Also, whilst discussing everything with Phil, my attention was drawn to http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/ - a website which kind of specialises in data visualisation, superbly.
The above image is one of the latest posts on Information is Beautiful. I thought it was quite interesting as this particular piece was sort of a competition for the website's audience. They were simply asked to sketch what they thought their soul looked like. Obviously this is interesting to me, because in a sense I am trying to figure out whatever the reviewer of a piece I am studying thinks the music they are listening to looks like, so the creative aspect spoke out to me, I suppose. The thing about this website is the creative aspect, in theory rather than design, is slightly limited. Obviously the way each piece of data is presented takes a lot of creativity, but the fact my subject matter is really just creative writing in the first place, as opposed to Information is Beautiful's data research, means there is more room for manoeuvre in my project.
I know, in essence, it seems like this is similar to what I'm aiming for with the reviews, but I think it's important to highlight that what I'm taking from the reviews is not really 'data' - it's more imagery, visions, language. There is a danger that what I'm extracting from the reviews could be too specific and personal to the reviewer who wrote the review, but at the same time, I think it's more just a way of displaying a form of media rather than collected data. I'm trying to explore the relationship between language and what the user really gains from it; whether or not my images really correspond with whatever the audience is encouraged to visualise.
In order to really engage with what it is I am trying to dissect, I have been reading into the relationship between image and text. I came across a book by Michael O'Toole (1994:4), called The Languague of Displayed Art, which argues that
semiotics – the study of sign systems- can assist us in a search for a language through which our perceptions of a work of art can be shared. I believe that we should start with the impact the particular work has on us in the gallery, or even in a book of reproductions, but this semiotic approach will also allow us to relate the nature of this impact to the scene portrayed
So in this, my perception of even 'language' itself has been challenged. O'Toole emphasises that recognition and awareness of a context plays a large part on how we perceive whatever it is we're observing; in his case a work of art. I think in order to find the answers I am looking for, i.e. whether image can evoke the same response as text in music reviews, it's arguably not even language I am more focussed on, it's the audience's understanding of semiotics, and their recognition of culture. The image can't really say much if you don't recognise some of the more iconic imagery I will be trying to include. There is a lot to think about.
O’Toole, M. (1994) The Language of Displayed Art. London: Leicester University Press.
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