presentation Technology in the Age of Electronic Eloquence: From Visual Aid to Visual Rhetoric.” Communication Education, vol. 56, no. 2, 2007, pp. 168–92.
Handa, Carolyn. Visual Rhetoric in a Digital World: A Critical Sourcebook. St. Martin’s, 2004.
Hill, Charles A., and Marguerite H. Helmers, editors. Defining Visual Rhetorics. Erlbaum, 2004.
Jewel, Lucille A. “Through a Glass Darkly: Using Brain Science and Visual Rhetoric to Gain a Professional Perspective on Visual Advocacy.” Southern California Interdisciplinary Law Journal, vol. 19, no. 2, 2010, pp. 237–98.
Lagerwerf, Luuk, et al. “Processing Visual Rhetoric in Advertisements: Interpretations Determined by Verbal Anchoring and Visual Structure.” Journal of Pragmatics, vol. 44, no. 13, 2012, pp. 1836–52.
Ortiz, Maria J. “Visual Rhetoric: Primary Metaphors and Symmetric Object Alignment.” Metaphor & Symbol, vol. 25, no. 3, 2010, pp. 162–80.
"Visual Rhetoric and the Power of Imagery: A Brief Lesson in the Rhetorical Power of Images and the Need for phronesis and krisis in the Teaching of Visual Rhetoric." Video Journal of Education and Pedagogy, vol. 6, no. 1, 2021, pp. 1–11, doi:10.1163/23644583-bja10021. Accessed 14 Oct. 2024.