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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 370 564 IR 055 017 AUTHOR Dake, Dennis M. TITLE Visual Thinking Skills for the Digital Age. PUB DATE 93 NOTE 16p.; In: Visual Literacy in the Digital Age: Selected Readings from the Annual Conference of the International Visual Literacy Association (25th, Rochester, New York, October 13-17, 1993); see IR 055 055. PUB TYPE Viewpoints (Opinion/Position Papers, Essays, etc.) (120) -- Speeches/Conference Papers (150) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC01 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Cognitive Style; Technological Advancement; *Thinking Skills; *Visual Arts; Visual Learning; *Visual Literacy IDENTIFIERS *Digital Imagery; Visual Thinking ABSTRACT The central premise of this paper is that there is a group of visual thinking skills which are becoming increasingly foundational and basic to the education of a contemporary citizenry. These skills are becoming more vital as the use of digital imagery increases. The skills are independent of the external technologies (i.e., hardware and software) that amplify their necessity; they are internal technologies of the human mind. (Contains 20 references.) (JLB) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educahonsi Research and Impraemom EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) as 0 This document has ben rProduC0 recemrd from the person or organization originating it to improve 0 ?Amor changes have Men made reproduction quality this docu- Points of view cy opinions stated in official ment do not necessardy represent OERI position or policy Visual Thinking for the Digital Age by Dennis Dake Iowa State University 488 College of Design Bldg. Ames, IA 50011 'PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY Alice Walker NUCOR MIME 2 TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)." Visual Thinking Skills for the Digital Age Dennis M. Dake of praise for the technological marvels of The central premise of this paper is that the new digital technologies which will there is a group of visual thinking skills become increasingly available to the which are i,zcoming increasingly founda- general populace. However, these tional and basic to the education of a strengths of the digital media may turn contemporary citizenry. These skills are out to be an educational and cultural becoming more vital as the use of digital blessing or an equally great curse, de- imagery increases. The skills are, how- pending upon how they are developed and ever, independent of the external tech- utilized. nologies (hardware and software) that amplify their necessity; they are internal Technology does not always live up to its technologies of the human mind. promise; just because a capability exists does not mean it will be effectively Moving from Analog (continuous) to utilized. For example, when television Digital (discrete) imagery has many was first introduced as a mass media, it advantages for promoting sound visual was touted as revolutionary educational thinking and graphic ideation. These tool for mass education. That commercial advantages include: television is now widely regarded as a "vast cultural wasteland" demonstrates Empowering individuals with how new media can fail to live up to their visual language skills advertised potential. The fault lies not in Promoting interaction with visual the technology but rather in how we imagery humans choose to use these new tools that Increasing storage and retrieval of modern technology provides. imagery Encouraging flexibility in visual Digital storage, manipulation and re- thought trieval, with their pervasive speed do not Developing deeper meaning in create these problems but only accelerate visual messages and amplify the necessity for developing Reusing existing visual imagery the necessary"internal technologies" of for communication. the human mind as basic education. Humans must not, as Henry David Recent publications and lectures are full 3 BEST COPY AVAILABLE Thoreau once said, " become tools of into their final forms. This evolutionary their tools." Now is the time for humans change is conducted by disciplined visual to develop the thinking skills needed for thinking from visual configuration to control of the new digital tools. visual configuration, over time. While the manipulability of the digital medium These visual thinking skills, needed to could be a great assistance in supporting understand and effectively use the full this lengthy visual thinking, the educa- potential of digital imagery, are not tional focus must be on the process and technology specific. They can be taught not on the finished, developed form with any media, since they reside in the (digital image) at the end of the process. human mind. The remainder of this paper will explore how each of the visual As shown in the figures 1-5, from a thinking skills, necessary to maximize the college student of visual thinking, the use of the digital media, can be learned process of generating original visual with traditional art activities. imagery is time consuming, hard work. This process does, however, build an Puts Power of Visual Language in honest and lasting sense of individual Individual's Hands control over the ideation process rather than an illusion of control easily imparted Powerful visual language tools will be by the quickness and slickness of digital much more accessible in future, and an manipulation. This digital illusion of educated public will need to have the control may lead image makers into the skills to use them well. But literacy in all too simple solutions when these are language requires more than mere utter- truly only initial starting points of the ance. As the artist Paul Klee wrote in his longer formation process. journal, it is necessary in order to create effective form that one must concentrate The long evolutionary process of search on the lively process of formation. and discovery for visual form can cer- "Form must on no account ever be tainly be made more convenient and considered as something to be got over accessible when conducted in a digital with, as a result, as an end, but rather as environment. Because one can take genesis, growth, essence. Form as sem- fragments and elements of the visual blance is an evil and dangerous specter. world and recombine them at will, digital What is good is form as movement, as technology can also artificially heighten action, as active form. What is bad is the sense of instantaneous illumination. form as immobility, as an end, as some- But the danger is that the speed with thing that has been tolerated and got rid which digital machinery responds will of What is good is form-giving. What is provide an illusion of success and control bad is form. Form is the end, death. at the expense of the true disciplined Form-giving is movement, action. Form work necessary for developing ideas. The giving is life." (Spiller, 1961) best visual idea can not be known in advance by purely mental manipulation. Close examination of the visual record in It can only be eiscovered from a quantity art history shows clearly that visual ideas of possible outcomes. What is convenient evolve, have precedents in the prior work and accessible may not be true to percep- of an artist, and slowly metamorphose tion and personality. Life takes time to < ".. 4 Figure 3: More variations Figure 2: Thoughtful variations Figure 1: Visual configurations can be found anywhere. Figure 4: Visual ideas evolve over Figure S: Final Painting time. Figures 1 - 5: Copyright Paula Schaffer Bolander, Used with permission of artist available for either flexible manipulation, unfold. cloning, or combining images into new contextual relationships. This technologi- Greater Flexibility and Manipulability cally assisted alteration is imperceptible to the unaided human eye. Electronic As William J. Mitchell, author of the digital imaging has therefore made visual recent book, The Reconfigured Eye literacy more problematic. observed, "Digital imagers give meaning and value to computational ready-mades The digital potential for image modifica- by appropriation, transformation, repro- tion presents a great temptation to "im- cessing, and recombination; we have prove" images, (i.e.. alter in ways not entered the age of electrobricollage." present in external reality). This same (Mitchell, 1992). Because digital images human motivation for producing images are so manipulable, they challenge our that captivate attention and compel traditional sense of visual reality. Digital effective communication has always been images are stored as discrete bits of present for visual designers in older information which are context-free and .t111 4, Figure 6: Beginning, illustration of the Figure 7: Variation on the theme idea - ^ - I.% :.:1; ; ; r",4A t \ 5 Rs 5 Figure 8: Evolution into a vertkle format Figure 9a: Shaping into a statement in form .NL Figure 9b: Visual Logic develops Figure 10: Final Painting Figures 6 - 10: Copyright Deena Elm, Used with permission of artist tiST COY tiValLABLE 6 siveness, comprehensibility and congru- media. Digital imagery just gives much ity: a visual logic. Digital imagery and more convincing and therefore potentially traditional art making are placed on the deceptive means for this image manipula- same footing in developing visual logic. tion. The issues concerning the nature of visual truth and meaning involved in Since the photographic medium can no image manipulation are confronted every longer be trusted in a literal way, the day by artists as an inherent part of their credibility of the visual message designer professional responsibilities. What do all becomes central. A developed sense of the variations mean? visual logic is a vital thinking skill for criti.cAly assessing the trustworthiness of Figures 6 - 10, show the manipulation of these creators within the digitally medi- an image on the theme of parental respon- ated visual environment. sibility and child dependency. At first the image (figure 6) is representational Increases the Interactive Dialog with and dream like. As the artist continued to the Image refine the visual message, she changed it a great deal, thereby increasing its visual With graphic ideation in any media, impact and meaning. The tensions, use of digital or otherwise, a difficulty arises in depth clues, and unity of the piece were being both the observer and the active increased in the act of thinking and creator of the thing observed. In the rethinking its visual structure. The digital age the artist or designer no longer meaning was deepened by visually stress- has the advantage of an ego-driven, ing in form only, an organic bonding of gable, and unchanging (objective) plat- parent and child mixed in equal measure form from which to make his/her design with the tied up feeling of overwhelming decisions. The objective position, in the responsibilities. The final synthesis, western European visual tradition, is shown in figure 10, is an eloquent form represented by static Renaissance per- statement, still intuitively connected to spective. With digital imagery, what one the initial inspiration. Images can evolve does visually is immediately changeable into new forms which have greater cohe- 1-1111er-- v "f , Figure 11: Copyright Clint Hanson, Used with permission of artist 7 t Figure 12: Finding a Figure 13: Exploring Figure 14: Developing into a personal connection Possibilities self portrait Figure 15: Image comes together with metaphoric idea of exacto blade plunging "erotically" below the surface appearance. "It Figure 16: Final Scratchboard frontpiece for illustrator's portfolio Ilambilicahr--- Figures 12 - 16: Copyright Clint Hansen, Used with permission of artist 8 *Si COM AVAIIABLI visual education will be needed to de- and perceivable on the monitor. The self velop the intuitive thinking skills neces- is totally immersed in this process and sary to handle this aspect of the new can not extract itself to some privileged digital environment. Every individual static and stationary position from which must be intimately involved. to objectively view the message as it develops. As with the Heisenberg Uncer- Storage and Retrieval Greatly Ex- tainty Principle in physics, the individual panded is an interlocking and inseparable part of the observed. Digital storage and retrieval of information is instantaneous. Unlimited exact Even in the most ambiguous of visual copies of information can be quickly environments, such as a crumpled sheet made in any number and reliably stored. of white japer, shown in figure 11, Access to past images can be quick and personal meaning can be perceived. In information sure. But this storehouse of this case the student of visual thinking has is accessible only if the individual can found a strange and mysterious face remember that the images exist and know staring back at him while he develops the where to find them. Greater storage and shapes on the crumpled sheet. This face retrieval are of great advantage to the self can be seen turning into a meaningful visual image maker because they give portrait in the subsequent visual thinking greater access to past ideas and therefore studies, shown in figures 12 -16. If to potential new directions for thought. the visual message designer can access What is perceived when working in a and have use of much more material, new digital media can once again be instantly thoughts will be richer. acted upon. This forces a multitude of decisions upon the designer, decisions The problem is that not all that can be made so quickly that he/she is denied the saved as visual data is worthwhile. More slow growth of vision and reflectivity visual ideas are available for use from afforded by older non-digital media. digital image data banks than are neces- Quick decision making and reaction sary for the process of visual thinking. require a more fluid and open mental This brings up an issue of human mean- framework and the greater complexity of ing and utility. Even if we believe we see this interactive dialog requires a greater what might be useful as an image, it is by reliance on intuition as a thinking skill. the no means certain that we will have Only by participating deeply in an inter- effec- necessary thinking skills to use it active process and accepting it completely tively. Perhaps, the older, more time can the designer create new combinations consuming artistic practices of recopying of existing ideas with a deeper series of and redoing images, by hand, serve an meanings. important human function. Visual thinking by drawing allows for the time and How much meaningful experience will reflection necessary to discover the future students get interacting with the deepest, meaningful associations possible new digital media (as opposed to simply with the material. being passive consumers) when our school systems do not yet place a high Traditional image generation places a priority on developing intuition? Quality 1 premium on using original sources pro- helped the artist to understand and visu- vided by a heightened visual memory. ally synthesize this meaning in an intuited For example, figures 17 - 19 are form. This process is time consuming sketches leading to the development of a and emotionally difficult work. It is, large, expressive ceramic container however, absolutely necessary if the final (Figure 20). The finished container was form is to convey a strong sense of based upon the discovery of important personal conviction. peronal memories of a youthful fascina- tion with horses and psychological asso- In many ways the seductive traits of ciations with a long forgotten horse digital imagery, without disciplined visual blanket. Multiple thinking sketches thought, can lead the person away from 4 ; / 2 v. Figure 17: Horse as idea source Figure 18: Possibilities 4 Figure 19: Disciplined search for form that fits the individual's experience Figure 20: Ceramic container Figures 17 - 20: Copyright Karen Terpstra, Used with permissionof the artist 10 itSTCOPI 4011ABLI