Writing Images: The Metaphor of the Image as a Creative Tool and for Self-Knowledge.

© Duane Michals – Someone Left a Message for You

IMAGINATION

Images live within our brains. They spontaneously appear as our minds play, create, and imagine.

Not for nothing, the origin of the word imagination comes from the Latin imaginatio, related to imāgo, which means “image.” It shows how the human mind can create images and scenarios through imagination, a process deeply rooted in the structure and functioning of the brain.

And indeed, to imagine is to think in images. The mind forms concepts in images, and neuroscience has already proven that some of our mental abilities aren’t based on thoughts or verbal language.

Our mind is constantly generating solutions to environmental and relational needs.

“The human brain is perhaps the most outstanding example of a self-organized system. It is constantly and spontaneously generating new thoughts, often without any apparent external control”.
Andreasen (2005)

Damasio (1999) states that the mind is in a continuous process of image production and points out that these images can be conscious or unconscious. “Not every image created by the brain becomes conscious. In other words, the brain generates too many images competing for that limited space where images can become conscious, which means we feel like we understand those images and, therefore, are paying attention to them properly.”

Damasio understands this performance as a “wordless narrative,” which directly contributes to the experience of creating awareness. It’s like watching a silent movie to which we can add words and meaning later. Therefore,the mind, which creates wonderful narratives, tends to use metaphor.

© Duane Michals – Now Becoming Then

THE METAPHOR

A metaphor is a rhetorical figure that consists of establishing a relationship of similarity between two terms—one real and the other imaginary. In the context of understanding an image, metaphor is a powerful tool for interpretation and assigning meaning. It allows us to associate ideas, assign emotions or moods, create a narrative, and, what seems most interesting to me, identify symbols that relate to abstract concepts.

For example, when we talk about something very important, we might say, “It’s a really great idea,” or “It can make a huge change.” When we talk about the strength of love, we could say, “It has deeply penetrated their heart.” It’s not the same for a person to say, “I have fallen in love,” as it is to say, “I feel like I’m surrounded by flowers and butterflies.” The second one leaves space for the metaphor, creating an image of sensation, color, and movement that transports us to symbolic spaces full of meaning.

So much so that the metaphor allows us to understand the abstract experience, especially concepts based on affection, since the mind describes abstract concepts with concrete images.

We often lack words to say or express what we feel. Embracing that feeling and seeing if perhaps an image can represent it can be a path to explore. The image we mentally create or imagine is personal and can help us find a message for well-being and healing.

The key question is: What happens when we create a photograph? Does it also have the transformative power mental images have?

© Duane Michals – Certain Words Must Be Said

SELF-REGULATION PHOTOGRAPHY

The organism has the inherent capacity to regulate its internal processes and maintain balance in response to changes in the environment. It is easy; when we exercise and sweat, we get thirsty, and thirst warns us that we need water for our bodies. We can regulate ourselves.

This concept is linked to various theories and approaches within psychology and biology. In humanistic psychology, the term “organismic self-regulation” is used. So, humans have this inner power that drives them towards healing and personal growth; in this sense, imagination works as a tool.

In psychotherapy, sometimes, you need to abandon verbal discourse to open up to new experiences and ways of understanding. This could mean exploring other forms of expression, like visual creativity and imagination, to help with the therapeutic process. This broader approach goes beyond verbal discourse, creating room for new things to come up and develop.

In this context, and thinking about the question, “Can taking a photograph have the same transformative power as mental images?”, the answer is yes. If the mental images we create can become metaphors, then so can our photographic images.

However, it is important to remember that each person interprets images differently based on their own perspective. The same image won’t mean exactly the same to everyone, which adds complexity and depth to the understanding of images. Therapists can’t interpret someone else’s image; they can only support the process. They’ll turn those images into different narratives.

The problem or solution isn’t found within the image itself but rather in the perception of the observer.

 “In his work “En torno al casticismo,” Miguel de Unamuno pointed out, “It’s easy to forget that two individuals may see the world differently because their environments and the shape of their spirits aren’t identical—they are products of their environmental processes. But even though our perspectives are different, they are all translations of the same source. If not, people wouldn’t understand each other.”

© Duane Michals – The Camera’s Caress

LEARNING TO LOOK

We are biologically programmed to process the world visually. If we look back at our origins, the first written form of communication was through images; our brain’s information is visual.

The image comes first; a baby recognizes their mother before naming her. We process images much faster than text; the image is addictive, viral, open, and suggestive; it constructs different realities and viewpoints. Sometimes, we only need an image to understand a situation.

Taking pictures is already common, thanks to the phones we all carry in our pockets. Sometimes, an image is a more effective resource for communication and expression than words. Taking a photo has become so easy that we sometimes overlook the message we communicate through it. We still have to learn how to read and write images authentically and become aware of their meaning.

Walter Benjamin said that the illiterate of the future would not be those who don’t know how to write but those who don’t know what photography is. But isn’t a photographer who can’t interpret their own images even more illiterate?

We must learn to LOOK. Where should we start?

WRITING IMAGES

Looking at a photograph activates all our senses; it evokes memories and recalls smells, tastes, and textures that stimulate our imagination. A photograph can also be a metaphor for what we feel when we look at it and capture it.

Understanding what the images we create communicate gives us self-knowledge and self-regulation. They allow our imagination to flourish and bring out the creative scriptwriters in our minds who prepare wonderful narratives. Images become a powerful tool if we allow ourselves to use words, whether spoken or written. The unconscious expression will then have meaning and significance.

The person taking photographs is writing without text, only using the light captured by the camera, constructing reality by observing the image. But it’s important to consider that we perceive more of reality than what’s inside the camera frame when we take a picture. When we look at a photograph, we not only see what’s there but also imagine the surroundings, the location, the country, the time, and what happened before or might happen after that instant.

An image can be the catalyst for our imagination and literary expression, adding dimensions of reality that go beyond the picture itself. These are realities we create unconsciously, in a deeply personal manner.

We know that seeing is a physical action, but looking means interpreting what is seen—a nuanced process influenced by the personal and cultural experiences of the observer.

So, choose an image of your own, any one you like. Record your voice or just write down everything in the photograph: who appears, where, what thoughts it evokes, what you like about the image, what you dislike, what elements make you uncomfortable, or what elements you like and why… Take another look and reread or listen to it again in a few days. It’s time to discover what your images are saying.

Returning to Unamuno’s words, “Everything has its inner workings, an interior, even science. The shapes we see on the outside have something inside of them, just like we do. So, we don’t just understand them; we are part of them. And what’s the point of defining love if we can’t feel it?.”

© Duane Michals – Someone Left a Message for You

The images in this article belong to American photographer Duane Michals, an artist who sees photography as a game, a visual experiment to narrate all stories. You can discover more images at the Carnegie Museum of Art.