#graphictext

              For my final project I would like to explore the philosophical relationship between text and image. For the most part, when you put the two together, the mind will find a connection between the text and image, whether or not an actual connection is there. One could argue (from the psychological standpoint) that there is always a connection between the two, and that its impossible to put an image and text together without having some type of underlying, or maybe even unconscious, intention; the author had some type of reasoning, pattern, or association that they used in making the piece. The same goes with a sequence of images; the mind will find a way to relate the images to one another in order to construct a narrative, whether or not an actual narrative was intended. I plan to mimic this relationship by piecing together images and text in a way that they would not naturally fit together, in order to play up and emphasize the connections that our minds draw completely on their own volition. I wish to accentuate this joint effort between author and reader that it takes to dissect textual imagery –like how Scott McCloud in Understanding Comics described the reader as a “willing and conscious collaborator” who aids and abets the author as the “silent accomplice.”

I would like to repeat certain dark and gloomy symbols, imagery and clichés (i.e. skulls) in combination with motivational phrases and sayings as a means to parody the typical motivational poster. For example, there is one motivational poster I have seen in many different classrooms or therapeutic rooms of purple, blooming orchids with the word “innovation” written in the surrounding black border (along with a motivational quote). I would argue that a flower does not have a natural relation to the theme of ‘innovation,’ and is therefore no more sensible than the ironic, play of opposing emotionally themed parodies that I plan to create. So although the words will directly contrast with the images, a message will still be interpreted by the viewer, but perhaps with a bit more satire than the archetype that I am referencing. The project will be composed mainly of drawings, but also a few photographs, and it will be constructed in the form of a zine.