How%20Pictures%20Work

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How Pictures Work

• A brief overview based on the
• work of Molly Bang

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In this lesson, we will explore how visual images
make meaning or better yet, how we
make meaning from visual images. Some
of the slides will ask you to think about what
youre looking at. Please do this in earnest. As
you do, you will begin to understand the point of
Bangs book which is, of coure, how pictures
work. There are no right or wrong answers, but
you may be surprised at how many common
understandings of line, color, shape and space
emerge. These common understandings or
readings are what make pictures work.
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• THREE KEY ELEMENTS help pictures work.
• 1. Context
• 2. Composition
• 3. Compositional elements
• (You may be surprised at how much of this you
  already know!)

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• CONTEXT
• CONTEXT refers to outside influences on the text
  things that impact our thoughts or feelings about
  the text and that can give us clues when we
  analyze the text.
• For instance, if we see Jim Carey in a movie, we
  bet its genre is comedy, even before he does
  something funny. This is because of an outside
  influence - we know that he has made other comedy
  movies, so we expect that.
• Other typical CONTEXTS that make a text
  meaningful
• Historical context (e.g. songs from the 60s /
  hippie music)
• Emotional context (a hug at a wedding vs. a
  hug at a funeral)

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COMPOSITION COMPOSITION is somewhat opposite of
context. Whereas context looks exclusively
outside the text, composition looks exclusively
at the text itself. What is the text like? What
are its parts? How are they put together? These
are all COMPOSITION questions. Text composition
is not about the meaning of the text. Yes,
compositional elements help determine the
meaning, but when we talk composition, we are
just talking about the make-up of the text
itself. Composition is a very important
consideration when we analyze a text. By
describing the compositional elements of a text,
we can explain how they cause us to interpret the
text as we do.
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• COMPOSITIONAL ELEMENTS
• Compositional Elements found in visual texts
  include
• Color
• Contrast
• Size
• Shape
• Spatial Arrangement
• Symmetry
• When we discuss the composition of a text, these
  are some of the aspects of the composition we
  refer to.
• (Now see these 3 Key Elements at work!)

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• LOOK CLOSELY at this cover picture from Molly
  Bangs book.
• Whats happening in the picture?
• What about the COMPOSITION COMPOSITIONAL
  ELEMENTS make you think so?

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What well-known childrens story is Bang telling?
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With this picture, Bang is telling the story of
Little Red Riding Hood. When she wrote this
book, she worked to communicate the essence of
the story with COMPOSITION the COMPOSITIONAL
ELEMENTS of line, shape, color, space. Does
this picture work? How do the COMPOSITION
COMPOSITIONAL ELEMENTS help it succeed?
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Now, look at this slide. What impressions does
the shape give you? How does it compare with the
shape on the next slide?
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How do the two shapes compare? Which is cooler
and less interesting? Which is more dynamic or
energetic? Which is more huggable? Why? Why do
you suppose the triangle was chosen for Little
Red Riding Hood? Now, think about the mother.
Consider the following several slides.
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This could represent a mother and daughter.
But, other than size, how motherly does the big
triangle seem?
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How about now? The author thought the rounded
corners made the figure more gentle and mom-like.
But, think about the color.
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The author thought red was too energetic for the
mom. Plus, moms and daughters arent exactly the
same. So, Bang chose purple. Purple is related
to red, but not the same.
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• But why did Bang choose a red triangle to
  represent the protagonist?
• Literal Reasons
• The protagonist is Little Red Ridinghood (so the
  color makes sense.)
• The triangle is similar in shape to the hood or
  cape she wears
• Figurative Reason
• Red represents danger, and the girl is in
  danger.
• Red is an energetic color, the color of blood
  and life and fire.

All of these meanings are going on at the same
time and we must sort out which ones to pay
attention to. CONTEXT helps us do that.
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• Summary of design ideas so far
• SIZE has meaning - bigger for the mom.
• SHAPE has meaning rounded shapes are softer
  more motherly
• COLOR has meaning literal figurative reasons
  just stated

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So, what about CONTRAST and SPATIAL ARRANGEMENT?
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Mom gives her the basket. The color is black to
contrast with the other colors. It stands out.
Its clearly something different that the other
two shapes. Note how the basket is tilted, also.
This implies motion, that mom is handing it off.
If it were level, it wouldnt have that feeling.
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Mom gives Little Red Riding Hood the basket. Its
color is black to contrast with the other colors.
It stands out because it is different from the
other two shapes.
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The black basket is also slightly tilted. This
implies motion energy. If it were level, it
would have a calmer feeling.
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Now, consider the forest and Bangs possible
choices for trees. Does this possibility work?
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How about this option?
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Or maybe this one?
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Bangs FIRST CHOICE seemed simple and even
boring. Also, compositionally, it was made up of
triangles. This might have confuse the issue with
Little Red Riding Hood. Bangs SECOND CHOICE was
more obviously tree-like. But the shapes also
crowded the space and didnt leave much room for
Little Red Riding Hood. In Bangs THIRD
ARRANGMENT, the trees seem very tall we cant
see their tops. And the different widths imply
space they make the forest look deep. This
choice, then, was best. Now, look at the next 4
slides. How does changing the SIZE and SPATIAL
ARRAGEMENT affect your feelings about the
picture? Which one is more scary? In the story,
Little Red Riding Hood is in danger, afterall!
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How does this COMPOSITION feel?
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Did changing her size impact the meaning?
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How does the picture feel now?
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How about now?
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In this image, there is SYMMETRY in the tree
trunks. They all go up and down.
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How about now. Does the picture feel the same?
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• Molly Bang explained these three COMPOSITIONS in
  this way
• When everything is straight up down or
  sideways, things seem STABLE.
• When things are at an angle, they seem IN
  MOTION. Angles make things seem scarier, too.
  These trees might fall on the little girl!
• There is also a lot of open white space for her
  to move into as she comes forward. However, the
  angled trees seem to cut her off from going
  backwards.
• In the next 10 pictures, we see the WOLF!
• Which ones seem scarier?
• What do you see that makes you say so?

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• Reflection
• A smaller wolf might have been more creepy /
  sneaky, but perhaps less dangerours
• A purple wolfnot so scary. He seems more like
  a stuffed animal.
• A wolf with round corners make him look more
  like a sock puppet.
• What about purple eyes?
• What about the red triangle eye? It makes him
  look sort of surprised!
• Now, what about these possibilities for the wolf.
  See what you think.

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Consider the red tongue. It makes the wolf stand
out more from the background . Also, you cant
see the tree trunk through his mouth any
longer. Note also the use of RED. It seems
associated with Little Red Riding Hood by color,
and the red is literal for the tongue. Red is
also demonic for the eye think of the horror
films you may have seen. Now, consider the
change in background color. Whats up with that?
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What does a purple background do to the feeling
of the picture?
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Finally, the author experimented with more
contrast on the teeth. This could be a literal
choice, but real wolf teeth are probably not so
pearly white. White does make us think of teeth,
though, and there is a lot of contrast. What
do the wolfs white teeth add to the picture?
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This PowerPoint has been a brief overview of the
building a picture section of Molly Bangs
book. You are STRONGLY encouraged to read the
full text to expand and reinforce your
understanding of how compositional elements help
pictures work. CONTEXT is still needed to figure
out the story completely, but the images get us
close. Even without knowing what the story was,
you could have guessed that a wolf was after
something from the first picture you
saw. ALTERNATIVE ASSIGNMENT Create ONE frame of
a story most people will know. Use simple
shapes like were used here to capture the
essential narrative of the inspirational
text. Then, write a 1-page statement to explain
WHY you made the choices you did. Your reasons
shouldnt be ALL figurative or ALL literal - go
for a mix of both.
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References

• Bang, M. (1991/2000). Picture this How pictures
  work. New York, NY Sea Star Books.