Reading Images

I enjoyed reading this section, because although I've enjoyed various art forms in the past, I've never thought of it as 'reading'. That word just brings a whole new connotation to my feeling of appreciation for it. I think that one element of any creation is the element of power and control that the creator has over the message of their creation. We, as artists, try so often to 'make' a viewer see something or feel something that they think is important. We may have perfected the recipe to show exactly what we want, but there is always one thing we will never have control over...the past experiences and current knowledge of our viewers which inform their discovery of our message. To quote the book, "Because viewers come from varying backgrounds and read with different perceptions, many may perceive the narrative of an image differently". I feel that, in many ways, only in art can everyone's impressions and ideas be equal, but different. As creators/writers of art we can only worry about telling our own story and thoughts for ourselves...ultimately.