Climate Action: The Effectiveness of Contemporary Illustration in Communication

Climate Action: The Effectiveness of Contemporary Illustration in Communication
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Synopsis
Illustrations have been with man all across history, from using sculptures and paintings to communicating different aspects of society. However, it is in modern or contemporary society that illustrations draw out more interest among visual and performing artists. The contemporary world can span anywhere from the industrialization period all the way to the post-modern world today. However, this is of little importance, since the bottom line is that modernization has come at a heavy cost to the environment. Despite the attempts to enlighten the global society on the impacts of industrialization and modernization, many still show little interest in the subject. Thus, using two illustrations, this essay will attempt to determine how and why contemporary illustrations succeed or fail in communicating their message across a larger audience, and using visual analysis and communication theories, determine how they can improve effectiveness in communication to improve the global reaction towards climate action.
Climate Action: The Effectiveness of Contemporary Illustration in Communication
The discipline of illustration has not received much attention as a distinct subject until the recent past, despite its existence over most of humanity’s history. One of the reasons why it is still scorned by a section of the fine arts community is due to how often illustration is used for commercial purposes. Nonetheless, there is no debating the use of illustration as a communication medium and a visual language, especially when it pertains to imagery arts. Contemporary illustrations are now moving away from simply being a part of the visual arts, and into the learning and communication spheres where they are necessary tools for passing and receiving messages. Due to the growing awareness in society, especially in fields such as climate change where all societal members need to play a part in climate action, then contemporary illustrations need to consider various factors including theories of visual analysis and communication. Thus, this essay will make use of two contemporary illustrations on climate action to determine their communication effectiveness based on the theoretical needs of visual analysis and communication in contemporary society.
Illustration and the Contemporary World
Understanding illustration may be topical to most in that it is understood as disparate representations ranging from paintings to sculptures, to commercial art. Nonetheless, at the core of illustration is an objective need by the illustrator to come up with a contextualized message that is either personal or commercial (Male, 2007). By getting into the mind of the illustrator, it is easier to grasp the context at a deeper meaning, thus effectuating the communication. On the other hand, the word contemporary is highly disputable since to some it may mean the current post-modern era of the world, which is after the internet revolution. However, in a general sense, the contemporary can include the entire timeframe since the industrialization in the 19th and 20th centuries. This is due to the transition of the world from traditional forms of living, which had little impact on nature, to the consumer-based lifestyle of the contemporary era where man now has the power to greatly influence and change nature.
Climate Action
One of the most obvious outcomes of man’s indulgence in consumerism and tapping into the globe’s natural resources without future considerations is that the world is now matching towards the total destruction of the ecology. Implications range from the unsustainable use of natural resources leading to scarcity to global warming, which is a result of burning fossil fuels to a degree that negatively impacts the earth’s atmosphere (Ros et al., 2020). Scholars have warned that continued use of resources without consideration of the negative implications to the environment is detrimental, especially to future generations who may find themselves inheriting a dying or dead planet. As part of being the transformational force in climate action, artists play a central role in communicating the needs of climate action, and the only way they can accomplish this gargantuan task is through proper and effective illustration. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of contemporary illustrations in forming a climate-conscious mindset amongst the global population is highly contentious (O’Connor, 2015). There are myriad reasons why climate action is not bearing the fruits required to reverse the trend in climate change.
Contemporary Illustrations and their Effectiveness in Communicating Climate Action
Illustration 1
Illustration 2
The success of contemporary illustrations in communicating the urgent need for climate action is a mixed bag. The success lies in the fact that the outcome of the globe’s unhindered consumption culture while disregarding the environmental impact is now common knowledge amongst many of the world’s population. As research on the global warming trends in the United States illustrates, all participants in the research are aware of the ongoing climate crisis (Ros et al., 2020). Nonetheless, although a good number of the participants are alarmed, the reaction of a good number of the participants ranges from being disengaged to being dismissive of climate action. Thus, this begs the question why after so much information is in the public domain on the negative impact of climate change, including the reasons why the world’s environment is in decline, are most people at best only concerned by not actively championing climate change?
Based on the above illustrations, it is possible to pinpoint how contemporary illustrations are communicating, and yet not effectively enough to c...