Research article    |    Open Access
International Journal of Research in Fine Arts Education 2025, Vol. 8(1) 1-22

Anatomy of Visual Culture: Visual, Perception and Meaning

Barıs Aydın, Necla KILIÇ, Zeynep KILIÇ

pp. 1 - 22

Publish Date: June 01, 2025  |   Single/Total View: 0/0   |   Single/Total Download: 0/0


Abstract

The increasing impact of visual communication in modern societies is making it increasingly important to understand the role of visual culture on individuals and social structures. Nowadays, it is known that visuals have become a central element not only as a means of communication but also in shaping social values, ideologies, and identities. Despite this situation, it is observed that the processes of meaning production of visuals and their effects on individuals have not been thoroughly examined, which necessitates the consideration of visual culture within a semiological framework. Especially, the idea that visuals, as a component of culture, carry ideological meanings and that these meanings need to be analyzed, pointing to the process of shaping historical and social accumulations both materially and spiritually, constitutes the fundamental problematics of the research. In this context, the effects of visual culture on individuals' perception and the societal dimensions of this perception are among the primary topics that need to be examined. Additionally, the primary aim of the study is to reveal how individuals perceive visuals through semiological analysis of visual culture and to what extent this perception contributes to cultural meaning production processes. In this context, the analysis of visuals is being conducted based on Roland Barthes' semiological approach, which emphasizes that the meanings contained in visuals should be addressed not only at an aesthetic level but also within ideological and cultural contexts. The aim is to analyze these visuals both individually and collectively. In this context, the research aims to provide a theoretical and methodological framework within the universe of visual culture for visuals, which are considered both carriers of specific meanings and producers of social discourse, while also contributing to individuals' critical evaluation of their visual experiences by understanding the social meaning of visuals.

Keywords: Visual, Visual Culture, Semiotics


How to Cite this Article?

APA 7th edition
Aydin, B., KILIC, N., & KILIC, Z. (2025). Anatomy of Visual Culture: Visual, Perception and Meaning. International Journal of Research in Fine Arts Education, 8(1), 1-22.

Harvard
Aydin, B., KILIC, N. and KILIC, Z. (2025). Anatomy of Visual Culture: Visual, Perception and Meaning. International Journal of Research in Fine Arts Education, 8(1), pp. 1-22.

Chicago 16th edition
Aydin, Baris, Necla KILIC and Zeynep KILIC (2025). "Anatomy of Visual Culture: Visual, Perception and Meaning". International Journal of Research in Fine Arts Education 8 (1):1-22.

References

    Alakuş, A. O. (2004). Kültür kavramı tanımlamalarına ilişkin bir analiz. Milli Eğitim (Üç Aylık Eğitim ve Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi), (164), 60–70.

    Ana Britannica. (2004). Ana Britannica genel kültür ansiklopedisi (Cilt 10, s. 536). Ana Yayıncılık.

    Barnard, M. (2002). Sanat, tasarım ve görsel kültür (G. Korkmaz, Çev.). Ütopya Yayınları. (Orijinal eser yayımlanma tarihi belirtilmemiştir)

    Barthes, R. (1964). Éléments de sémiologie. Éditions du Seuil.

    Barthes, R. (1972). Mythologies (A. Lavers, Trans.). Hill and Wang.

    Barthes, R. (1977). Image, music, text (S. Heath, Çev.). Hill and Wang.

    Barthes, R. (2017). Mitolojiler (K. Atakay, Çev.). Heretik Yayıncılık. (Orijinal eser 1957 yılında yayımlanmıştır)

    Baudrillard, J. (1981). Simulacres et simulation. Éditions Galilée.

    Berger, J. (1972). Ways of seeing. Penguin Books.

    Berger, J. (1986). Görme biçimleri (Y. Salman, Çev.). Metis Yayınları. (Orijinal eser 1972 yılında yayımlanmıştır)

    Berlo, D. K. (1960). The process of communication. Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

    Boughton, D. (1986). Visual literacy: Implications for cultural understanding through art education. Journal of Art & Design Education, 5(1–2), 125–134.

    Buruma, I. (2003). Inventing Japan: 1853–1964. Modern Library.

    Campbell, J. (2008). The hero with a thousand faces (3rd ed.). New World Library. (Orijinal eser 1949 yılında yayımlanmıştır)

    Chandler, D. (2007). Semiotics: The basics (2nd ed.). Routledge.

    Clark, T. J. (1990). The painting of modern life: Paris in the art of Manet and his followers. Princeton University Press.

    Derrida, J. (1998). Of grammatology (G. C. Spivak, Trans.). Johns Hopkins University Press. (Orijinal eser 1967 yılında yayımlanmıştır)

    Dilli, R., Mamur, N., & Alakuş, A. O. (2016). Sanat ve tasarım eğitimi alan üniversite öğrencilerinin popüler görsel kültüre yönelik eleştirel yaklaşımları. Millî Eğitim, 46(211), 187–202.

    Duncum, P., Evans, J., & Hall, S. (1999). Visual culture: The reader. Sage Publications.

    Eco, U. (1976). A theory of semiotics. Indiana University Press.

    Eldem, E. (2014). The aesthetics of modernism: Essays on art and society. İletişim Yayınları.

    Elkins, J. (2003). Visual studies: A skeptical introduction. Routledge.

    Gelber, M. H. (Ed.). (2007). Stefan Zweig reconsidered: New perspectives on his literary and biographical writings. Max Niemeyer Verlag. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110931402

    Guth, C. M. E. (2015). Hokusai’s Great Wave: Biography of a global icon. University of Hawai‘i Press. https://doi.org/10.21313/hawaii/9780824839598.001.0001

    Güvenç, B. (1994). İnsan ve kültür (6. bs.). Remzi Kitabevi.

    Hall, S. (Ed.). (1997). Representation: Cultural representations and signifying practices. Sage Publications.

    Kress, G., & Van Leeuwen, T. (2006). Reading images: The grammar of visual design (2nd ed.). Routledge.

    Lévi-Strauss, C. (1955). The structural study of myth. The Journal of American Folklore, 68(270), 428–444. https://doi.org/10.2307/536768

    Locke, J. (1997). An essay concerning human understanding (R. Woolhouse, Ed.). Penguin Books. (Orijinal eser 1690 yılında yayımlanmıştır)

    Marqués Ibáñez, A. (2018). Visual research methodologies in the field of art education: Conceptual analysis and specific theoretical framework of reference. Journal of Teacher Education and Educators, 7(1), 73–91.

    Mirzoeff, N. (1999). An introduction to visual culture. Routledge.

    Mirzoeff, N. (2023). An introduction to visual culture (3rd ed.). Routledge.

    Mulvey, L. (1975). Visual pleasure and narrative cinema. Screen, 16(3), 6–18. https://doi.org/10.1093/screen/16.3.6

    Nochlin, L. (1988). Women, art, and power and other essays. Harper & Row.

    Okakura, K. (2003). The book of tea. Dover Publications.

    Peirce, C. S. (1931). Collected papers of Charles Sanders Peirce (Cilt 1–8, C. Hartshorne, P. Weiss & A. W. Burks, Ed.). Harvard University Press.

    Pollock, G. (1988). Vision and difference: Femininity, feminism and histories of art. Routledge.

    Rose, G. (2016). Visual methodologies: An introduction to researching with visual materials (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.

    Saussure, F. de. (1916). Cours de linguistique générale (C. Bally & A. Sechehaye, Der.). Payot.

    Sontag, S. (2003). Regarding the pain of others. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

    Stankiewicz, M. A. (2004). A dangerous business: Visual culture theory and education policy. Studies in Art Education, 45(4), 285–299.

    Tanizaki, J. (2001). Gölgeye övgü (A. Turan Oflazoğlu, Çev.). Yapı Kredi Yayınları.

    Tavin, K. M. (2003). Wrestling with angels, searching for ghosts: Toward a critical pedagogy of visual culture. Studies in Art Education, 44(3), 197–213.

    Theodorson, G. A., & Theodorson, A. G. (1969). A modern dictionary of sociology. Crowell.

    Türk Dil Kurumu (TDK). (2024). Güncel Türkçe Sözlük [Çevrimiçi sözlük].

    Uslu, M. (2020). Katsushika Hokusai ve Kanagawa’nın Büyük Dalgaları: Bir eser incelemesi. Japonya Postası. https://www.japonyapostasi.com/hokusai-katsushika-ve-kanagawanin-buyuk-dalgalari-bir-eser-incelemesi