Self Portrait

Empirical Representation

Symbolic Representation

The first photo above is a traditional self portrait, or "selfie" photo that I took on my computer. The image has clearly been altered into a black and white photo, but other than that the image is a straight forward photo image of a girl smiling for a camera. Meanwhile, the second photo is a collage of activities, people, and other things that make up "Mary Scanlan".

Though these images are both very different from one another, they both represent one person, me. They also both contain signifiers, as well as the signified. Sturken defines the signifier as the "word, image or object within a sign that convey meaning," and the signified as "the mental concept of the referent, which together with the signifier makes the sign." (460, 459). The signifier of the self portrait would be a smiling girl. Then, the signified meaning of that image would be that the girl, myself, is happy or excited. She has something to smile about, which typically entails that the person within the image is in a good mood. 

The signifier of the second image is not as straight forward. There are a number of different elements to this photo that give it meaning. On one of the more basic levels, this is a pile of things. Objects, photo's, a metal, and so on. A basic signifier could be exactly that- a denotative meaning that this is a pile of someone's belonging and nothing more. From there, the signified could be that this person needs to clean, or that there is something worth money here- that is why someone took a photo of the pile. This photo does not translate as easily into signifier and signified as simply as the self portrait.

The empirically representative photo shows my literal appearance. I am pale with brown hair, and I have blue eyes. This does not give the "spectator" of this image much information about me. However, the symbolic representation does just that, it is much more complex and informative of who I am. I love track and field, so I placed a bib number as well as one of my metals into the photo. There is an oatmeal colored knit beanie, and though I can't knit, I love things are knit. I also am very close with my family, so I placed an old photo of my mother whom I am especially close with. This transitions into the green celtic patch; I am Irish and proud of it, so my heritage means a lot to me. I love the ocean and live very close to it at home, so I used a frame made of sea glass to show this. This display gives the viewer/spectator much more to interpellate, as opposed to a simple photo of myself.

Interpellation

You are flipping through Facebook and a photo is displayed on your news feed. Instead of passing by without a second though, you stop and focus on the photo. You have just been interpellated by that image- to be interpellated by an image is to be "hailed"(103) by the elements, qualities, and subject of the image. Interpellation is thus, less about the context of the image itself, and more about "creating a relationship between the viewer and the image alone than it is about situating the viewer in a field  of meaning production..."(103). Rather, what is it that draws the viewer to the image, what "interpellates"a person to an image? A color, a texture, the connotative meaning perhaps? This, as Sturken and Cartwright would agree, is subjective, because "the meaning of individual human subject is not universal but both historically and culturally contingent" (102).
In this photo below, I have taken a photo during a thunderstorm in my hometown. It was a storm that happened when I was driving with my friends, it rained briefly, but continued to thunder and lightning heavily for hours. It was so bright that we pulled into a parking lot to take some photos.

This is a photo I happened to take at the moment some lightning occurred. My gaze is naturally drawn to the lightning, and the outlines and shadows that it creates within the cloud. From this, there is an insinuation of space in between the clouds, and gives hard lines to the outlines of the cloud, when really it is gaseous and there are no such lines.
I am interpellated by this image not only for the image itself, which I find very visually interesting, but for the memories that it draws back. Later, the rain returned, and me and my friend all  got caught in the rain because we were taking pictures. We all got soaked and had to wait in her car in the parking lot because the rain was so heavy we couldn't see the roads. This knowledge I has provided me with a context for the occurrence of the photo- much more than most people know. Due to the background and the relationship I have with the photo, it interpellates me because I have the ability to recognize myself "as a member of the world of meaning (103)." Without me, this photo is simply a picture of some rain cloud an lightning, but for me, I am able to interpellate the image and "hailed" with a meaning that it may not be  exactly like anybody else.

Cultural Appropriation, Blog Post #2

Sturken and Cartwright describe cultural appropriation as "the process of "borrowing" and changing the meaning of cultural products, slogans, images, and fashion (83).” In simpler terms, one can take a product, image, slogan, and manipulate it in such a way that the dominant or preferred reading is now different from the original reading the producer intended. This sort of cultural appropriation is often used to convey a meaning that is typically in conflict or disagree's with the original reading, or an "oppositional reading(55)."

Often cultural appropriation is "key to political art (83)." An example of cultural appropriation in modern times would be a cover photo of President Barack Obama on the cover of Newsweek...

This image, not so subtly makes Obama look similarly to the Hindu God Kali. Kali is notorious for her many arms, and for also being the God of Death and Destruction. Though this text may read, "God of All Things", the way the image has been manipulated/appropriated provides the reader with context to take a wholly different meaning from it. This image happens to also "oppose the dominant ideology"(83), another common feature of cultural appropriation that was mentioned earlier.

Sturken and Cartwright also note, the dominant reading is no more accurate that any other reading of a product, image, slogan, ext. This is because a meaning "is not inherent in images...rather meanings are the product of complex social interactions among image, viewers, and context (55)."
Due to this notion, the theme I took from this chapter was of the individuals make the meaning, the image does not. Furthermore, there is no true, or inherent meaning in a photo, we as people make of it what our personal culture has taught it's dominant meaning is.

The ad campaign I chose was for Volkswagen, the slogan being, "Small Wonder."

The dominant reading of this image would likely be something along the lines of how the Volkswagen Beetle is an amazing car for it's small size. This would likely be the connotative meaning of the image/slogan. It is straight forward and to the point, without the slogan, this would simply be an image of an automobile.
However, when this slogan is paired to an image of my brother-in-law holding his newborn daughter, both the image as well as the slogan are given new meaning.

"Small Wonder"

This photo now has much more punctum. Before the slogan was applied, the signifier of the image was a young man holding a newborn. We do not know the relation of circumstances of the photo. When the slogan is applied thought, the new meaning draws of theme's of love, family, fatherhood, and many other heartwarming feelings. The new photo now has cultural appropriated meaning as well as connotative mean about the wonder and joys of new life.