The document discusses different ways of seeing and looking at visual representations. It distinguishes between simply seeing something versus looking at something with more purpose and meaning. Looking can involve negotiating social relationships and meanings, and things that make us look a certain way can become powerful. It also discusses concepts like mimesis, social constructivism, and how our understandings of the world are shaped by visual representations and ideologies embedded within cultures.

1. Practices of Looking
Seeing:
• Something we do all the time.
• “Did you see John at the weekend?”
• “Have you seen that new film”
• “Has anybody seen my marbles”
Looking:
• Involves more purpose.
• Negotiate social relationships and meanings.
• Relationship of power – if something makes you „look‟ or
think a certain way, it becomes powerful.
• Do you think that print adverts / graphics are
powerful? How? Why?

2. Practices of Looking
Mimesis:
• The concept that representations of our world (paintings,
photographs, film) are accurate imitations.
Social constructivism:
• The concept that we learn about the world through
representations.
Consider this:
• How do you know the Arctic is cold?
• How do you think people consider Manchester?
• What are Americans like?
• What does the moon look like?

3. Practices of Looking
How do you know the Arctic is cold?

4. Practices of Looking
How do you think people consider Manchester?

5. Practices of Looking
What are American people like?

6. Practices of Looking
What does the moon look like?

7. Practices of Looking
Viewers make meaning…
• Look at the below picture. What do you see? Why might
individual people look at this picture differently?

8. Practices of Looking
‘This is not a pipe’

9. Practices of Looking
Ideologies
• System of beliefs that exist with in all cultures.
• Shared set of values.
• Inform our every day lives.
• Subtle yet powerful.
• Beauty, gender roles, sexuality, morality are all ideologies.
Task
• You will each be allocated a word.
• You must create a visual mood board for each word.
• Consider the general ideas surrounding your word and find
images that you associate with that word.

10. Practices of Looking
LOVE

11. Practices of Looking
NAZI

12. Practices of Looking
LIFE

13. Practices of Looking
POVERTY

14. Practices of Looking
SAFETY

15. Practices of Looking
HEART
• Think of words that you associate with the heart…

16. Practices of Looking
• Denotation: Accurate to what we are seeing. The
literal meaning of something
• Connotation: Something that we associate with a
word or image. Something that an image or a word
represents.
• Think about the genres we discussed last week and
the typical traits of each one.
• Horror – night time, knives, upside down crucifix
• Rom Coms – Hugh Grant, flowers, holding hands
• Comedy – Jim Carrey, trips, eccentric people
• Action – Muscles, guns, explosions

17. Practices of Looking
SIGNS
Signifier: Image or Signified: Meaning
sound
Sign: Thought or action

18. Practices of Looking
SIGNS
Signifier: Yellow Signified: Caution /
triangle with danger
exclamation mark
in middle
Sign: Go steady!

19. Practices of Looking
SIGNS IN FILM
Signifier Signified
(denotation): (Conotation): Horror,
White mask and bad person negative
black cloak
Sign: BE SCARED!

20. Practices of Looking
TASK: Print advert analysis
• Pick a print advert and write a short 500 report on it
using the theories and analysis strategies discussed
this morning.
• Consider; connotations, denotations, signs, social
constructivism and ideologies.
• For example, if you see a slender female in the advert,
consider ideologies and the way the notion of modern
beauty has been socially constructed.

21. Practices of Looking
Seminar Questions
• What is the difference between „seeing‟ and „looking‟?
• „Looking involves a relationship of power…‟ How does
relate to your own practice and how can you make
some „look‟ at your work?
• What is „social constructionism‟ and do you believe our
understanding of the world is constructed through it?
• „We live in an image-saturated society…‟ Is this positive
of negative?