Nov 7 2011: I believe there are a number of factors that keep us from moving forward as a culture focused on mastering visual literacy. First, sadly, drawing/doodling/etc. are not practiced everyday for communication in most social/learning settings, nor is it encouraged on a daily basis in classrooms/social settings.
Second, many people are intimidated by creating art in any capacity because of the fear of failure and/or ridicule.
As a social experiment, ask anyone over the age of 11 to draw an unfamiliar object or animal while you watch them. Take note of how many times each person does one or all of the following: erase, retry, make excuses for their short comings, give up, "x" out their work, or deny the challenge outright. I wonder how many people will apologize for their drawing not being "perfect" when they finally finish and show you.
The arts are also commonly mistaken as a frill added onto our education system; not as something that will super charge it. But I believe the tide IS turning.
Maybe people simply miss the fact that visual language is a system of patterns not too different from the patterns found in language arts, science, and math. All of which are used to report back our findings from observing our surroundings in nature to record history, help predict future patterns, or mimic them for our civilizations' better good.
As a visual learner, I understand the basic form of visual language as a straight line and a curved line (a single letters/number) that can be manipulated into a shape (word/number) which we combine with other shapes and lines to create an image (sentence/equation) to serve a specific purpose whether it is to pose a question, answer a question, or explore a thought. Artistic process and the scientific process are the same to me. If we bring total awareness to these shared patterns, nonvisual learners may finally understand it.
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A comment on Conversation: Why is visual literacy discouraged in most cultures & WHAT CAN WE DO to change that?
Second, many people are intimidated by creating art in any capacity because of the fear of failure and/or ridicule.
As a social experiment, ask anyone over the age of 11 to draw an unfamiliar object or animal while you watch them. Take note of how many times each person does one or all of the following: erase, retry, make excuses for their short comings, give up, "x" out their work, or deny the challenge outright. I wonder how many people will apologize for their drawing not being "perfect" when they finally finish and show you.
The arts are also commonly mistaken as a frill added onto our education system; not as something that will super charge it. But I believe the tide IS turning.
http://www.cedfa.org/special-programs/arts-integration-for-student-success-in-science-and-math/
Maybe people simply miss the fact that visual language is a system of patterns not too different from the patterns found in language arts, science, and math. All of which are used to report back our findings from observing our surroundings in nature to record history, help predict future patterns, or mimic them for our civilizations' better good.
As a visual learner, I understand the basic form of visual language as a straight line and a curved line (a single letters/number) that can be manipulated into a shape (word/number) which we combine with other shapes and lines to create an image (sentence/equation) to serve a specific purpose whether it is to pose a question, answer a question, or explore a thought. Artistic process and the scientific process are the same to me. If we bring total awareness to these shared patterns, nonvisual learners may finally understand it.