Illustration in Rhetoric or Rhetoric in Illustration? What Might Make Writing and Art Effective (#6)
This week, I’m visiting one of my top choice colleges. As part of the standard visit schedule to this college, I took two classes: “American Foreign Policy,” and “Classical Logic and Rhetoric.” In American Foreign Policy, we watched and discussed one of Putin’s Christmas propaganda videos, which was interesting, but not particularly helpful for writing or for drawing. In Logic and Rhetoric, we read and analyzed an excerpt from “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. The professor mentioned that illustrations (examples) are necessary for an argument or piece of writing to be effective, which piqued my interest.
Because I never took a rhetoric class during my time at BASIS and only scarcely remember what I have learned about it, I had very little idea how illustrations in rhetoric would be useful to me. The obvious answer is that this entire book is basically one giant illustration of Lyon’s life in New Mexico. I can’t think of one children’s book that isn’t a rhetorical illustration. In fact, one could argue that all of the great fiction books are illustrations pointing towards their own unique morals.
So, if rhetoric is “the art or science of all specialized literary uses of language in prose or verse, including the figures of speech” (Dictionary.com), or in simpler terms, the art of being convincing, how can I apply that to my illustrations?
Would it be the color or tonal values used? The continuity between poses and character design? The tiny details, the unexpected shapes, the creative whimsy?
I’d argue that it is all that and more. It’s telling the story in pictures and reinforcing the text with imagination. After all, they do say that a picture is worth a thousand words.
I’ve recently registered for an online illustration course to improve my skills. It’s been a while since I last drew something I’m proud of and willing to share!
Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my sketchbook with me so I won’t be showing any pictures of my illustrations until next week. Rather, I’ve attached some photos of what will be my home away from home in a few months!
This week, I urge all of my fellow writers and artists to learn more about rhetoric because I personally think it can help us all. I will continue to work on my drawings and update you all next week.
