Theorizing the Visual Mode

Theorizing the Visual Mode:

The Importance of Presentation

In “Visible Guerillas,” Karen Springsteen discusses feminist art group the Guerilla Girls, who used their platform and work to combat sexism in the art world. She begins by talking about the Guerilla Girls’ 1989 piece Do women have to be naked to get into the Met. Museum? which depicts the Grande Odalisque with a gorilla mask and text stating, “Less than 5% of the artists in Modern Art sections are women, but 85% of the nudes are female” (227). This was a great piece to start with because, as I have learned in my art history courses, the art world has always catered to the “male gaze,” or male interests, which causes much of the subject matter to be women because the female form attracts men’s attention. By modifying a recognized painting like the Grande Odalisque, the Guerilla Girls create a false sense of familiarity that draws their audience, in this case men, in to their work and then shatter that familiarization with the gorilla mask that is placed over the woman’s head. Because the audience is already focused on the piece, they must pay attention to the information that is presented and think about sexist conditions that are present. In describing their process, Springsteen states that the Guerilla Girls used an “appropriative reproach,” which she defines as “taking possession of a commonly accepted or normalized form and altering it such that it is implicated in a design that disgraces, discredits, shames, or blames an offender, an offender who is often instrumental in the creation and maintenance of the appropriated object” (234). I thought this was an accurate description because in the works Springsteen discussed, their foundation often came from recognized images that exploited women, and they modified these images to promote awareness of the issue of sexism, while still maintaining a level of fun in their works.

Edward Tufte’s three selections, “Envisioning Information,” “Visual Explanations,” and “Beautiful Evidence,” all dealt with the topic of relaying information as he provided advice for how to create more visually appealing, engaging, and effective presentations. In, “Envisioning Information,” Tufte talked about the importance of having a good layout when presenting information, explaining that it is better to have “high-density designs” instead of “data-thin, forgetful displays” when presenting information (50). Along with this, he stresses the importance of not just having plenty of information but also balancing text and images and empty space, so there is a flow for the audience to follow throughout the presentation. Reading this made me think of my portfolio site, which I believe does a good job of balancing information and empty space, but perhaps it could be improved further. “Visual Explanations” was the longer of the three selections and focused on the delivery of a presentation, with Tufte providing advice on how to present better. He gave five tips which were to: tell the audience about the problem, why it is important, and what the solution is; use the PGP (Particular-General-Particular) method to explain complex ideas; give your audience sheets with related information that they can take with them; analyze and master the details of the presentation, so you are not reading from the slides; show up early; and finish early (68-70). While these are simple tips, I do think that they can be hard to master. I have given a few presentations that utilized all six of these tips, but I have also given some presentations that were less prepared and I either had to read from my slides or stop for a second to remember the next thing I was supposed to say. Usually, I just make sure that I have all of my facts memorized, as opposed to running through an entire presentation routine. I use this strategy because I want my presentations to feel natural and I think rehearsing too much can remove some of that naturalness and potentially backfire if I got off track and could not remember where to pick up from. “Beautiful Evidence” was quite short and essentially advised that printed materials should be used instead of PowerPoint (16).

After reading “Visible Guerillas” and the Tufte selections, I realized that there was an overlapping theme of presentation and the effect it has on an audience that I thought was interesting. In “Visual Explanations,” Tufte placed a lot of importance on a person’s appearance, gesturing, etc. during presentations, making them seem as crucial as the information being presented. This is exemplified by the Guerilla Girls, who directed public attention towards their work and message by covering their faces with gorilla masks and using the names of past female artists. Their name was fitting as “guerillas” are defined as members of a small, independent group engaged in irregular fighting against larger regular forces, and by challenging, essentially, the entire art world’s institutionalized preconceptions of women in the manner they did, they exemplified this definition.

For my visual mode composition, I aim to draw 1-3 more images to add to a series I started last semester, which dealt with African American experience, the history, struggles, triumphs, etc. Because of the emphasis these readings had on presentation, I want to record myself creating the drawings and make a time-lapse video that will probably be set to some music, if I can find a song that fits the theme. I think this will work well for the visual mode because most often, people only see the finished work of art, and I personally enjoy watching videos that show the artist’s behind-the-scene process.