CONOTATIVE & DENOTATIVE MEANINGS (5/10)
Images carry two distinct features, a denotative meaning and a connotative meaning. Denotative referring to the literal meaning of the image i.e. the denotative meaning behind an image of a rose is that it is a flower. A connotative meaning (the various meanings associated with that image) for the rose could be beauty or love. To me, a connotative meaning is almost like a stereotype, but for an image. To someone who has never seen the infamous photograph Migrant Mother by Dorothea Lange, one might assume that the subject in the photograph is homeless due to her dirty and disheveled look, her and her children’s clothing, the background etc… One could even venture to guess that the picture is derived from the great depression era due to the expression on her face that shows that she me in the midst of turmoil and due to the fact the photograph looks dated. I think it is interesting how we automatically place a connotative meaning to things instead of looking at the denotative meaning first. It is similar to how we unconsciously judge people (especially on first impression) even though we may not mean to.
