Images & Theory - key terms

Main subject: CULTURE 

Semiotics -  investigating signs, symbols, how meaning is understood and communicated

Visual language - communicating through visual means

Cultural perspectives - understanding certain culture views of the world

Universal Language - hypothetical language in which the people (globally) understands

Cultural appropriation - adopting a certain culture in someone else's, sometimes deemed offensive

Censorship - suppression of information, content that is politically unacceptable, indecent

Images & Theory - what? why? how? to what extent...
Proto-research question(s)

• Cultural differences can affect how the audience perceive artworks? 
• Why cultural tropes work better through art rather than through any other means of communication?
• To what extent is importance of universal understanding in art? (With the cost of diluting the difference in culture, diversity, individuality)

- Perhaps look into editorial illustrations and ways of visually communicating, semiotics.

- Getting the message across a global audience.

- Look into culture appropriation in art (Orientalism?)

• Studio Ghibli made movies for the western audience and the US release edited two sequences as they deemed that it is irrelevant to western culture and that the general audience would not understand the cultural reference (Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese animation. Helen McCarthy, 2002)

• It was an interesting point that they had a part removed due to cultural irrelevance despite it obviously being a Japanese made animation.  

My Neighbor Totoro, Studio Ghibli (1988). The statues is a common
symbol of protecting children in the Japanese Religion.

Reading + Understanding Texts

This is a short article on an interview with Studio Ghibli's founder, Hayao Miyazaki. I thought that I would look into this particular studio as they tend to communicate a few cultural references, political and social issues through their animations. 

• This article mainly discusses social issues and the current generation (in Japan). However it covers several topics on perspectives and culture. 

"Miyazaki also cautions about Japan viewing the world from a homogeneous perspective. 'We need to see the world from a multi-ethnic viewpoint,'" 

• This made me consider the fact that cultural background would influence how people perceive any creative platform, the world even. As simple as street signs, Japanese people might read into symbols differently than westerners.

• Though there is this idea of 'lost in translation'. What would it mean to create a universally accepted/understood content, in this case artworks. Is it even possible to surpass the large cultural difference and diversity of the world?

More Reading - AI WEI WEI, ORIENTALISM (?), CULTURES, SEMIOTICS, UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE...
Reading material 

• Cultural Perspectives in Film: The Wind Rises, Psychology Today. Arhtur P. Shimamura Ph.D
• Ai Weiwei has become a symbol of dissidence worldwide. It shows in his art, Vox. Lindsay Maizland
• Orientalism (?)

"It's a prison for freedom of speech." - Ai Wei Wei talks about being an artist in China. 'A city that doesn't really belong to its residents.'

• That phrase in particular made me think about freedom of expression in art, an yet Ai Wei Wei for instance is restricted when it comes to creating art, expressing certain content. Could it be due to the culture? Politics perhaps?

• Cultural disconnect - an interesting word I came across when I read a book on Hayao Miyazaki's animations. Basically not understanding the cultural context. 

Blowhard. David Plunkert. (2017)

• If I weren't up to date with current news and history, I wouldn't possibly get the context or message behind that editorial piece. This made me think of ways of visually communicating 

Themes, Subjects to look into

Cultural understanding and its relationship with visual communication

• Eastern + Western Culture --> International culture

Semiotics = visual language

Universal understanding = universal language, symbols, signs

Establishing a Research Question?

Key words (interests)

Society

World art

Culture

Environmentalism/social issues

Psychology

Photography/documentary 

Editorial 

Possible topics: 

• Human psychology --> market/advertising in art. Perhaps look into consumerism (behaviour wise) 

• World culture/art --> ethics and freedom of expression. Leaning more towards symbols, metaphors and ways of visually communicating.

Next step

• The topic is still quite broad, I might need to narrow down further. But I think that I still need to do more researching, look at articles and phrases or quotes (as a starting point)