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Unit Paper 2

Zachariah Amelio

Sacramento State University: ART 133

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Power

Power is a force that lives in all aspects of life, and this force can influence the behavior

of others. Visual Culture is one form of power. Visual culture delves into the visual elements that

individual images and objects portray; and highlights exactly how powerful these aspects can be

to the conscious and unconscious mind. Youth are the most susceptible to this for they are still

learning about the world around them and have a harder time decoding this information.

Decoding these visual elements can be done through denotation and connotation. Both are

emphasized by Terry Barret, when he explains that the way images and objects visually appear

can sway the viewers opinion, attitude, belief and values because bias information is being

presented as truth (2003). Many commercial, advertisements, shows, magazines, etc. work to

present or enforce an agenda on the viewer to either entertain or influence in some way, shape, or

form. Students need to become aware of these hidden aspects of society because it will help them

direct themselves into avenues of great interest and inspiration that will further them in life.

Visual culture can be seen as a platform for social reconstruction (Hurwitz and Day, 2007);

however, that is a convoluted way to categorize such an intricate, beautiful thing. I believe that

the power of visual culture is enormous and can help young people analyze the world around

them, and even find their very own power.

The social world is a topic that students need to be more and more aware of because

visual culture is present in every part of life. Hurwitz and Day define visual culture in three

different ways, but the one that rang most true to me was, all that is humanly formed and sensed

through vision (2007). This is the way I will intergrade visual culture into my classroom

because I will want my students to endeavor into things that are informative, hold great meaning

to them personally, and to appeal to their aesthetic pleasure, not only political and social matters.
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I will focus on combining the three practices of visual culture presented by Hurwitz and Day;

with a slight focus on Applied Artist and Their Art because it can inspire art and creativity into

the students career goals. Visual culture is weaved into the pattern our day to day lives, so the

most beneficial thing we as teachers can do is simply apply art, develop a curriculum that

supports the art, and engage the students in a way that opens the students eyes to the

opportunities and the powers within them.

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References

Barrett, T. (2003). Interpreting visual culture. Art Education, 56(2), 6-12.

Hurwitz, A., & Day, M. (2007). Children and their art: Methods for the elementary school, (8th
ed.). Thompson Wadsworth.