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Allison Culp

UHON 1010

Professor Baker

20 October 2016

Illustration for Understanding

In Nick Sousanis graphic novel Unflattening, he incorporates illustration with text to

argue that the two are stronger intertwined and challenges the idea of two-dimensional thinking

or flatness. Through this integrated style readers are guided to a deeper understanding as

Sousanis illustrations add more depth to his ideas. In the American lyric Citizen by Claudia

Rankine, artworks are inserted throughout without much context or explanation to promote a

more subjective interpretation by the reader that can then be applied to the overall message rather

than being guided to an idea by Sousanis. Though the presence of visuals differs in structure and

function, both works enter a conversation about visual literacy and the need to include multiple

mediums for deeper comprehension. Both authors advocate this through their use of multi-

faceted presentation by combining words and art into one work.

In Unflattening, the structure is far more integrated than Rankines Citizen as Sousanis

conveys his thoughts through both images and words. In regard to function, the author places

importance on the ideas of multiple perspectives and vantage points and the need to move away

from flat two-dimensional thinking. He conveys this throughout the graphic novel, using his

illustrations to explain how a multiple mediums allow for a more in-depth understanding of a

concept. This is best portrayed on pages fifty-four and fifty-five as he presents a sharp contrast
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between a bland, essay-style page and an image-filled page. On page fifty-four Sousanis explains

how illustration has often been used solely to support the text never as equal partner, in a

basic APA formatted paper. His argument that illustration is just as powerful and informative as a

word-filled page is furthered by the next page as it is much more capturing, inviting the reader to

interpret what it is the author means to convey with the dialogue. This juxtaposition argues that

more meaning is found in the combination of words and illustrations versus several paragraphs

of text and thus challenges the usual style of learning. At the bottom of page fifty-five Sousanis

writes, For Descartes, thinking was everything and thinking meant words inner speech.

Through this dissection, mind was divorced from senses, leaving us disembodied, afloat in a sea

of words. The images included of a cadaver and a brain afloat in a jar illustrates this thought and

gives it more depth: not only does one read and interpret the words, but visually the

disconnection that Sousanis argues people have by limiting themselves to words is understood.

This can also be related to the broader conversation of visual literacy as Sousanis presents the

idea that words leave people in this desensitized state as they reject different mediums that

facilitate and deepen meaning. In this work, images are used to make a point that one form of

explanation is limiting and that in order to achieve full comprehension, one must employ several

senses.

Citizen differs structurally and functionally in that the artworks are placed sporadically

throughout, not integrated, and is presented with no caption, context, or explanation for the most

part. For example, on pages 102 and 103, the image Blue Black Boy by Carrie Mae Weems is

included on its own, lacking a title or explanation. This type of inclusion allows the reader to

make individual conclusions and interpret the artwork in whichever way he or she perceives it.

This connects to Sousanis idea of multiple perceptions; what is seen by one may not been seen
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by another. Weems image asks the question What do you notice first? In this particular image,

first one will see that there is blue in the background and then black. Finally one will notice the

boy. This can then be applied to the context of the Rankines poem and suggests that people

sometimes see color, whether it is the blue in a photograph or the dark pigment in the skin,

before they see a boy. In other words: race before human. With this structure, readers are

challenged to interpret a piece of art to create further meaning subjectively and then apply to it to

the work as a whole rather than being guided through images like in Unflattening. Though

Rankine is not directly making an argument about visual literacy, her piece does enter the

conversation on the use of illustration in contemporary works. Her decision to include images

such as Blue Black Boy recognizes the usefulness of multiple perspectives and art forms. The

fact that the structure and function of artwork differs from that in Unflattening is exemplary of

arts capacity to develop deeper learning even without direct guidance. James Pellegrino,

member of the National Research Council of the National Academies of Science in Washington,

defines deeper learning as allowing a student to use knowledge in ways that make it useful in

new situations, (Barseghian). One may take the idea that people see race before human from

Blue Black Boy and apply it to other instances of racism Rankine explains throughout the

poem. For example, on page fifteen of the poem, Rankine recounts a scenario in which a

neighbor calls the police because he or she sees a menacing black guy casing both your

homes walking back and forth talking to himself and seems disturbed, (Rankine). It is

unveiled that this is a friend whom the neighbor has actually met before and was harmlessly

talking on the phone outside. The race before human idea derived from Blue Black Boy is

then applied to this scenario when color was seen before human again. Although the neighbor

knows the friend, he or she is unable to separate identity from race. The reader is able to take a
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concept from artwork and apply it to real world situations such as this one, proving Pellegrinos

definition of deeper learning.

In both Unflattening and Citizen, images are used to create a greater meaning that words

alone cannot explain. In Unflattening, Sousanis uses his illustrations to guide the reader and

strengthen his argument of multiple perceptions and vantage points. The concept of visual

learning is reflected in his piece as he emphasizes that illustration is just as powerful a mode of

explanation, as words are (Sousanis 54). The artworks in Rankines Citizen are more

subjectively viewed as some are presented with little context to allow perception to come directly

from the reader instead of guided by the author. The texts echo each other in the ideas of multiple

perceptions and the need for different modes of understanding for better comprehension about

the topic or the development of an opinion. These ideas are prevalent in the conversation about

visual literacys place in contemporary literature. In 2005 it was projected that approximately

sixty-five percent of the population are visual learners, meaning that visual aid is usually needed

to fully understand a concept (University of Alabama School of Medicine). This statistic supports

the argument that another sense is often required for full cognitive understanding. The advances

in technology and greater presence of social media today suggest that an even greater amount of

individuals are visually literate thus more and more teachers are incorporating visual methods of

teaching to appeal to this generation. Claud Howard writes about the difficulty of teaching

literature without help from a different medium as he says, Probably the most neglected of

easily accessible resources in vitalizing the teaching of this subject is the use of pictures. No

other art, with a few specific exceptions in favor of music, makes such a complement to the art of

literature. Painting and literature are companion arts, each complete within itself, yet each

supplying beauties not possessed by the other. (539). This directly correlates with Sousanis
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argument of weaving words and images together to enhance comprehension. He challenges the

flat words on a page with his capturing illustrations to evoke a more complex meaning than what

is originally perceived. Howards idea about integrating art to facilitate understanding of

literature is also reflected in Rankines Citizen. The artworks allow the reader to first develop

meaning from them and then apply it to the authors topic, opinion, or argument. In this way the

two works complement and build off of each other.

Both Unflattening and Citizen are award-winning in their respective genres which makes

a statement about the presence of visual literacy today. This praise suggests that art incorporated

within literature will likely persist due to its role in challenging readers to interpret illustrations

among words, thereby forming a foundation for more complex thought. The works are also two

prime examples of how, in the words of Claud Howard, words and art supply beauties not

possessed by the other, and how they come together to create a thought-provoking piece of art

in and of itself.
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Works Cited

Barseghian, Tina. "How Do We Define and Measure 'Deeper Learning'?" KQED News. 12 Sept.
2012. Web. 6 Dec. 2016

Howard, Claud. The Use of Pictures in Teaching Literature. The English Journal, vol. 5, no. 8,

1916, pp. 539543. http://www.jstor.org/stable/800985.

Rankine, Claudia. Citizen: An American Lyric. Graywolf Press, 2014.

Sousanis, Nick. Unflattening. Harvard University Press, 2015.

University of Alabama School of Medicine. "Successfully Using Visual Aids in Your

Presentation." Uab.edu. University of Alabama School of Medicine, 2005. Web. 25 Oct.

2016.