In this lecture it was brought to light that there is still a mysticism that surrounds visual communication, this can be traced back to the earliest forms of communication - The Lascaux caves, France are home to cave paintings that are said to be the embodiment of animal spirits, dating back approx. 17,000 years.
This mysticism and shamanic quality surrounding visual communication has transcended time, we can see this when we loo a the art of somebody like Rothko, who's paintings are said to have a depressive affect on the people looking at them - to me this is where shamanism can be said to play a part in visual communication - Rothko was able to, in my eyes, embed a part of his consciousness/psyche into his work that, for those who are more emotionally/spiritually attuned, are able to pick up on.
This mysticism can also be found shrouding one of the worlds most famous paintings- 'the mona lisa' - there is much fascination surrounding this painting, yet it is one of the most well known images in collective memory. This suggests to me that the mysticism arises from the elitism that we find in art galleries- that somehow the art is exclusive and reserved for the wealthy.
'The Mona Lisa' is a good example of how reproduction of an image can re-contextualize it, put it into public hands. Marcel Duchamp and Banksy are artists that have shown you can re-contextualize an image through reproduction.
In this lecture i have learnt that as a visual communicator you have the potential to change opinion, in society, culture, through images and image making.
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