18 Rhetorical Analysis of Visual Texts

The picture above (Fig 18.2) depicts more than just a moment in time for the sake of memory, although it certainly does that, too. It portrays a central, dominant figure. The color red is bold and centers the figure, giving the image weight. It also conveys several political messages, both obvious and nuanced. The person in the picture is wearing a mask, as people were either asked or mandated to do during the COVID-19 pandemic. The slogan on their mask reads, “I can’t breathe,” words that were made infamous after Eric Garner (1970–2014) died as the result of an illegal chokehold inflicted by New York City police officer Daniel Pantaleo during arrest. These words were repeated by George Floyd (1973–2020) in an 8-minute, 46-second video showing his murder by Minnesota police officer Derek Michael Chauvin, who knelt on Floyd’s neck. The phrase became one of several slogans of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, symbolizing the struggle that People of Color endure when living in an implicitly and explicitly racist culture. Breathing — like blood — is fundamental, essential. Without breath, there is no life. Thus, this slogan draws attention to the fact that People of Color may be brutalized for no reason other than their existence.

Placing the slogan on a mask is a design choice likely to provoke those who have argued against mandated mask wearing as an assault on personal liberty, and who have proclaimed that they could not breathe while wearing masks. Juxtaposition, or placing contrasting elements close together, is a technique that image creators often use for a variety of purposes: humor, irony, sarcasm, or — in this case — disgust or outrage. The juxtaposition of the mask with a slogan referencing literal asphyxiation emphasizes the wearer’s view that state violence against People of Color is a more serious threat to their existence than a mask. Thus, the image is open to multiple interpretations. 

The creator of the above image (Fig 18.3) chooses to highlight the digital waterfall with its seductive lighting and colors. Meanwhile, the people interacting with the computer are barely visible, standing off to the side, some nearly out of the frame. The silhouetted profiles and darkened faces lack identifying details. These features are emphasized by the blurred people in the background. These figures, too, are unidentifiable and are looking out of the frame, uninterested. The effect is to imply that the waterfall and its computer interface dominate human interaction and possibly even human existence in this context.

Arrangement

In addition to point of view, artists use arrangement to signal an image’s significance to the reader. This aspect is also referred to as the image’s composition, or how it is put together. The term arrangement in visual texts might be compared to terms such as order, organization, and structure in verbal texts, though the differences are substantial. While writers arrange a story, essay, or poem to take place over time — that is, the time readers need to follow the text, line by line, through a number of pages — image creators arrange pictures in the two-dimensional space of their viewfinder, paper, or canvas to invite viewers to read in space rather than time.

This difference is also evident in sculpture and other three-dimensional works, which require viewers to move around them to read them spatially. In visual texts, then, arrangement refers to the ways in which the various parts of a picture come together to present a single coherent experience for the viewer.

In contrast to static images, which are read spatially, videos and some types of multimodal texts — those incorporating more than one genre, discipline, or literacy (for example, GIFs that incorporate pictures or videos with language) — combine elements of both time and space. That is, they invite viewers to examine an image in motion that changes over time. Video creators often mimic linear time by telling a story, or repeat key images to be interpreted differently after being seen in various contexts within the video.

One element to examine is the use of pattern — predictable, repeated elements within the visual field that the eye is naturally drawn to. Just as sonnets, sestinas, and haiku follow patterns of lines, so do visual compositions. But in these, patterns are created by light and color rather than words. Documentary and commercial photographers often use visual patterns to lead viewers to an intended message. Patterns are especially prominent in street art, where the elements of surrounding architecture and infrastructure interact with the work, as shown in the following figure (Fig 18.4).

Many patterns are suggested by mathematics. For example, the Möbius strip is both a mathematical construct and a visual enigma. It has one side and one boundary curve. It looks like a spiral, but it does not intersect itself. Thus, it gives the impression of being infinite. In the mural pictured above (Fig 18.4), the artist capitalizes on these features of the Möbius strip, using it to depict the seemingly endless cycle of destruction (green tanks) and reconstruction (yellow steamrollers) in one of the world’s most contested pieces of real estate: the Gaza Strip.

Ownership and control of the Gaza Strip are disputed. Approximately two million people live there, many in refugee camps. Since the mid-20th century, the region has been fought over by Israel, Egypt, and Palestinian Arabs. As you contemplate the mural, think about the way its creator uses pattern and repetition to convey ideas and emotions.

Color

Pattern and arrangement are controlled by the image creator and intended to guide the viewer. Color and symbol allow the viewer greater latitude in interpreting the image, in part because particular colors suggest specific moods and can provoke certain emotions or connotations. 

Think about your personal reactions to different colors. What color might you select to paint your bedroom? What is your favorite color for, say, clothing or cars? While these may differ according to personal preference, traditional symbolic values are attached to different colors in literature and art. Why, for instance, does red often symbolize anger or war on the one hand and romance or passion on the other? Why does black often suggest danger or death? And why does white often stand for innocence or purity? Are the reasons for these associations arbitrary, cultural, or logical?

Particular colors also suggest or reinforce social and political ideas. What, for example, is suggested by adding a red, white, and blue American flag to a magazine advertisement for an American automobile, political poster, or bumper sticker? What is the meaning of a yellow ribbon tied to a tree in front of a house or an image of a yellow ribbon sticker attached to the tailgate of a pickup truck? By themselves, colors do not specify political positions, arguments, or ideas, but when used in conjunction with specific words or forms — a flag or ribbon, for example — the emotional power of color can be influential.

Color associations are highly nuanced and differ from culture to culture. The following overview is brief and simplified, to be considered merely as an introduction or starting point for your research into individual artistic expressions. When you interpret an artist’s use of color, one place to start is with the hues found in the natural world. Because blood is red, the color is often associated with life, heat, and passion. Yellow and green appear with the new growth of spring, so these colors often symbolize new beginnings, freshness, and hope. Both the sea and the sky are blue. Although these elements can be turbulent, many people find peace and tranquility as they reflect on them, and thus they are often associated with these emotions.

Regardless of colors’ natural associations, people from around the world understand colors differently. In China, for example, red is a celebratory color associated with holidays, feasts, and the giving of gifts, whereas in some parts of Africa the color may symbolize the sacrifices made in the fight for independence. In the Western world, white can represent purity or innocence and is often worn by young women at their weddings. However, in parts of Asia, white is a color of mourning.

The colors mentioned so far are mostly primary colors: red, yellow, and blue. The secondary colors — orange, green, and purple — carry more complex meanings. Both orange and the bright shade of green called neon or chartreuse are easy to see in all light conditions. Therefore, they are often used for safety purposes — on caution signs or the uniforms of emergency workers. Orange is associated with the robes of Buddhist monks, thus representing in Buddhist cultures that which is holy; whereas, in the Netherlands, orange is the color of the royal family and is used for patriotic symbolism.

In addition to connotations of spring, green is also associated with Islam. In the Christian tradition, yellow and gold are colors associated with riches and abundance. Holiness is also associated with blue in Egyptian, Hindu, and Christian cultures (in which blue has other associations as well). Because purple has traditionally been a difficult color to manufacture, its rarity meant that only the very wealthy, often nobility or royalty, could afford to wear it — hence its association with royals and even gods. However, some cultures, such as Thai, Brazilian, and Italian cultures, associate purple with bad luck or death. 

Again, this overview of colors’ different interpretations and associations is not intended as a guide for interpreting color in a visual image. Instead, consider all of the different ways in which color can be understood, some ways that the artist might intend for color to be interpreted, and the associations that colors have for you when you view an image.

All of this will help you interpret visual information through the lens of rhetoric, as well as consider the symbolic importance of color in your own communication (e.g., art or presentations).

Like colors, symbols are interpreted differently by individuals on the basis of their personal and cultural experiences. Above is an example of two state flags with very different symbolism. The first image (Fig 18.5) depicts an older version of the Mississippi state flag (adopted in 1894); the second image (Fig 18.6) depicts the current version (adopted in 2021).