This is a summary of the introduction to the third chapter, Message, in “Understanding Illustration” a 2014 book written by Derek Brazell and Jo Davies. This chapter focuses on the message conveyed by illustrations relating to political and ethical issues.
“Illustrators are able to present a view of events and issues that can clarify, illuminate or expand upon cultural content, as well as existing independently of context created by commissioners.”
(Brazell and Davis, 2014, Pg 88)
Brazell and Davis (2014), introduce the chapter by indicating how important illustrations are to developing an understanding of the culture around us. They further emphasise how effective illustrations can be at portraying ideas and values without the need for the use of text. They suggest that these ideas can be conveyed using multiple forms, for example illustrations can be presented in physical print form or digital forms to be published online. They believe that establishments use illustrations alongside a book as this helps develop authenticity and emotion in a text to convey a meaning.
Brazell and Davis suggest that illustrations can be used to convey political messages. They state that illustrations can be used to represent public figures in a positive or negative light – possibly by reinforcing common preconceptions or stereotypes about them. Brazell and Davis believe that this could have an effect on the audience’s opinion on the subject. They show that this technique has been used in newspapers when they use a cartoon representation of a public figure to represent them in an ironic way. Furthermore, they suggest that the essential values and important aspects can be extracted from elaborate concepts and used in political drawings. They refer to examples from Daniel Pudles and Edel Rodriguez, who created meaning in their newspaper illustrations by using a restricted black and white colour palette.
Brazell and Davis believe that artists can convey personal and significant issues using illustrations to create a representation of their idea in an unconventional way. They suggest that this will make the issue more evident for the audience. They provide evidence of this theory by focusing on illustrations portraying important events. They referenced artwork such as the Gay Pride parade by Evan Turk, which represents the viewpoint of people who were involved in the parade. They also discuss how Luba Lukova’s Social Justice portfolio is used to evoke a strong emotional response from the audience. Furthermore, they suggest that campaigns, including Ghosts of Gone Birds, can use this strong emotional response to create sympathy, and a desire to help, within the audience.
Brazell and Davis stress that artists can create work for multiple purposes. They state that the illustrations can be used to convey a meaning fulfilling multiple elements, and that a moral viewpoint is not required to accurately convey a value.
“But a passionately held belief is not prerequisite to representing an issue effectively.”
(Brazell and Davis, 2014, Pg 88)
Brazell and Davis provide the examples of Carlo Stanga and Serge Bloch who created illustrations representing issues such as war and peace. They reveal that Stanga and Bloch’s artwork was able to create a shared reflection within the audience.
However, Brazell and Davis thought that some events and issues should be dealt with delicately and that they would require a different approach when representing the artwork to the audience. They provide us with some examples, such as sickness and death, which need to be handled sensitively. Brazell and Davis reference the book “A monster calls” by Patrick Ness as an example of an important piece of artwork in understanding this idea. They discuss how the illustrator, Jim Kay, needed to create powerful illustrations that were empathetic while creating a sense of threat within the reader, allowing them to relate to the story.
This chapter indicates that illustrations with meanings can convey the importance of issues – whether political or personal. It states that illustrations can be used to represent a point authentically to convey a specific meaning to the audience. This chapter provides evidence that the meanings given to an illustration can be used to influence the audience’s opinion and views on cultural and social issues.
