They say a picture can paint a thousand words. Artists such as Tracey Emin or Rick Valicenti have also managed to prove that words can just as well write a thousand pictures. It is possible to make a statement using either image, either text, but sometimes the combination of both can say something much more powerful.
A single image is subject to interpretation. There can be hundreds of different ways to see a certain picture, or the artist can make the viewer see what he or she wants him to see (by using a particular angle, focus...). Alternatively, an artist can change completely the meaning an image would have on its own by attributing specific text, which allows less room for speculation.
For instance, old adverts are being used today as cards conveying humor; this is done without altering the artwork, but simply by adding a conversation bubble with humorous anecdotes, never before associated with those particular images.On the other hand, an image’s meaning can also be changed by the means of imitation…an artist wishes to make a statement by using a famous work of art and change it according to the message he or she wants to convey.
All in all, it is safe to say that on their own, images invite us to broaden our minds and open ourselves to the endless possibilities their meaning may have. In its own way, text allows for our imagination to be unleashed, as we generate images in our minds that illustrate the words.
Together however, image and text becomes an unbeatable combination where there is no room for doubt. It is what it seems and what it says. It is beyond doubt however, that together or not, words and pictures are undoubtedly the most powerful means of communication; you need not speak to be heard.
