Image as Text – Sean Jones | Kristin Becker's DTC Classes at WSU

Being a visual learner like myself, I am naturally very excited to be starting the Image as Text part of the Final Project. I decided to choose 3 relatively simple images because I am going into a pretty large amount of depth as far as image manipulation goes, however, they represent the feelings and transmit the information I want the viewer to collect. They say “a picture means a thousand words” and I completely agree; the stimulation one can accumulate from a visual image is definitely earth-shaking, especially to non educated viewers. Here is the poem by Regan in Chris Arigo’s Class: (not quite titled yet) “The way you sat, arm slung across my scuffed leather headrest, your hand shaping the wheel of your ‘84 Volkswagen Rabbit, and the way my fingers caught in the ridges of the volume knob when Chicago came bursting to life on the speakers; it was as if we’d known each other our whole lives and driven that way countless times before, down that same stretch of highway, in that same dirty sundress, following the same finger of light. our solitary corona clutching the chipped yellow paint.” Wanting to possibly use the realistic factor of photography, my friend Jordan Nicholson gave me a a photo he took one snowy morning of a road. The act of choosing a photograph is safe in itself, as the client perceives it easier and understands it for what it is. I chose a snowy road because although the poem comes off as lovey-dovey, there is still the negative uncertainty of the future. The second image I chose was the outline of hands holding each other. The initial insertion of an illustration opens up almost endless possibilities, so I went for one of the most minimalistic images of hands holding that I could find. Using this illustration continues the realistic concept although it gives the viewer a more emotional feel, the negative space leaves more to the imagination of the viewer and promotes ambiguity to the degree of detail. Lastly, an image of a painting. A collage of colors can mean a lot to the person viewing it, and I wanted to set the mood right off the bat with this image. The feelings Regan and I developed from this poem was warmth, yet doubtfulness, along with of course, love. A collage of these earthy, redish yellowish hues set the mood pretty close to what we felt reading the poem. I think these 3 images capture best the depiction of this poem, and although these are just tiny sprouts, they will grow into a great flower.