Our course notes are talking about literal levels of communication. How we communicate literal information in our work. Then it moves on the metaphorical meaning and how we go beyond the literal meanings to enable us to communicate on another level, enabling a "richer mode of expression". In our own work, we need to be able to communicate more than what is visually available in the image to get the viewer thinking and seeing outside the lines what we are wanting to show. We are advised to check the meanings of the words below.
I have used oxforddictionaries.com to look at each meaning.
Metonym - A word, name, or expression used as a substitute for something else with which it is closely associated.
Rhetoric - 1. The art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially the exploitation of figures of speech and other compositional techniques.
‘he is using a common figure of rhetoric, hyperbole’
2. Language designed to have a persuasive or impressive effect, but which is often regarded as lacking in sincerity or meaningful content.
‘all we have from the Opposition is empty rhetoric’
Symbol - 1. A thing that represents or stands for something else, especially a material object representing something abstract.
2. A mark or character used as a conventional representation of an object, function, or process,
Connotation - An idea or feeling which a word invokes for a person in addition to its literal or primary meaning.
Innuendo - An allusive or oblique remark or hint, typically a suggestive or disparaging one.
Euphemism - A mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing.
All the words above appear to be about indirectly bringing about an idea. Invoking a visual without directly showing us what you want us to see.
In my own project, the photos and visuals will speak for themselves. The photos directly show my family on their phones, but the subliminal messages through each photo and possibly the sheer volume of the images will spark some form of connotations about the underlying message - that by spending so much time on these devices, we are not spending time interacting with one another.
