Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
Word and Image: Brainwashing the Narrative
Pictures greatly influence each oth-
ers' meaning . . . and words, even more so. As soon as words—concrete, accessible, se-
ductive—appear next to an image, the image's meaning is altered forever. Just as there
is a semantic gap between images that are juxtaposed, so too is there such a gap between
words and pictures. The gap might be relatively small, created by a direct, literal rela-
tionship between the two players. Or, the gap may be enormous, allowing the viewer to
construct a narrative that is not readily apparent in the image when it appears by itself.
The word “death,” placed next to an image of a skull, for example, produces a relatively
small semantic gap—although not as small a gap as the word “skull” would produce.
Consider, however, the same skull image adjacent to the word “love;” the tremendous
distance between what is shown and what is told, in this case, presents a world of narrat-
ive possibility. Every image is susceptible to change when words appear next to it—so
much so that a designer can easily alter the meaning of the same image over and over
again by replacing the words that accompany it. In a sequential arrangement in which
the same image is repeated in subsequent page spreads but is accompanied each time by
a new word or phrase, new experience and knowledge about the image are introduced to
the viewer. Once this knowledge is introduced, the viewer will no longer be able to con-
sider the image in its original context. The meaning of the image, as far as the viewer
is concerned, will be the composite meaning that includes all the information acquired
through the sequence. Not surprisingly, the ability of images to change the meanings
of words is equally profound. This mutual brainwashing effected by words and images
depends a great deal on the simultaneity of their presentation—that is, whether the two
are shown together, at once, or in succession. If seen simultaneously, word and im-
age will create a single message in which each reciprocally advances the message and
neither is truly changed in the viewer's mind—the message is a gestalt. However, if one
is seen first and the other second, the viewer has a chance to construct meaning before
being influenced. In such cases, the semantic gap is greatly widened and the impact of
the change is more dramatic: the viewer, in the short time given to assimilate and be-
come comfortable with the meaning of the first word or image he or she has seen, must
give up his or her assumptions and alter his or her mindset.
