Car-less and Visual Literacy



Walking into town on Dayton Yellow Springs Road


I haven't had a car all week so I've been doing a LOT of walking every day, and really enjoying it .The nice thing about living in a village is that everything is within walking distance and you get to notice and enjoy things that one normally sees in passing.
Our village was voted one of the "top ten coolest small towns in America" by Budget Travel and I would say for good reason. I listed a few of them on the Yellow Springs Arts Council Blog.

Meanwhile back in the studio, NOT!
Haven't got much studio work done. I seem to be in a bit of a funk and not wanting to get my teeth into anything, YET at the same time itching to start on a few ideas.

It is NonStop Festival Week and so I went to listen to
Deborah Curtiss give a talk on the subject of her book (Visual Literacy) and her work.

To explore the subject further here is a link to the International Visual Literacy Association.

"“Visual Literacy refers to a group of vision-competencies a human being can develop by seeing and at the same time having and integrating other sensory experiences. The development of these competencies is fundamental to normal human learning. When developed, they enable a visually literate person to discriminate and interpret the visible actions, objects, symbols, natural or man-made, that he encounters in his environment. Through the creative use of these competencies, he is able to communicate with others. Through the appreciative use of these competencies, he is able to comprehend and enjoy the masterworks of visual communication.”

In layman terms, as described on Wikipedia,
"Visual literacy (or, as it is colloquially known, visuacy[1]) is the ability to interpret, negotiate, and make meaning from information presented in the form of an image. "

Here is an interesting article talking about visual intelligence and the importance of teaching it.

Comments

Sheree Rensel said…
Jaf,
I have had a few times in my life in which I didn't have a car. It is a love/hate relationship. During those times, I was the skinniest I have ever been and you do get to take in your environment. This is very pleasurable. However after a while, it gets to be a drag (taking buses or begging for rides to places too far to walk to).
As for the visual literacy link, thanks for that. It is a really great site. Now, I just need students who would understand what I am talking about if I attempted to teach anything of that nature. I am waiting.............
jafabrit said…
I would NOT like to be without a car too long in America, but I never had one in England and never drive when I go back (they have a great bus and train service).
I have a car, but I rarely ever drive it! I live 2 minute walk from the train, but it is not as great as the service the UK has... :/
Colette Amelia said…
I am thinking that you are doing a whole lot to help make this town soooo cool!

Can you come and coolize this one?

new blog site:
http://coletteamelia.blogspot.com/
Undaunted said…
That's really interesting. I must say, I'm not very observant at all.

I'm glad you're enjoying your walks - the weather in the photo's looks lovely.
MadSilence said…
Visuacy? Say it five times fast! I've not seen the word before but am familiar with the concept of visual literacy. A skill closely linked to communication skills since we need to learn to accurately convey our observations to others. Several art history courses helped me hone my visual literacy skills so that I'm not completely ignorant. Practice makes, maybe nor perfect, but better.
~MadSilence
jafabrit said…
madsilence, I had not heard of that word either and I can't say it fast five times lol! I absolutely loved taking history of fine art classes and agree your view. practice! practice! and MORE practice!
andrea said…
I enjoyed the article on Yellow Springs. Sounds like a great town. I once lived in a town that size and it seemed just about perfect to me, too.

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