RESPONSE TO "PRACTICES OF LOOKING"

For class we just read a short expert from “Practices of Looking.” The chapter started with the fact that looking is a choice. By willfully doing so one is practicing this choice and influence. We see images everyday with little thought about how, or why we look at things the way to do. This expert really made me start to think why. We can view images in multiple ways, looking can be fun, depressing, safe, and harmful. Images also produce multiple emotions, and have multiple purposes, meanings and contexts.
Today technology is a big part of our everyday images with paint, photos, and electronic images. All are becoming more interdependent on each other. This has to do with an increase in our image drenched society.
Images are representation and help give meaning to the world around us. How we express and interpret these meanings changes from culture to culture. Overall images are seen as a shot of truth/ documentation, but because taken with a camera are lingered with a hint of subjective choice. Someone has to select, frame, and personalize the photo. Still the camera is mechanical and seen as more dependent than humans and holds strong objectively. Yet, the combination of the two view points lead to tension and debate.
The chapter goes on to say that images are seen on two levels: denotative and connotative. That myth allows “connotative meaning of things to be denotative.” Looking is also linked to ideology (shared values/beliefs of their social structures). To conclude images have multiple uses in our visual culture, but each change in context gives a change in meaning.