Cindy L. TaylorCapstone Project: Master of ArtsNorthern Arizona University, Department of EnglishMarch 19, 2006

Visual Rhetoric and the Prospect of Pearls:

An Exploration of the Interplay of Text and Images in Creating Effective Domestic

Violence Messages

A domestic violence shelter in rural Arizona has, for

several years, employed a dramatic image on the cover of its

informational brochure: A young woman, her face severely bruised,

her eyes half shut, and her lip split and swollen, stares off to

the side (see fig. 1). I assert that this image, while certainly

affecting an emotional response, is not the only (or perhaps the

most effective) way to communicate persuasive messages about

domestic violence. I maintain that, while it is easy enough to

sympathize with the woman depicted, it is not as easy for many

viewers to identify with her. Many viewers who might benefit from

domestic violence messages are likely to say, “I would never let

that happen to me”, “thank God he only yells at me” or even, “it’s

never been that bad”.

Fig. 1. Colorado River Regional Crisis Shelter Brochure.

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Each year, an estimated three million

women in the United States are abused

by an intimate partner1 and over 25% of

women will be abused in their

lifetimes2. These are statistics that

many of us have heard, repeatedly, and

they certainly reveal a shocking reality. Yet, when statistics

are presented without strong visuals, many of us find is easy to

become inured to these numbers and percentages; they are dry and

cold, lacking the visceral power that contemporary audiences have

come to expect in this age of advertising, media, and the

proliferation of images. The problem of representation lies

somewhere between that shocking picture of the abused woman whom

it is so easy to label as “not me, not my problem”, and the

lifeless statistics she represents.

The questions that emerged as I considered this problem

include:

How might we use text and images (visual rhetoric) to reach an

audience that may not know they need to be reached with

1 http://www.endabuse.org/resources/facts/2 http://www.ncadv.org/resources/Statistics_170.html

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domestic violence messages? A woman might disassociate herself

from such messages for a number of reasons: she may not

associate the control, verbal abuse, and economic abuse in her

own relationship as forms of domestic violence; she may not

recognize the signs of abuse in her friends or family members;

she may not that the abuse is bad enough, or that the abuser

will change.

What techniques of media and visual rhetoric can we use to

convey messages, to educate, to persuade, even to effect

action, without sacrificing the ethos of the communicator?

Through a review of some of the most prominent literature on

contemporary visual rhetoric, as well as informed by my

background in working with domestic violence shelters, I have

created a project that suggests some fruitful ways of addressing

those questions using the following means.

I have created a series of images, which can be used as

physical displays in a public place, or as a series of media

images (in print or electronically), addressing five topics

related to domestic violence, including: intimate violence;

spousal homicide; control/power-based relationships vs.

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egalitarian relationships; teen dating violence; and child

abuse. My goal has been to address a range of topics, some of

which may or may not be thought of as “domestic violence” by

all audience members. The National Coalition Against Domestic

Violence defines domestic violence, or battery, as “a pattern

of behavior used to establish power and control over another

person with whom an intimate relationship is or has been

shared through fear and intimidation, often including the

threat or use of violence.”3

I have attempted to use those images to attract the attention

of, and impart messages to, women and girls who might not

otherwise feel compelled to access domestic violence

materials, due to beliefs that they are not at risk, are not

experiencing a form of domestic violence, or that individuals

they know are not likely to be affected by those issues.

Following a review of the selected literature, and extensive

experimentation with images, I chose to explore the use of

multiple image and text layers to produce final images that are

multivalent, and reveal their full meanings only upon closer

3 http://www.ncadv.org/learn/TheProblem_100.html

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examination. The intent is to draw the viewer into the pieces

using visuals that appear, at first, to be standard media images

(culled from advertising, magazines, and even sources such as

wedding invitations) reflecting on themes generally framed as

those of women’s interest: romantic relationships, weddings,

dating, etc. My aim was to interpellate the viewer, to call to her

by an appellation she recognizes and readily accepts (bride-to-

be, girlfriend, mother). Louis Althusser’s theory of

interpellation is defined by Sturken and Cartwright as the

process of being “constructed by the ideologies that speak to us

every day through language and images” (52). Once the viewer has

answered that call, has accepted that appellation, and is

involved in the image, it is my hope that she will then stay with

the piece even as further examination of the images and text

therein begin to reveal contradictory messages to those she was

expecting. I have concluded that there are many fruitful

possibilities in exploring the methods I outline here—using

Visual Rhetoric techniques to reach audiences that may be

reluctant to accept messages that appear overtly persuasive. I

further conclude that this type of message may be necessary to

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reach audiences that are familiar to the point of saturation with

the sophisticated manipulations of contemporary advertising

(Sturken and Cartwright, 204). In sum, this project reveals some

ways in which a theoretical basis in visual rhetoric can inform

the use of graphic design principles—the selection of images,

text, fonts, colors, and graphic arrangements—to effectively

reach audiences with social messages.

Literature Review

I will begin with a review of some of the key visual

rhetoric literature that has informed this project. Among the

many aspects of recent study in this dynamic and relatively young

field, I have chosen to focus upon the definition and defense of

Visual Rhetoric, the possibility of visual argumentation, and the

relationship and functions of text in the image artifact.

Sturken and Cartwright have provided a helpful, if

simplified, overview of visual theory and influential aspects of

language, aesthetics, and cultural theory in Practices of

Looking: An Introduction to Visual Culture. Their explications of

the theoretical concepts of interpellation and the “other” have

been most useful to me in developing this project. Particularly

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influential was the authors’ discussion of the concept of

interpellation in relation to contemporary advertising.

“Interpellation is the process by which we come to recognize

ourselves in the subject position offered in a particular

representation or product” (203). The authors also discuss the

concept of the “other”, especially in regards to photography:

“photographs thus often function to establish difference, through

which that which is defined as other is posited as that which is

not the norm or the primary subject” (95). This text was useful

as an overview of visual rhetoric, and a source for definitions

of key theories, such as interpellation and appellation.

If images can be used to affect rhetorical intentions, as

Sturken and Cartwright suggest, then what are the rhetorical

principles at work? Kevin LaGrandeur’s detailed discussion of the

image (especially the digital image) in terms of Classical

Rhetoric helps to answer this question. I found especially

helpful his discussion of Aristotelian principles of rhetoric as

applied to visuals. LaGrandeur posits ways in which the

principles codified by Aristotle are still relevant in the age of

digital media and advertising: “Fluency with images and their use

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has become crucial to controlling credibility and creating

emotional appeal, and even, to some extent, logical appeal”

(119). Interestingly, Aristotle’s definition of rhetoric is broad

enough to comfortably (almost necessarily) include visuals: He

defines rhetoric as the art of finding “in any given case the

available means of persuasion” (qtd. in LaGrandeur 119-120).

LaGrandeur also discusses the application of another of

Aristotle’s ideas that are key to rhetorical studies, the three

artistic forms of proof; logos, ethos, and pathos. He concludes that,

while images are most powerful in their ability to appeal to the

emotions (pathos), they are also capable of creating (or

enhancing) ethos (especially when supporting text) and logos

(especially to demonstrate the logical appeal made in text).

Another useful explanation of the ways in which visuals can

accomplish rhetorical aims is provided by Craig Stroupe’s theory,

which he calls “the rhetoric of

irritation”, or inappropriateness

as a visual/literate practice. The

author suggests that the “yoking

together” of the words “visual” and

Fig. 2. “Oswald in a Jam,” George E. Mahlberg (1996); rpt. in Defining Visual Rhetorics (New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Assoc., 2004) 251.

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“rhetoric”, rather than christening a new discipline, merely

constitutes a trope—but a useful one (244). He states that the

dilemmas inherent in creating such a seemingly contradictory

trope may be just the irritant that is needed in rhetorical

study, the “grain of sand that ideally instigates a pearl” (244).

Just such irritants can be used in rhetorical compositions

(including visual ones) to create an uncomfortable tension with

which the viewer is forced to come to terms. Stroupe illustrates

this by analyzing the PhotoShop work of George E. Mahlberg,

especially the image entitled “Oswald in a Jam” (see fig. 2)

(251-252). The author claims that the power in this piece emerges

from the inherent cultural tensions in the images, and generates

an intense discomfort in the audience due to the jarring

rearrangement of visual codes with which we are so familiar. This

text provided the theory of “rhetoric of irritation”, which gave

a theoretical framework for the juxtaposition of disparate visual

codes in my images.

“Recent work in rhetoric has taken a pictorial turn”,

observes Sonja K. Foss, and she goes on to posit that the study

of visuals is important because it can offer a rhetorical theory

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that is “more comprehensive and inclusive” than is the solely

verbal (303). She also provides a helpful dual definition of

visual rhetoric: It is both a product created when communicators

utilize visual symbols and a scholarly perspective that can be

applied to the symbolic process of communication that occurs with

visuals (304). If visual rhetoric refers to the “artifact”

itself, Foss gives us several areas of focus for the study of the

artifact: the nature (distinguishing characteristics) of the

artifact; the function (what effects are intended or achieved in

the audience) of the artifact; and evaluation (e.g.,

accomplishment of the intended function) of the artifact (307-

310). Foss’ work was useful in defining visual rhetoric, and

providing a framework for the examination of the visual artifact.

Roland Barthes explores the nature of the image as symbol in

order to discuss its rhetorical possibilities. “There are those

who think that the image is an extremely rudimentary system in

comparison with language and those who think that signification

cannot exhaust the image’s ineffable richness” (152). Barthes

discusses how the signifiers in the image may include not only

pictures or drawings of objects, but also colors, text,

Fig. 3. “Don’t you get hooked!” U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (1976); rpt. in Visual Rhetoric in a Digital World: A Critical

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arrangements, and more (153-155). Another notable feature of the

system of symbols used in visual imagery is that it is subject to

multiple interpretations, and that the readings of the image sets

varies from one viewer to the next (160). Barthes’ discussion of

the signifier and the signified in images provided a useful

paradigm for thinking about the function of images, and text.

Anthony J. Blair also addresses the relationships among

rhetoric, argument, and the visual. He points out that

argumentation has traditionally been thought of as necessarily

verbal, due to the traditions of classical rhetoric (41). The

author then pauses to illuminate the word “persuasion” as it is

used in rhetorical studies, asserting that it cannot mean any act

or manner of influencing a person, but is rather limited to those

forms of persuasion which result in the audience freely consenting

to change its mind (42-43). Blair then asks if visual arguments

are possible. First, to define argument in its simplest form:

“someone asserts that some

proposition, B, is true (1)

because some other

proposition, A, is true and

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(2) because B follows from or is supported by A” (44). Blair

asserts that visuals can clearly persuade, but adds that

allowing for this fact does not at all prove that visuals can

also be arguments (45). He then reviews two key objections made

by scholars against the reality of “visual arguments”: the visual

is too ambiguous, and the visual alone cannot make a

propositional statement. The author refutes the charge that

visuals cannot make propositional claims, due to the lack of

truth values inherent in the medium, by pointing out that

propositions can be made that challenge beliefs, and that visuals

are capable of doing so (47-48). Blair’s discussion of visual

arguments is useful for

its definition of argumentation, and his application of that

definition to visual cases.

Blair is not the only author to discuss the potential of

visuals to make arguments. In “Toward a Theory of Visual

Argument”, Birdsell and Groarke state that argumentation

theorists do not often take the visual aspects of persuasion into

account (309). The difficulty in overcoming this shortcoming is

the tendency to place argumentation within a verbal paradigm.

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They refute the prevalent notion that images are intrinsically

ambiguous, stating, “we think that this prejudice is a dogma that

has outlived its usefulness” (310). The authors use examples to

point out how images can, in fact, give meaning to text that

would otherwise be “vague and ambiguous”, as illustrated by this

anti-smoking poster (see fig. 3) (310-311). The authors refute

David Fleming’s claim that a picture cannot make a “claim which

can be contested, doubted, or otherwise improved upon by others”

(due to the refutability of any assumed meaning assigned to the

image) by pointing out that the failure of a viewer/reader to

understand a message can occur in either verbal or visual media

(311-312). This failure occurs due to a breakdown in

coding/decoding between the rhetor and the audience, not due to

the innate ambiguity of the visual. This text is valuable for its

discussion of whether or not visuals can function as arguments,

the authors’ references to prominent theories on the subject, and

for their analysis of examples in which visuals work together

with texts to make arguments that neither could make without the

other.

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Birdsell and Groarke’s discussion of the relationship

between text and visuals led me to explore Matthew G.

Kirshenbaum’s work on text as a visual medium. “The word is an

image after all,” Kirschenbaum quotes Stuart Moulthroup in “The

Word as Image in an Age of Digital Reproduction” (137). The

author looks at the emergence of text as a form of image, and

analyzes that development over the past century. Especially since

the rise of desktop publishing in the mid 1980’s, the visual

aspects of text (font, arrangement, color, etc.) have taken on

increasing significance. Kirschenbaum points out that emerging

technologies that have allowed for such rapid change in visual

representation of text have also contributed to the emergence of

visual rhetoric and visual culture as important academic fields

of study in and of themselves (138).

Barthes also discusses the relationship of the text to the

picture, inverting the typical question (i.e., “is the image

redundant to the text?”) when he asks whether or not the text is

redundant to the image (155). The author concludes that the

relation of the linguistic message to the image is twofold:

anchorage (in which text directs the reader in how to view and

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interpret the symbols in the image) and relay (in which the image

and text stand in a complimentary relationship, each contributing

to the interpretation of the other) (156-157).

Birdsell and Groarke also point out that simply because the

visual often functions alongside text in its use in

argumentation, it is not necessary inadequate as a medium for

argumentation in and of itself (314). Verbal arguments function

intertextually, and within a context of events, assumptions, and

images (either presented or assumed to be part of the cultural

code), so then why must visuals function without a context in

order to be considered rhetorically relevant? All of the images

presented here rely on a complex “intertextuality” for meaning

and effectiveness.

About the Images and their Intended Audience

The impetus for this project came from my desire to

investigate possible methods to improve on current domestic

violence literature and imagery in an effort to reach a wider

audience and to affect a higher degree of persuasion among

viewers. Specifically, too much domestic violence material either

fails to capture the attention of audience members and engage

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them in our media-rich environment, or fails to interpellate them

by referencing codes that cause the audience to disassociate from

the subjects of the images.

I would here like to briefly discuss the intended audience

for these images. First, I will define the demographic group

addressed. Since these images were designed primarily to be

displayed in large-format printing (i.e., as posters) in a public

setting, I believe it is important to define a very specific,

local audience, as attitudes, cultural demographics, and other

unique qualities of each community must be addressed specifically

in order to best convey messages involving social issues and

concerns. The focus audience includes Flagstaff, Arizona,

residents and visitors, very predominantly women, and

predominantly young women. Due to the nature of the images I have

used (based on icons of traditional romance, weddings, and

dating, etc.), I expect to draw the attention of a young

demographic ranging from teens to college-aged women and other

young women. It is my intent that these images will not be

limiting in attracting the attention of any specific socio-

economic group, or excluding others. The racial and ethnic

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demographics of the target audience are expected to reflect the

demographics of Flagstaff and Northern Arizona, including

Northern Arizona University (where the images may be displayed).

Hispanic, non-Hispanic Caucasian, Native American, African

American, and Asian individuals were all considered as audience

members, with the intent that the visuals are inclusive, and do

not contain features that are significantly limiting to any of

these groups. That being said, it would certainly be appropriate

to develop versions of these materials in other languages.

Here it is important to address some of the concerns

associated with the chosen methods of interpellating the

audience, especially from a feminist viewpoint. Certainly, these

images are focused on a specific demographic. They are not meant

to encompass all women and girls, but rather to serve as a

demonstration of ways in which mainstream cultural cues,

especially those focused on traditional codes of femininity, can

be used (or, if you will, exploited) to reach a relatively wide

mainstream audience. This choice is not made to intentionally

exclude those people experiencing domestic violence who are not

effectively interpellated by traditional images of femininity,

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but rather to focus on a specific audience in the hope that this

paper provides a blueprint for ways in which social messages can

be constructed rhetorically to reach a wide variety of other

audiences as well. It is no accident that I chose to focus upon

the interpellation of heterosexual females within mainstream U.S.

culture: I am a heterosexual female who was brought up steeped

in the codes of traditional femininity within U.S. culture. The

fact that gay men and lesbians, for example, also experience

domestic violence is certainly acknowledged (although these

victims are often under-served), but I also acknowledge a lack of

understanding of the codes that may effectively interpellate

those audiences. However, it is my hope that this paper provides

some helpful ideas which can be used by those who possess the

proper ethos (i.e., are fluent in the appropriate cultural codes)

to speak to other audiences about these and other social topics.

Given the selected audience for these demonstration images,

what are some of the relevant cultural codes I have accessed? And

why is it possible (perhaps even necessary) to speak about these

subjects, in this way?

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In order to better understand the origin and effects of many

of the societal codes accessed in my project, I turned to Susan

Brownmiller’s absorbing cultural and historical discussion of

femininity. Brownmiller evokes the experience of growing up, as

so many girls do, steeped in expectations of tradition: “Lessons

in the art of being feminine lay all around me and I absorbed

them all: the fairy tales that were read to me at night, the

brightly colored advertisements I pored over in magazines…” (14).

And the stakes are high for learning these lessons, for as

Brownmiller points out, the woman who does not live up to

femininity’s demands, or rejects those demands, is often seen as

somehow “failing” in her social role, despite success in any

other field or endeavor (16). Further, despite the gains of the

Women’s Movement, we cannot assume these codes and expectations

to be those of a by-gone era:

So it is not surprising that we are currently

witnessing a renewed interest in femininity and an

unabashed indulgence in feminine pursuits. Femininity

serves to reassure men that women need them and care

about them enormously. By incorporating the decorative

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and the frivolous into its definition of style,

femininity functions as an effective antidote to the

unrelieved seriousness, the pressure of making one’s

way in a harsh, difficult world.” (Brownmiller 17)

I will reference some of Brownmiller’s discussion of specific

codes of femininity later in this paper.

Why do these codes of femininity obtain? What is their

origin and why do they matter so much in society? I will here

reference some of Judith Butler’s illuminating work on the

construction of gender in an effort to clarify these queries.

Butler writes of the distinction between sex and gender, a

distinction often missed by mainstream society due to the

“naturalization” of gender constructs. As Butler states, “the

political construction of the subject proceeds with certain

legitimating and exclusionary aims, and these political

operations are effectively concealed and naturalized by a

political analysis that takes juridical structures as their

foundation” (5). Naturalizing the constructs of gender has the

effect of inverting the process: It appears that the power

structures, codes, and rules associated with gender have

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developed in response to a “natural law” inspired by the sexes

themselves. In reality, the sexes have been defined according

those social constructs, which then take on an appearance of

inevitability. On the other hand, Butler does acknowledge that

the concept of gender construction does not negate the reality or

authenticity of gender, but rather places gender into a context

in which it can be understood in terms of its functions within

social and political discourses (43).

Butler points out that the origins of many of the constructs

of gender can be traced to concerns of heterosexuality. Since my

project focuses on power relations between the partners in

heterosexual couples, I would like to discuss some of these

theories as especially relevant in this context. First, Butler

states that if sexuality is culturally constructed within

existing power structures, there can be no normative sexuality

beyond or outside of those structures (40). As I see it, this

means that those who choose to conform to the sexual norms of

their society must do so within the structures (including the

gender codes) established by that society. Butler later invokes

Lacan to discuss the binary of “being” and “having” in gender

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dynamics. In this theory, women become the “site” upon which male

ideals of power are reflected (56-57). As the reflector, the woman

is expected to conform to that which is opposite of the ideal

male energy (thus magnifying it be contrast). This is explained

in terms of either “having” the phallus, or in the case of women,

“being” the phallus (by reflecting social roles determined by the

male to enhance, or reflect, the power of the phallus) (57). The

author further discusses this idea in terms of Lacan’s notion

that this process for the woman is a masquerade: a term that both

denotes female gender as a performance, and also implies the

existence of a “real” female identity beneath the imposed mask

(60). According to Irigaray, “this masquerade…is what women do…in

order to participate in man’s desire, but at the cost of giving

up her own” (qtd. in Butler: 60). Are the cues I have chosen to

speak to a given audience of women ones that appeal to this

desire to please? Certainly. Are they designed to lead those

women towards a closer look at the “reality” of gender dynamics

behind that mask? Definitely.

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Techniques and Rhetorical Choices Used in Creating the Images

In regards to the format used in creating these images, I

chose the software PhotoShop as an ideal means to produce the

multi-layered and graphics-intensive effects desired. PhotoShop

allows the artist to work in layers and to achieve fades,

transparencies, textures, color changes, and other effects which

enhance the varied visual effects desired. In addition, PhotoShop

allows for the manipulation of text effects and the use of a

large variety of fonts. The results of my efforts comprise five

images, each of which is described below in terms of the choices

I made in an effort to achieve the desired rhetorical effect.

“Cordially Invited”

The image entitled “Cordially Invited” (see fig. 4)

exemplifies my previously mentioned intent to interpellate the

viewer, in this case it has called to her as a bride, a potential

bride, or as someone personally close to such a woman. To fulfill

this function, the format of a wedding invitation is used. As

noted earlier, the signifiers in the image, as Barthes discusses

them, may include not only pictures, but also colors and text

arrangements. In this case, the classic format of the wedding

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invitation includes such elements as the size and shape of the

image; the use of an elegant, traditional script font (Vivaldi)

arranged in short, centered lines; the spelling out of dates and

numbers; the use of colors and images appropriate to a wedding

(pink rose petals, hearts); and the use of implied translucency

and texture (the background imitates vellum and the semi-

transparent central portion imitates a tissue overlay). All

elements are selected to invoke the image of the popular

contemporary wedding invitation. The intent here is to apply

Birdsell and Groarke’s theory of intertextuality, in which both

verbal and visual arguments function within a context of all the

images, events, and assumptions made by the viewer/reader within

a cultural context (316).

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Fig. 4. “Cordially Invited”

Once the viewer has responded to the apparent visual codes

of the image as seen from a slight distance, or at a glance, it

is then my intent that she should be drawn in to take a closer

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look at the image, and to read the text. At this point, I would

like to return to Stroupe’s theory of the “rhetoric of

irritation” (244). In this case, the tension is created not only

between two jarring oppositional visual codes (the apparently

traditional invitation format vs. the images contained in the two

hearts), but also between the visual codes and the content of the

text. The viewer has been interpellated, as she is accustomed to

be in our society of omnipresent advertising, but in this case,

under “false pretenses”. Unlike her experience with ads for

makeup or clothing, she does not find just what she expects upon

further investigation. She has been called as a bride and is now

experiencing messages warning of danger and violence. The text

itself reflects the theory of what Judith Williamson calls

appellation, as described by Sturken and Cartwright: “Ads speak to

us through particular modes of address, and ask us to see

ourselves within them. Often this is done with written text that

specifically speaks to the viewer as ‘you’” (203). Thus, the

first line of the text not only imitates the text of a

traditional wedding invitation, but assigns the viewer a role in

the process: “You are Cordially Invited”. Once interpellated,

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the viewer/reader is already invested in the message, and it is

my belief that she will therefore be less likely to reject the

content as belonging to another intended viewer/reader, and more

likely to internalize it.

The intent of this piece is dual, in that it is meant to be

informative and persuasive. The text reveals some key domestic

violence statistics, then offers a concrete action that can be

taken by the audience (visiting a national domestic violence

website). It is not the intent of the piece to give detailed

information, but rather to illicit a response based on the pathos

created through juxtaposition of the images and text, and to

provide a brief but effective basis of logos by using concrete

statistics (gleaned from the quoted website). Juxtaposition is

achieved not only through the unexpected content of the text, but

also through the small, translucent images within the hearts near

the top of the image, the disturbing content of which (a bruised

woman and a pair of handcuffed fists) is not apparent until the

viewer looks very closely. The use of these images addresses

Blair’s assessment that the image is more efficient than text

(53-54). In this case, the image fulfills Barthes’ function of

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“relay”—the image and text stand in a complimentary relationship,

each contributing to the interpretation of the other (156-157).

If this piece is successful in interpellating its intended

audience of women, why is this the case? Brownmiller discusses

how the cultural construct of femininity dictates “acceptable”

responses to such concerns of relationships as expressed in this,

and the other images: “the territory of the heart is admittedly a

province that is open to all, but women alone are expected to

make an obsessional career of its exploration, to find whatever

adventure, power, fulfillment or tragedy that life has to offer

within its bounds” (215).

‘Til Death Do Us Part

In this image (see fig. 5), the viewer is again

interpellated in relation to conventional images assumed to be of

interest to young women—in this case, a stylish bridal gown is

displayed against a blue background (in a color reminiscent of

both a popular wedding gown advertisement background, and the

famous Tiffany & Company signature box). The use of an attractive

and vibrant red rose bouquet also draws the viewer’s attention

from a distance, while its color is also evocative when viewed in

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light of the sinister content revealed in the copy. The format is

reminiscent of bridal magazines, and could be interpreted from a

distance as an ad for a bridal fair, a bridal gown shop, a dress

manufacturer, or a similar enterprise. The copy, in a flowing

font (Edwardian Script) selected to enhance the elegant tone of

the image, and arranged gracefully on the wedding gown, might be

presumed to provide further information on products or services

to potential brides.

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Fig. 5 “’Til Death Do Us Part”

Upon closer inspection, the “rhetorical irritant” is again

revealed. It is my intent that the viewer be naturally drawn to

the legend “’Til Death do us Part”, which is displayed across the

gown in large, black banner text of all capital letters. This

text could bear multiple interpretations, which will be

influenced by the reader’s awareness, or lack of awareness, that

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the blue pattern repeated in the background is, in fact, made up

of layers of crossed “six-shooters”. The viewer is then likely to

read the top text, arranged across the bodice of the dress, her

eye

being drawn to the red font color, and will then see that this is

a memorial piece. Unlike the previous image, this piece is

designed to function primarily as a memorial and a consciousness-

raising effort, and does not offer any imperative statements, or

create an appellation for the viewer. Rather, the text itself

creates a strong emotional statement as it not only enumerates

but names, and describes the deaths of, six wives killed in

domestic violence incidents in Arizona last year. In this case

pathos, which LaGrandeur names as the element of Aristotelean

rhetoric most effectively accomplished by visuals, is achieved

through the interplay between text and image (119-120). Ethos is

also established through the statistical references and factual

stories as reprinted from the Arizona State Domestic Violence

Fatality Report. This image is again a demonstration of Barthes’

category of relay, in which meaning is dependant on the

reciprocal relationship of visuals and text. In addition, Blair’s

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comment that the visual has the power to inspire deep emotional

reactions in the viewer, which must then be refuted consciously

if they are to be overcome, is illustrated as the viewer

struggles to reconcile the ideal image of marriage with the

realities presented by the memorial text (53-54).

The viewer of this entire series of images may note that

actual representation of individual people is limited and

relegated to subtle background imagery, or else is completely

absent (as in the present example). I have made these choices

primarily to avoid the tendency of the viewer to place the

subject who may appear “different” from herself in the position

of the “other”, thereby problematizing or nullifying the

appellation of the viewer (Sturken and Cartwright, 100-104). For

the viewer who sees the figures in the image as “other”, it is

easy to dissociate herself, her life, her problems, and those of

her close relatives and friends from the messages portrayed.

Other women might believe that the messages and assistance

offered are not intended for them (not available to them or not

appropriate for them), if the women in the images look very

different from themselves.

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I believe that the imagery of the wedding gown is one of the

most effective I have used in any of these images. One of the

last bastions of ultra-traditional femininity in U.S. society

today, the wedding costume reflects codes with which most girls

have been inculcated in the acceptable form of femininity since

their earliest days. As Brownmiller comments: “Who said that

clothes make a statement? What an understatement. Clothes never

shut up” (81). The author also points out that a pattern of

looking back in history continues to characterize contemporary

clothing design (87), and I would add that is no more true than

in the design of wedding dresses. But why do these cultural

gender codes especially dominate wedding attire? As Brownmiller

states, “it is impossible to separate longstanding concepts of

sexual morality from longstanding concepts of esthetics and

fashion” (83), and this is certainly true in the context of the

wedding ceremony, in which the symbolism of the white gown and

veil speak to the sexual expectations placed upon the bride by

society (or, at least, the expectations of a convincing

masquerade for the occasion) (97).

He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not

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This image (figure 6) appropriates a cultural code familiar

to most of the target audience members: namely, the game played

by picking off flower petals and with each one repeating either

“he loves me”, or “he loves me not”. The image is designed to

appeal to an audience consisting primarily of young women,

married or unmarried. This piece uses special text functions to

fit words onto the petals of two daisies. The text is a somewhat

simplified version of the “equality and control” wheels widely

used as a didactic devise in many forms of domestic violence

literature and training materials. This image has been created

using an appealing background of a sunny meadow which has been

altered digitally to resemble a wood block print, or similar

popular artistic graphic, and is intended to be displayed as a

poster.

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Fig. 6. “He Loves Me…He Loves Me Not”.

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The large, superimposed daisies have received the same treatment,

in order to add visual interest and graphic contrast, therefore

attracting the viewer from a distance. “He Loves Me, He Loves Me

Not” is intended to be accompanied by extensive text in the form

of a brochure or other “take-away” material, tied to the image

visually with repeated colors and fonts. These materials would

explain the “wheels” in more detail, offer further education, and

provide specific options for action (hotline numbers, etc.). The

image, however, should stand by itself in the sense that it

encourages the viewer (including girls and young women) to

consider their relationships not only in terms of their partners’

feelings (he loves me, he loves me not), but also in terms of the

balance of power, and their own feelings within the

relationship. The “Equality” wheel is placed in the privileged

position (the upper left, since readers of English begin reading

a page of text from this position) in order to interpellate the

viewer as a partner or potential partner in the ideal

relationship. The hope is that if she feels any sense of discord

between the ideals in the “Equality” wheel and her own

relationship, she will then read further to see what is involved

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in the “Power & Control” wheel. At that point, she would have the

option of taking home the literature that is provided.

The familiarity of the “daisy game” and the conventional

appeal to positive emotions evoked by a flowery meadow both draw

upon cultural intertexuality. In this case, nothing is present in

the image itself to jar the viewer’s pre-existing cultural

expectations, but the “intense discomfort” of the audience

described by Stroupe is nonetheless achieved when the viewer

reads the copy superimposed on the lower wheel (251-252). In

Barthes’ terms, the relationship between the text and the image

in this case can most properly be seen as that of “anchorage”, in

which text directs the reader in how to view/interpret the

symbols in the image (156-157). In a manner reminiscent of

Birdsell and Groarke’s example of the anti-smoking poster, here

the image alone cannot make the rhetorical point clear (310-311).

The text could be said to stand alone, but its significance and

effectiveness are greatly enhanced by the image. Of course, the

arrangement of the text in this piece is especially significant.

As Kirshenbaum observes, “when the ‘word’ is put into a photo-

shop image as part of a pixelated tapestry so that it loses all

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relation to keystrokes or letters and function just like another

element in the image—subject to the same ‘stretch’, ‘twist’ and

other visual command, then the status of the word as such becomes

a moot point” (142). The text here can scarcely be thought of as

distinct from the visual as whole.

As Brownmiller points out, it is the expected province of

females to become the caretakers of relationships. The evocation

of this traditional game references the expectations which are

placed upon a girl from a very early age to “place much of her

hopes, her dreams, her feminine identity and her social

importance in the private sphere of personal relations”. (218)

The pervasiveness of this expectation (which has been naturalized

to a great extent), cannot be challenged unless it is

acknowledged.

Take the Quiz!

The image which I call “Take the Quiz!” (see fig. 7) is

inspired by magazines marketed to teen girls. Relationship advice

and quizzes are two perennial staples of these popular

publications. After studying several examples of popular teen

magazines, I selected a format, color scheme, fonts, and graphic

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style in imitation of the codes prevalent in those periodicals.

The proportions and layout of the image reflect those of a

magazine page, while the bright colors and casual, fresh graphics

are inspired by those I observed. The legend “Take the Quiz!”

attracts immediate attention with its bold black oval background

and whimsical pink copy (Curlz MT font), while the common

magazine convention of “call out” text (large, bold text isolated

in a separate box) is highlighted by using a bold, san-serif font

and bright colors to entice the reader to further explore the

text. The simple sans-serif body style of the quiz itself is

chosen both to enhance readability and to imitate the look of

teen magazine copy.

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Fig. 7. “Take the Quiz!”

If the reader allows herself to be interpellated by the

imperative “Take the Quiz!”, she will soon begin to see that the

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content is not the lighthearted fun she is expecting. Borrowing

cues from the style of actual teen magazine articles, I began the

quiz on a light note: “Does your Boyfriend listen to you when you

talk, or does he totally tune you out?”. I then move on to

increasingly uncomfortable questions, culminating in the final

query, “Has your Boyfriend ever punched, slapped, bit, or kicked

you?” Placing the questions on a continuum from describing

behavior that is ambiguously inappropriate to that which is

clearly abusive is designed to

influence the reader in accepting the statements below regarding

the escalating nature of relationship violence. This piece is

designed to function informatively, as well as persuasively, and

culminates by directing the reader to actions she may take.

Independent of the text, the images themselves also provide

that “intense discomfort” described by Stroupe by juxtaposing the

youthful, bright visual cues of the teen magazine with the subtle

image enmeshed in the red “doodlings” of the upper-left corner—a

semi-transparent image of a girl, her head bent in despair and

apparently crying, has been introduced into the swirling pink

background. This piece has the potential to be persuasive to the

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extent that it generates adequate tension between the happy

discussion of teen relationships expected and the incipient cues

revealed by examining the piece further. It is my aim to create

an image/text combination that is jarring enough to effect

change, yet employs enough logos to effect true persuasion.

Here again is an image-text relationship that exemplifies

Barthes’ concept of relay. The images support the text in making an

effective statement, yet the images certainly cannot stand alone

(156-157). As Kirschenbaum notes, in the digital age it is

difficult to separate the text from the image, or the influence

and importance of one from the other (140-141). The effect of

this fluidity of boundaries is to blur the viewer/reader’s

response to the text into a hybrid image/content response. This

response is especially strong when the familiarity of the viewer

with encoded visual forms and specific images creates an almost

subconscious intertextuality that informs the use of imagery in

rhetoric (Birdsell and Groarke, 316).

In terms of the interpellating power of this image, I would

note that femininity dictates a distinct mindset to the

adolescent girl, as does her developing biology as a woman.

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Brownmiller points out that “if a young girl thinks of marriage

while a boy thinks of getting laid, her emotional commitment is

rooted not only in her different upbringing but in her

reproductive biology as well” (216). The combination of societal

conditioning and biological drives can lead to thoughtless

behavior, and acceptance of otherwise unacceptable behavior

(216). I believe that this image is jarring enough to make teen

girls stop for a moment to think about the distance potentially

separating their romantic ideals from reality.

Safety, Security, Peace of Mind

The image called “Safety, Security, and Peace of Mind” (see

fig. 8) was created to address the issue of child abuse.

Appropriating the look of advertisements that rely heavily on

establishing a sense of ethos (such as those for insurance

companies, banks, etc.), I have created an image designed to both

inform and persuade. The proportions and layout of this piece are

that of a two-page magazine spread. The background, colors, and

fonts have all been chosen to contribute to the visual sense of

ethos that reinforces the message of the bold text headings:

“SAFETY…SECURITY…PEACE OF MIND”. The background imitates stone with

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a sculpted border, reminiscent of the architecture of venerable

and trusted institutions such as banks, schools, and libraries.

The color scheme relies heavily on a grey/sepia mix, again

imparting a sense of the rhetor as serious, venerable, and

trustworthy. A deep, subdued rust red provides the only other

color, and is used to highlight copy intended to draw the reader

further into the piece after reading the bold, black headings.

The font selections were kept to only two: the all-caps

Copperplate (a historic choice for business, bank and stock

engraving) is used for the headings, while the classic and

readable Times New Roman and Times New Roman Italic are used for

the smaller body copy. The photo insert is rendered in black and

white with a sepia overlay to enhance the sense of timelessness

carried out throughout the image.

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Fig. 8. “Safety, Security, Peace of Mind”

The purpose of this piece is to inform and persuade. The

viewer is interpellated as a concerned mother or other family

member, by the headings listing qualities that are ideally the

concern of most parents, and by the image of the child’s hand

sheltered by the hands of a woman and a man. Borrowing from both

the writing style and arrangement of the types of advertisements

discussed above, I have added red text below the headlines, which

carries on the theme. The appellation of the reader is expressed

in these red lines, e.g., “Have you ever thought about what you

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can do to protect your child’s future?”, which leave the reader

still wondering, is this an ad for insurance? Recognizing the

readers’ tendency to give his or her first attention to the

larger, bolder, or colored text on a page, I have written all the

headings and red copy to remain ambiguous. However, if the

reader’s curiosity leads her to venture into the small,

italicized body copy, she will find child abuse statistics. As in

the case of “Take the Quiz!”, the statistics are arranged from

the least to most shocking, at first interpellating the reader as

someone who might witness or suspect child abuse, and culminating

as follows: “Each day in the United States, 4 children die as a

result of child abuse”. At this point, the photo used in the

image may be perceived in a different light: Are the hands of the

parents really protective? The piece culminates by asking readers

to call the Childhelp USA hotline or visit their website for

further information.

In this image, the visuals could be seen as very much

subordinate to the copy, or at best, as decorative

embellishments. However, as LaGrandeur argues, images play a more

important role in today’s media than the merely decorative; they

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are often an integral part of the data, and of the rhetoric

itself (138-139). This idea recalls Barthes’ deconstruction of

specific images to illustrate how the layering of signs functions

both as denotation and connotation, within a given cultural

context (153-155). Here, all the ethos evoked by many generations

of institutions endeavoring to inspire trust in the viewer is

connoted by the visual choices; while the denotations function to

anchor the image in the specific (the actual photo of the

family’s hands, the real statistics). This image is another

example of how Barthes’ “signifiers” may include not only

pictures or drawings of objects, but also colors, text, and

arrangements. Finally, Barthes’ concept of the linguistic message

in relation to the image is best described here in terms of the

anchorage function, as the text in this case directs the reader

in how to interpret the images (156-157).

The question here must be asked: Why are so many women

easily interpellated as mothers? Aside from the fact that many

women do become mothers, or hope to, why are their concerns

assumed to focus upon this aspect of their identity? I note here

that one rarely sees advertisements aimed at interpellating men

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as fathers (although this practice is growing in very recent

times). I must admit to my manipulation of the tendency in our

society to exploit maternal guilt, as Brownmiller puts it, “the

endemic feeling that whatever a mother does, her loving care my

be inadequate or wrong” (214), but I would also point out that I

have taken that cue from advertising, as is part of the

inspiration and purpose of this project: “Advertising copywriters

successfully manipulate this feminine fear when they pitch their

clients’ products” (Brownmiller 214).

Conclusion

I hope that this project has demonstrated some ways in which

images and text may be used together to achieve rhetorical

effects that could not be accomplished as effectively using

either medium alone. The difficulty I have attempted to address

here is that of successfully interpellating the viewer who may

not realize or acknowledge her need to receive domestic violence

messages. I have used the techniques of a “rhetoric of

irritation” and the theory of interpellation (especially in

regards to its use in advertising) to convey messages, to

educate, and (it is hoped) to persuade. I have also referenced

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the codes of mainstream traditional femininity in order to

interpellate a specific audience of women and girls most

effectively. These works are not meant to generate specific and

concrete actions among viewers, for even if this were possible,

each woman must decide her own course of action. Rather, these

images were designed to create a memorable discomfort, one which

the viewer may seek to resolve through further information,

interaction, or consideration in her own mind. In short, I hope

that I have shown how images such as these may provide, to borrow

Stroupe’s phrase, the “grain of sand that ideally instigates a

pearl.”

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Works Cited

Barthes, Roland. “Rhetoric of the Image”. Visual Rhetoric in a

Digital World: A Critical Sourcebook. Carolyn Handa, Ed.

Boston; New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2004.

Birdsell, David S. and Leo Groarke. “Toward a Theory of Visual

Argument”. Visual Rhetoric in a Digital World: A Critical

Sourcebook. Carolyn Handa, Ed. Boston; New York: Bedford/St.

Martin’s, 2004.

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Blair, J. Anthony. “The Rhetoric of Visual Arguments”. Defining

Visual Rhetorics. Hill, Charles A. and Marguerite Helmers,

Eds. Mahwah, New Jersey; London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates,

2004.

Brownmiller, Susan. Femininity. New York: Linden Press/Simon &

Schuster,1984.

Butler, Judith. Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of

Identity. New York; London: Routledge, 1999.

Child Help USA. http://www.childhelpusa.org/

Family Violence Prevention Fund.

http://www.endabuse.org/resources/facts/

Foss, Sonja K. “Framing the Study of Visual Rhetoric: Toward a

Transformation of Rhetorical Theory”. Defining Visual

Rhetorics. Hill, Charles A. and Marguerite Helmers, Eds.

Mahwah, New Jersey; London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2004.

Kirschenbaum, Matthew G. “The Word as Image in an Age of Digital

Reproduction”. Eloquent Images: Word and Image in the Age of

New Media. Mary E. Hocks and Michelle R. Kendrick, Eds.

Cambridge, Mass.; London: The MIT Press, 2003.

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LaGrandeur, Kevin. “Digital Images and Classical Persuasion”.

Eloquent Images: Word and Image in the Age of New Media. Mary

E. Hocks and Michelle R. Kendrick, Eds. Cambridge, Mass.;

London: The MIT Press, 2003.

National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

http://www.ncadv.org/

Stroupe, Craig. “The Rhetoric of Irritation: Inappropriateness as

Visual/Literate Practice”. Defining Visual Rhetorics. Hill,

Charles A. and Marguerite Helmers, Eds. Mahwah, New Jersey;

London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2004.

Sturken, Marita and Lisa Cartwright. Practices of Looking: An

Introduction to Visual Culture. Oxford; New York: Oxford

University Press, 2005.