The aim of this shoot was to visually experiment with rhetorical figures. Rhetorical figures/device are used both verbally and visually to convey specific meanings or pursued a certain viewpoint. They work by putting a spin on the familiar creating questions and additional messages as a subtext. Verbal and written rhetorics are commonplace in politics whereas art based industries, such as Advertising, employ visual rhetorics to help them communicate a message or sell a product.
In this shoot I planned to demonstrate antilogy by playing with symbolic representations of happiness and showing them in a negative light, therefore contradicting common expectations. To symbolise happiness I chose a clown (me) and the iconic ‘Happy Meal’, both of which I felt are synonymous with positive emotions. I then photographed a series of images that depicted the clown feeling negatively; the subtext being that items which are perceived by society to make people happy don’t always have that effect.
When I planned the shoot I visualised the final piece as a set of images in a linear narrative format. However when I looked through the images afterwards, I determined that although they work as a set, a single image was visually much stronger. The set of images were successful in terms of communicating my message, but I decided they were too obvious giving the viewer excessive frames within which to decipher the message. The effect was of spoon feeding the audience the answer rather than relying on the rhetoric devise to communicate the meaning. The single image however, felt stronger as came across as a statement which allowed the viewers eye explored the different elements in the scene and decode the message.
Next I intend to explore this element of visual communication further by planning a second shoot based on a different rhetorical figure. This time I will plan the shoot based on a single image, which will communicate another element of my project.
Lisa Holmes MA Photography 