Reading Blog #1

Re-Viewing Visual Literacy in the “Bain d’ Images” Era By Maria D. Avgerinou discusses the topic of visual literacy in a way that undermines our “current” curriculum and understanding of literacy as a skill to learn. That is the fact that within an ever expanding world that uses visual media in everything we do, visual literacy becomes even more so important. Our world no longer depends solely on linguistic text-based literacy when it comes to everyday life. It is difficult to weave through a day without coming into contact with visual media and yet, we fail to educate and be taught the importance of visual literacy, that is the ability to dissect and understand what we see. 

Being able to consume and digest everything we see has become increasingly difficult not only due to constant change in media but also because many have become complacent in the concept of living in an “image bath.” The article describes this perfectly. Living in this bath does not equate understanding of its contents. In most cases, this constant barrage of imagery leaves as fast as it comes in. Information is so freely available that it has also become a distraction, a mask so to say, from the real, more important things in life. Consequently meaning decays and degrades, when everything holds a lesser value in the grand scheme of the internet due to the sheer number of elements within the tiny worlds we hold in our hands. Tolerance for delay has become increasingly low, otherwise interest is lost all the while reality blurs with what is seen in screens. And that is why being able to dissect what our eyes see becomes all the more important. 

In a world of self-reflection through images, visual literacy becomes a method of learning and improvement. It allows people of all types to interact with the world. It ultimately builds up confidence and independence, expression and motivation. It allows people who generally have difficulties in a highly “ rigorous academic” setting to open up and explore. To me, visual literacy slows the pace of information filtering. It allows me to look closer and understand what it is I’m looking at and understand why something might be made the way it is. Visual literacy in short is just another way to absorb the world while internalizing it. 

This reading reminds me of the logo quizzes I used to do with my brothers. Simply seeing isn't understanding. I might recognize a logo but know next to nothing about the brand and what they do. It just goes to show how saturated and reliant our life has become with images and visual media to the point its almost scary. Not seeing them is almost surreal and punishing to our comfort.