This image is a visual representation of the economy (found via google image search). The word "MONEY" is clearly visible as the headline of a news article–probably the daily economic report–and adjacent to the headline, the title "The Wall Street Journal" fades into the background of the image. Superimposed with the text is an ambiguous graph and the grid lines that define it. 

Feelings:

• Crashing
• Mysticism
• Complexity

Symbols:

• Graph: denotes a fluctuation of market values.
• Wall Street Journal: denotes an authority figure.
• "Money": denotes power, class, and prestige.

The composition of the image plays a large roll in influencing my reactions towards the image itself. The superimposition of multiple raw images give the image the mystical sense–fading in and out. Also, the use of a graph, striking through the image, makes the composition feel complex and powerful.

Caitlind Brown’s project, The Could, is an interactive installation composed of six-thousand burnt-out lightbulbs placed in mass to form a cloud. The project contains examples of Representation, Abstraction, and Symbols.

Representation:

The strongest visual element in the composition is the cloud. A floating amorphous mass represents the form of a cloud. To the viewer, the cloud form is attractive because of its unusual tangibility. A cloud is usually something that can only be seen from a distance, but here it is represented as a physically interactive object. The cloud form is the large scale impression of the abstraction, and an essential compliment to the project’s symbolic meaning.

Abstraction:

In the composition, lightbulbs become abstracted to merely a pixel in the cloud’s radiance. The lightbulb’s abstraction becomes less apparent as the viewer moves closer to the cloud. The whole form gives way to the individual when the viewer gets underneath, abstracting from the form of cloud to a mass of orbs. At an intimate scale, the abstracted lightbulb is a more meaningful element of the projects representation and symbolism alike.

Symbols:

The cloud of lightbulbs denotes the colossal amount of energy consumption that hangs over every individual’s head–floating behind us like a cloud. In the installation, this symbolism is felt by the individual as they pull on the strings raining down from the cloud. As they pull, a bulb is turned on or off; and, when seeing your own actions in such proximity of your neighbors, you get a sense of the impact of flipping on a light. The symbolic impression that the cloud emits is achieved through the collaboration of both the cloud representation and the abstracted lightbulb.

Representation

This photograph, Pole Star and Milky Way, by Michael Holden, is an excellent representation of this magnificent structure captured at the Oregon Country Fair. The image that Michael captured provides a direct reporting of the visual details, to an almost surreal level, possibly due to an extended exposure. For me personally, this representation evokes a flood of memories from the times I spent at the event and to the beauty of being beneath the structure in person. To others the beauty may go no deeper than the rich colors and deep shadows in front of a starry night sky.

Abstraction

The Umbrella Man, by G Crackle, is a piece of multilayered stencil art, and thus by nature an abstraction. The artist captured the refined essence of the umbrella man by only emphasizing the textures necessary for comprehension. The suit is textured only to show the press of the man's form. Likewise, by contrasting the solid shapes of the man's head and tie in dark blue, against the white of the mans shirt and the back drop, these two forms become dominant–and rightfully, they are defining characteristics of the figure. 

Symbolic

The logo used to represent the Burning Man community is very symbolic. The most important element of the symbol is "the man". "The man" very clearly represents to me the unity of mankind, and mankind as a whole. The symbology of the man becomes apparent to oneself as "the man" burns. On the second to final night of the gathering, a towering structure of "the man" is burned in a celebratory ritual. The second element of the logo, the radial sweep from one hand to the other, denotes the Black Rock City (the city formed at burning man) as a whole. The black Rock City plan is designed to be a clock, containing linear streets each at 15 degrees off the center, and radial streets growing as they get father from the center. The entire city revolves around the man who stands tall at the cities vertex. 

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