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FOREWORDThereis perceptibletoday,a shift in

attitudetowardcommunicationamongplannersandadministratorsconcernedwith social change.Theshift is small,butsignificant in its implicationsforthoseprofessionalsbeing enlistedtohelpmobilize communityparticipationin vital programmesof health,educationandeconomicopportunityThechangeis towardan acceptanceofcommunicationas aprocessofexchangebetweenpeople, ratherthanasaonewayflow of informationoperatingfrom the top, down

Thishumantruthshouldbeobvious,particularly in India, whereMahatmaGandhiforged a strategyforfreedombasedon hispreciseunderstandingof communicationasthatparticipationwhich empowerspeopleto control their destinies

Yet sinceIndependence,attitudeshavebeenoverwhelminglybiasedtowardcommunicationprogrammesexpressedin termsof productsandhardware.In this onewayflow ofinformation,the ‘sender’is wise andpowerful andknows whatis goodforthe ignorantandpowerlessreceiver’Thetwo participantsneverexchangeroles,andcommunicationplanstravelin onedirectiononly Smallwonder,then, that forty yearslaterwe are stillstrugglingwith the needto changebasicattitudesandbehavioursinsectorsasvital for survivalas drinkingwaterandsanitation.

Attitudesmustchangeif our effortsandinvestmentsare to servea realpurposeIt is necessarytherebethewidestacceptancethat the credibility ofthe communicationprocessrestsonthe quality of interpersonalexchangeatlocalandindividual levels.Everythingelse— including investmentsinelectronichardwareandmediaproducts— mustbe seenas a supportto, nota substitutefor, individual,personalunderstanding

To achievesuchunderstandingdemandsagenuinerespectfor themannerinwhich peopleinterpretmessagesfrom within andoutsidetheirworld. Peoplemustbe encouragedtorespondwith messagesof their own,andplannersandimplementersencouragedto listen In otherwords,theultimatepurposemustbeto guide

professionalsworking in sectorsofsocialneedtowardthecreationofcommunicationaids thatcanhelpachievesuchobjectives

Visual literacy is partof thiscomplexandchallengingareaofunderstanding,researchandapplicationmdi Rana’sdocumentationof DANIDA’s experiencein Orissais aninvaluableguideandsupportto manywho are strugglingwith theseconcernsTheycandrawstrengthfromthe experiencein problemsolving setout in thesepagesHopefully, thispublicationwill encouragefurthereffortsatprovidingthe baseof researchandscholarshipessentialto raising thequalityof communicationplanninginIndia, andindeedin manyothersocietiesfacedwith similar challenges

AshokeChatterjeeCommunicationsConsultantDepartmentof Rural DevelopmentGovernmentof India

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CONTENTSINTRODUCTION 3

I BACKGROUND 4AboutSeeing 4About Perception 4About Visual Language 4CulturalVariationsIn Perception 4PerceivingPictures 4About Visual Literacy 5

AboutTesting 5A Shift inAttitude 6

H A METHODOLOGYFOREVOLVING A PICTORIALLANGUAGE 9

TheFirst Step:GettingRural Illustrations 9TheMessages 9TheRuralArtists 9A Grid forAnalysis 10TheRural Illustrations 13

The SecondStep:Preparingfor the FieldTest 17GuidelinesFromPreviousWorks 17Selectinga CommercialArtist 18Evolving Illustrationsto FieldTest 18The Respondents 19Drilling theTesters 19

TheThird Step:TheFieldTest 20The IllustrationsTested 20A Pilot Test 25Completingthe Tests 26

The FourthStep:Analysingthe Results 26Results 27SomeTables 28-29ComponentsnotUnderstood 30Respondents’Comments 30

TheFifth Step.Devising anOverallStyle 31TheFinal Illustrations 32-33

III CONCLUSION 34References 39SelectedBibliography 39Acknowledgements 40

INTERNATIONAL REFERENCE CENTREFOR COMMUNITY WATER SUPPLY ANDSANITATION (IRCI

INTRODUCTIONThisGuide is aimedprimarily at

developmenteducatorsandcommunicators.Thecontent,however,hasanImportantpointto maketo thosein projectmanagementandpolicyplanning.

In recentyearspeopieinvolved indevelopmenthavebegunto realizethata ‘top-down’ approachis dysfunctional,be it in ‘hardware’or in ‘software’, suchaseducation.Educatorshavebeguntoseethatwhatis requiredis‘participatoryeducation’,andeffortsarebeingmadeto evolvemethodologiesfor involving the recipientsin theprocessof education.However,in theareaof communication,aidsarealwaysproducedby theurbaneducatedforuseon ruralaudiences.This maybenecessaryin film andaudiovisualsforwhich ruralpeoplearenot trained,butis also trueof illustratedcommunicationaids,which as thisGuidedemonstrates,is notonlyunnecessary,but alsocounter-productive,especiallyamongstthosewho do havea pictorial tradition.Illustrationsproducedby theurbanmindaregenerallyneithercomprehendednor appreciatedby therural.

ThisGuide is basedon a fieldsurveyconductedin ruralOrissa,andoffers primarilya methodologyforevolving illustrationswhich docommunicatewith peopleliving Inruralareas,with a verydifferentworldview to thosein the urban.Theendproductof the experiment,the twoillustrationson pages32 and33 are nota ‘final answer’ in anyway, asthedatabaseis toonarrowfor sucha definitivestatement.Thesurveywasonlyoneofseveralconductedat thesametime fora multi-mediaeducationalprogramme,andtherewas insufficient timeasalsotrainedpersonnel

However,the methodology,processandresultswill servetodemonstrateto educatorsandcommunicators,somethingof theperceptions,mindsetsandinnateintelligenceof ruralpeople,andhowthe‘educated’underestimatethosewho are to ‘be educated’.It will saymuchaboutattitudes.

This Guidewill also demonstrateto managers,policy plannersandthosewho allocatebudgets,theneedfor

3

furthersurveyssuchas this. Muchmoneyis spenton pictorialcommunicationaids,bothatfield levelsandat the centre,whichdo not actuallycommunicate,as illustrationsaregenerallyevolvedwithoutsufficientawarenessof, andrespectfor, the ruralmind. So, the moneyis largelywasted.

Projectsareusuallyin too muchofahurry to achieveresultsin hardwareandreports,to spendthe timeandenergynecessaryto field testeducationalstrategies,much lesscommunicationaids - andevenless,pictorial aids,asthe generalmisconceptionis that picturesareuniversallyunderstood.Usually,neithertime, will, financesor expertiseareavailablein thissoftestof all soft‘sciences’,communication

This GuidedemonstratesthatcommunicatingwithpicturesIs asubtleprocess,andverylocal, in style,content,symbolismanddetail.Thiscould leadto thoseat policy level, lesssensitiveto thepowerof visualcommunicationandperhapstopicturesin general,to retreatfrom thecomplexitiesinherentin fundingaseriesof surveyswhich might provideaGuidewith morecertainresultsthandoesthis.However,from this andthefewotherworks on visualliteracy,itseemspossiblethat broadgeneralizationsovera state,regionorcountry,evenmanycountries,canbeevolved,andspecificsdelineatedforlocalvariationsandeducationallevels:therearealreadycleargeneralizationscomingout of Africa, NepalandnowOrissa,wherepictorial traditionsin thefolk culturearenotstandard,nor theexposureto modemmassmedia

Well plannedsurveysresultingin aGuidewith instructionsfor adaptationswill enableprojectsto savetime,energyandfinanceslost in hastilyconducted,repetitioussurveys,if theyareconductedat all.

Towardthis end,this authortried asmallexperimentona publicationaimedat ruralchildren, field testedfortheWHO. An adaptationkit wasdevisedwith instructionsto translatorandartist,on how to adaptpicturestoriesmeantfor an Indiancontext,to othercultures.Figs. 41, 42,43 on pages35, 36 and37demonstratethatwhenbaseillustrationsandsufficientlyexactInstructionsareprovided,illustrationscanbeadaptedfrom cultureto culture.

I. BACKGROUNDAbout Seeing

“Seeingis believing.”“Show me”“I wouldn’thavebelievedit ff1

hadn’t seenit”Wehaveall saidsomethinglike this

atonetimeorother,implying that if weseesomethingwith our own eyes,It isprovedtrue We assumethat thereis aone-to-onephotographicrelationshipbetweenwhatis ‘out there’, andwhatweseeInsideour eyesBut this is notso.Morethan seeing,weperceive

About PerceptionPerceptionis describedas‘the act

of forming a mentalimageor conceptbasedon physicalsensations,andinterpretedin the mind in the light ofprior experience’.’Researchintoperceptionhasshownusthatwhatweactuallyseeis only a smallpartof themanyvisualsignalsin our environmentThebraindirectsattentionandfocussesthe eyes,sowhatweseeis selective.This is a necessarysurvivalmechanismas too muchinput is disturbinganddysfunctional.

AboutVisualLanguageExperimentson the visualcells in

thebrain2havedemonstratedthat theyareveryspecificin their functions,Somecells respondto movementinonedirectiononly, someonlyto linesat a particularangle,othersonly tocornersandsoon Thecells functionlike visual ‘letters’, which combinetoform visual‘words’, which in turn arearrangedinto visual‘sentences’.Thereis a ‘language’to whatwe see,as thereisa languagetowhatwehearandspeak.

And, asin anyverballanguage,incomingvisualinformation is matchedandcomparedwith whatis alreadyimprintedIn the brain.Thevisualletters,words andsentencesareanalysedandsynthesized,andshuffledarounduntil theyagreewith whatisalreadythere.Whatweseemusthavemeaning,andmeaningcomesfrom theprior experience,the context.Constructionandreconstructionin thebrainhappensindependentlyof whatis‘objectively’ out there.Perceptionis notonly a functionof whatis comingintothe brain,butof whatis alreadyinthere.3 -

So rather than saying:“I wouldn’thavebelievedit if I hadn’tseenit”, it is

moreaccurateto say: “1 wouldn’t haveseenit at all ill hadn’t alreadyknown itin the first place.”4

Thisfactis poignantlybroughtoutin thestoryof Sheilawho hadpooreyesightasa child andbecamecompletelyblind at theageof sixteenAs the blind will, shelearnedto findherwayaroundby touchandsmell andsound,andwith the helpof her dog.Then,whenshewastwentysix, an eyeoperationhelpedherregainhersight.As shetells It in her autobiography,5regaininghersightwas In manywaystraumatic Hermentalpictureof a tree,for instance,waswhatshehadfelt: thetrunk, roughandtubular.But shewasunpreparedfor its height,andwhenshesawthecanopyof leavesoverhead,her internalpictureof a treewassoshaken,thatshefelt disoriented.Andworse,shewould suddenlyrealizeshewas looking throughthings: shehadnotseenthem.And shehadnot seenthembecauseshedid notknowwhattheywere... by sight.It tooka longtimefor hervisualcells to coordinatewithhersenseof touchandsmell andsound.

CulturalVariationsIn Perceptionif weacceptthatwhat is seenis

foundedon whatis alreadyknown,then it is safeto assumethat peopleofoneculturewill seethingsdifferently tothosein anotherForinstance,it isrecordedthateskimosseemorecoloursin white thando peoplewhodo not live in thesnow.Someculturesdo not differentiatebetweenblueandgreen.TheBantusof Africa haveonlythreeadjectivesfor all colours.6

Peopleliving in cities,broughtupwith horizontalandverticallines, andclosed-Inspaces,havebeenknown notto seethingsasclearly in the horizon,asthosebroughtup in deserts.Andpeopleliving In ruralcommunitieswill,by andlarge,seethingsquitedifferentlyto thoseliving incosmopolitancities: theyhavedifferentperceptions.

PerceivingPicturesWhenconfrontedwith modern

abstractart, manypeopleare confused:theyhaveto beeducatedto understandit, andtheability to appreciatecompleximagesis considereda markof culturalattainment.African andIndiansculpture,todayacceptedas havingahighaestheticvalue,wasat onetimeconsidered‘barbaric’ by Europeans

4

Educationhasmadethe difference.Manyurbanadultsin Indiadon’t

like readingcomics,notbecausetheyare ‘badliterature’,butbecausethejuxtapositionof text andpicturesisdisruptive.Thisis also trueof ruralschoolchildreninMadhyaPradesh,who whentested7confusedthe samecharactersfrom frameto framewhen

they wereshownfrom different angles,andcould notcomprehendthemeaningof bubbles.Pictureson theirown did not tell comprehensiblestories;they neededtext to explainthem.Theywereinterestedin thepicturesbecausetheywerecolourful,but preferredreadingstraighttext: itwasmorefamiliar.

AboutVisual LiteracyOneof the mostcommonmistakes

rural educatorsmakeis to assumethatthosewho areilliterate in readingandwriting will neverthelessbeabletoreadpictures.Any pictures(Fig. 1).

‘Thereis a prevailingassumption,”saysAndreasFuglesang,“that picturesasamodeof expressionareuniversallyunderstoodManyobservationsfromthe field confirmthat this is notso.Peoplelearnto readpicturesjust asthey learnto readthe pagesin a book.This Is not recognizedbecauseeducationin readingpicturesis aninformalprocess.”8

Thereis not onlya visuallanguage,thereis alsovisualliteracy.

AboutTestingIt Is oftensaid that the ‘hard

sciences’,physics,chemistry,biology,areexact,thereforeeasyto verifywithtests:thesocialsciencesarenot Of allthesocialsciences,communicationisperhapsthemostsubjective,andthereforedifficult to testandverify Ofall typesof communication,thevisualisthe ‘softest’ andmostsubjectiveof all.

However,asAlan Holmessays:“Itis neversafeto acton an assumptionofwhatpeoplewill or will notunderstandvisuallywithout first testingtheassumption.”9

Thereare admittedlyfewbooksonthis sensitiveanddiffuseareaof visualliteracy. But whatis a communicatortodo evenwith theInformationgiven inthese?

Someruralcommunicators,awareof theproblemsof perception,usingtheir commonsenseandsomereading,havehadillustrationsdrawnby urban

Fig. 1: Urbanartistsunthinkingly useaEuropeanvisualgrammarwith whichtocommunicatewith ruralpeopleThiscolouringtechnique,vanishingpointperspectiveandinsetwerefoundincomprehensible.Variationsof thiskind ofillustration abound

5

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artists,andtestedthemon ruralaudiences,in order to get an acceptablevisual. All works onvisualcommunication,suggestthat this is thewayto proceed(Fig 2) But in this waythe communicatoris still guessingat

_____ whattherural audiencemight actuallybeperceiving,becausethe urbanartist,in the final analysis,doestheillustrationsprettymuch in his/herownway. It is my experiencethatgettingurbaneducatedartiststo breakoutof awayof perceivingthat theyhavelearnedis ‘modern’ and‘progressive’,is remarkablyhard.

Educatorsat theAshishGramRachnaTrust in Pachod,Maharashtra,’°finding that illustrationsdoneby urbanartistswerealmostcompletelymisperceivedby rural people,askedrural peoplethemselvesto drawtheirversionof certainsubjects,andsimplified them for furtheruse(FIg. 3)Theybrokenewgroundbuttheydidn’tgo quite far enough.

In no case,asfar asI know,haveruralartistsbeenconsideredableenoughto illustrate fully andIn colour,their own interpretationsof messages.

--~ Certainlythis is not possibleIn cultureswherethereis no pictorial tradition,but this hasnotevenbeendonewhere

there is, perhapsbecausein mosttraditional cultures,art is decorative.Insomecases,folk art tellswell knownmythsandlegends,but nevermessagesheavywith ‘shoulds’and‘oughts’ asthosewewantto conveyin‘development’. And sofar, nomethodologyhasbeenevolvedtoanalysethe workof village artists,

create visualssynthesizedfrom villagework, field testthemandcreatea styleof illustrationwhichmightcommunicateeffectivelyto ruralaudiences.

A Shift In AttitudeWhat educatorsandcommu-

nicatorsin developmentarelookingfor, is a shift inattitudeamongstthoseless awareof issuesin family planning,health,sanitationandsoon.Weaim at a

______ growthof theknowledgebankwhichwill createsucha shift, andbehaviourswhich will arisefrom this shift.

5hulde~drawings, or ~et

line dr~wtngs.like this

FIg. 2: Illustrationsfrom Communicatingwit!, Plctw-esIn Nepal.Suggestionsto theurbanartist.

6

However,weseldomlook for ashift in ourown attitudestowardsthoseweseekto ‘educate’.Weareperhapsnotevenawarethat sucha shift isnecessary:we‘know better’,wearethereto teach.Thereis todaymuchquestioningaboutthemeaningof‘progress’and‘development’andaboutthe role of ‘educators’ And the findingsof this experimenthavesomebearingon the attitudesof ‘developmenteducatorsandcommunicators’towardthoseto ‘be developed’

Shifts in attitudecannotbeforcedTheycomesuddenly,usuallyunexpectedly,from agradualaccu-mulationof knowledge.Attitudesarecomplex,andoftenveryinsiduousintheir persistence.A personalexperienceis worth relatinghere,asallcommunicatorscanlearnfrom eachother.

While researchingIn MadhyaPradeshIn 1985for a picture/comicbookon immunization~,aimedatruralchildren, I sawthatvisualsunderstoodbyurbanchildrenwerenotnecessarilyunderstoodby ruralchildrenwith limited exposureto theprint media.Therefore,whenconfrontedwith developinga largelyvisual rangeof communicationaidsinOrlssafor amoregeneralruralaudience,I askedthe adviceof severalpeoplewho hadworkedwith rural

audienceslonger thanI had.Oneof theproductswasto bewall

posters.Here it is worth notingthat toomanyeducationalprogrammesleantoo heavilyon ‘educationalmaterials’forgettingtheprocess.Andwhencontemplating‘communicationmaterials’,resortimmediatelytopostersandhoardings.I hadclassedpostersasremindersratherthanasprimaryeducationaltools.12Theywereto beputup after intensivesmallgroupparticipatorydiscussionsAs such,ratherthan communicatea rule. “Youshoulduselatrinesto avoidspreadingdisease”,or a closeddeductivestatement.“Using latrineskeepsdiseasesfrom spreading”,I plannedtoaska questionwhichwould remindthepeopleof whattheyhadlearned,causecommentandinitiate discussion.“Wouldn’t it bebetterfor us to pselatrines?”

Note,incidently,theterms‘we’ and‘us’ which I suggestusingin alleducationalcommunicationsratherthanthethird personor ‘you’ This ‘wefeeling’ aidsin communicationwithpeopleliving in tight communities,andreducesthe distancebetweentheeducatorandthe audience.

I hadsketchedFig. 4 to accompanythis verbalstatement.I wasfeelingwellpleasedwith my thinking: the imagewascleananduncluttered,thetext

clear.But therural educatorto whom Ishowedthis sketchsaid immediately:“Be carefulaboutwhatyou say inillustrations.Themessagereceivedfrom this picturewill beexactlytheoppositetothatwhich you wanttoconvey Sincethelatrine andthe mangoingInto it aresmall, theywill beseento be unimportant.Thewomanwiththewaterpot,becausesheis larger,will beseenasthemodel to emulate”

Shewenton to tell me that testingthe illustration sketchedin Fig. 5, awomanfeedingherchild, ruralwomenin Btharstubbornlyinsistedthat thiswasa womanfeedingherhusband:‘We don’t havetime to feedourchildrenlike this,” they insisted.Whenaskedif their husbandsweresosmall,theanswerwasashruganda giggle. -

Thenthis educatortold me thatwhenaskedto illustratewomenin agroupdiscussion,ruralwomendrewwhatissketchedin Fig 6. I immediatelyrememberedthe imagein Fig 7, andseveralthingsfell into placefor me atthis exchange.

1) Fig. 6 showedmethatalthoughIhadunderstoodsomeissues,a partof my mindwasstill caughtin aEuropeanvisualmindset Vanishingpointperspective(Fig. 8) is a recentEuropeanvisualtechnique(it wasdicoveredin the 15th century

Fig. 3: IllustratIonsby aruralartist atthePachodProlectshowingVasectomyandTubectomy.While urbaneducatorsthoughtthemcrude,thepeopleunderstoodthem

Fig. 5: Rural womenin Bthar insistedthiswasawomanfeedingher husband.

Fig. 4: “Wouldn’t it bebetterfor usto uselatrines?”

7

FIg. 6: Whenaskedto drawwomenIn agroupdiscussion,ruralwomenin Bihardrewthis.

Fig. 7: Chambafolk embroideryshowingKrishnadancingwith thegopis DoesKrishnamultiply, or Is heshownseveraltimesdancingwith differentgopis in acircularmovement?

during the Renaissance)beforewhich all culturespaintedinmultiple perspective:whatis behindis shownabove,with little overlap.In our rural psyches,this multipleimagingis aliveandveryreal today,unaffectedby this ‘foreign’(European)way of seeingthings,whichweurbaneducatedtakeverymuch forgrantedIn drawing theillustration as1 had,I wasnotonlydisplayingasubtlearrogancethat I,an educatedcommunicator,coulddevisewhata rural eyewouldcomprehend,but I wasalsoIneffect, in dangerof speakingDutchto peoplewho speakOriya!

2) For rural audiencesthefeelingconveyedby a picturecarriesmoreweightthan‘minor’ considerationsofaccuracyandtechnique,andmostpictorial communicationaidsforgetthis aspectentirely: thereis nowarmth, emotion,communityhistory in urbaninitiated drawings

3) We westerneducatedurbancommunicators,albeit Indian,belongto a differentculture,wehavebeeninfluencedby, andhaveabsorbedtheassumptionsof theEuropeanmind It is wewho havetodropour ‘sophisticated’westerneducatedwaysof seeingif we aretocommunicateeffectivelywith our

own peoplewho live In ruraltime/space/cultures.Herewasaproblemin crossculturalcommunicationas realasthatbetweenBritish andIndian (onwhich I havedonesomework).

So I beganto readwhatI couldfind on the subjectof visualliteracy.And realizedthatsincesomanycommunicationaidsto beproducedwereto be visual exhibitions,flashcards,wall posters,brochuresandpamphlets,pretestingto developapictorial languagewith which tocommunicatewith the targetaudiencewasa i3ecessity.

During thecourseof the fieldsurvey,manyinstancescameup whichdemonstratedthe counterproductiveattitidesof urbaneducatorsandcommunicatorstowardruralpeople.Theseareitalicised in theGuideforattention

Fig. 8: ThemathematicalaccuracyofvanishingpointperspectiveoriginatedInEuropeduring the 15thcentury

8

II. A METHOD-OLOGY FOREVOLVING APICTORIALlANGUAGE

I amnot Oriya,but to getevenanOriya urbanartist to guessat whatOriyarural peoplemightbeperceiving,seemedto mea wasteofenergyI wasnot in theleastcertaInthatI could, althoughI paint, implementwhattheavailableliteratureon visualliteracyhadto teachme.

The FirstStep:GettingRural ifiustratlons

Thefirst step,then,was to gettheruralpeoplethemselvesto drawhowtheyvisualizedthe messageswewantedto convey. Orissahasa pictorialtraditionwith a high degreeofdecorationandnarration Would theartistsbeableto usetheir traditionalpictorial forms to conveymessages?Ihadno ideaat the timehow I wouldanalysewhatI got from thefield, but Ithoughtthatwhatthevillage peopledrewwould be to anextentwhattheycomprehendedof the message,andthestyle in which did their iliustrauonswould be whattheycould representItwasconceivablethat they couldperceivea more‘Europeanized’rendering,althoughthe style/grammarusedin PhaseI of the healtheducationprogramme(Fig. 1) hadno impactHowever,gettingthem to do thepictureswould conveyto us somethingof appeal,atmosphere,a temperatureof theemotions,whichhaselementsnoteasily definablePerhapswewouldfind somesymbolsattheveryleast,thatwecould use.

THE MESSAGESThe projectsocio-economistsdrew

up six messages.We wouldgettheseillustratedby artistsiiving in a blockwhichhadalreadyreceivedthehealtheducationprogramme,in orderto savetime transferringessentialconceptstothosewho did notknow enough.

Thesix messagesformulatedin theeventwerenotquestions,but conceptstheeducationprogrammewastoenablethem to evolveIn theirown

minds.Thesewould be simplertoillustrate

THE RURAL ARTISTSSincewater is essentiallya

woman’sconcern,welookedforwomenfrom four differenteducationallevels,who wereknown to havetheability to draw.We would notgo tovillageswith a high degreeofinvolvementin the traditional artsasthiswould skewthe database.Theartistslocatedwerein DelangBlock.

Theyweregiven themessagestranslatedInto Oriya, posterpaints,brushesandposterpaper(28” x 22”)andaskedto illustratethemessagesjustas they liked, withoutanyinterferencewhatsoeverfrom the soclo-economistin charge.It wasof someimportancethat thesoclo-economistalreadyknewthemwell andwas thereforeabletogettheir cooperationShespokeat leasttheir verballanguage’

Shevisitedthem off andon to seehow theywereprogressingandtoansweranyqueries,of which therewerefew. Thewomenwerepleasedto

FIg. 10. Representingdepth,light andshadeona sphere

Fig l1~Thebroadestaspectin Egyptiansculpture.Thebroadestaspectof thehead:noseto thebackof thehead,the faceturnedto theside,theshouldersand cheststraighton, hip tostomachsideways,armsandhandsstraighton, calf to shinsideways,andthe longestview of the foot

TheMessageswere.1) Keepingour tubewell

surroundingscleanhelpspreventdisease

2) Drinking waterfrom pondsandopenweliswill makeussick.

3) Carryingandstoringcontainersproperlypreventsour waterfromgettingcontaminated.

4) Keepingour village cleanhelpspreventdisease

5) We cancall our self-employedmechanicto repairourhandpumps

6) Usinglatrineshelpsuspreventthe spreadof disease.

Fig. 9. Representingdepth,the third sideofa box

1) DhaniSahu Gudiaorsweet-makercommunity;28years;ClassIII pass,married;Village Dehasahi.

2) Urmilla Swain Khandaietcommunity,32 years;ClasslVpass,married,Village BeraboiI

3) ChandramaDas Harijancommunity;18 years;ClassDCpass,unmarried;Village Rencha

4) SuramaPradhan:Khandaietcommunity;22 years,BA pass;unmarried,Village BeraboiII

9

FIg. 12; ‘Rejoicing at theBirth of PrinceSaJim’from theAkbarNama,1562 Inmultiple perspective,the peoplebehindareshownat the topof the illustration Sincetheyaredignitariestheyareshownlargerthanthe peoplein front,who, invanIshingpointperspective,would belarger

havetheirtalentrecognizedandwillingly gavetheirtime.Theirux~rkgenerateda greatdealofgood-natureddiscussionin thevillages.Whenthe womencompletedtheirdrawingstheyweregivena smallgift ofappreciation,andtheremainingpaints,brushesandpapers.

A GRID FORANALYSISBefore goingon to make

observationson thework doneby therural artists,It is useful to clarify agridagainstwhich the picturescanbediscussed.1) TheFirst andSecondDimensions

Picturesdoneon a flat surfacewillnaturallyhaveheightandwidth.Theyaretux dimensional

2) The ThirdDimension:However,thereis also the third dimensionwhichweseebut don’t alwaysrepresentThis is depth,This isshownin objectsby drawinga thirdside,as in a box (Fig 9) andby lightandshade,as in a sphere(Fig 10).Eachobjecthasdepth,andobjectsplacedon the sameplanehavedepthoffield: somethingsarecloseto us,somefar away(Fig. 7).Beforethe discoveryof the vanishingpointin Europe,depthof field wasdrawnin multiple perspective.

Vanishingpointperspectivehastheadvantageof reproducingrealityin a photographicway,mechanically,therebygiving us abetterability to manipulatethematerialworld But at thesametimevanishingpoint limits the pointofviewtoone,andseparatesusfrom amorewholewayof seeingthings.

Mult~pleperspectiveis alignedwith whatthemindknows:whenwe closeour eyesto visualizesomething,as likely asnotwewillseeapictureIn whichwearehoveringabout45 degreesaboveit,allowing usto seemoreof thepicturethanwewould if wewereseeingit with our eyesopenandstandingat groundlevel (Fig 12)

Part andparcelof representingobjectsin multiple perspectiveiswhatart historyandappreciationcoursesucall ‘the conventionof thebroadestaspect’(Figs. 11-17).Objectsare shownasthey areknownratherthanas theyareseen.Thebroadestaspectgivesus theability to seethingsas awhole

10

I

Fig. 13: In the 14thcenturyEuropepainted Fig. 14 Multiple perspectiveandthewithouta vanishingpoint, broadestaspectin theMewar school

Garudaappearsat differenteventsin thesameframe Time flows unseparated

,. ~4. ~ .,_~ — .f ¶

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•Fig. 15: An Oriya patachitrashowingthebroadestaspectandcontinuoustime in thesameframe Krishnaappearsagainandagainat different events.

11

FIg. 16: Multiple perspectiveandthebroadestaspectin Mughal painting fromtheHamzaNama, 16thcentury.Noteespecially,the fountain.

Fig. 18’ A truckaswewouldseeit (left), andat the right, how anAfrican adult representsit. He drawswhatheknows,ratherthanwhathesees(Fuglesang,AboutUndemanthng)

Seeingthtngsas theyreallyare,vanishingto apoint in the distance,wedon’t seethe backof anobject,soit is usuallynotrepresentedexceptby suggestion,by showingthe obiectastransparent(Fig. 18) orin theabstract,in the fIne arts.

3) TheFourthDimensionThenthereis the fourth dimension’Time Thisis difficult to representon a flatsurface,exceptby dividing thepage,asln’a comtcstrip,separatingtimeinto parts.However,beforethistechniquewasevolved,artistsshowedtime in thesameframe,asin Figs 14-15 Thesamefiguremovesfrom actionto action.Time,beforethe modemindustrialworldbecametime conclousanddissectedit, flowedtimelessly14Time still flows in rural India, whilethe urbanmind is becomingmoretime bound,

4) Decoration:Picturesin ruralculturesdo notgenerallydeliveramessage;theyare eitherjustdecorative,or theyare highlydecorativeandtell a story,as in theRajasthaniphadsandOriyapatachitras.But the storyoften hasto benarratedby a singeraswell.Thepicturedoesnotstandalone.Inthe coastalbelt of Orissatheeducationallevelandexposuretomodemmassmediais higher thanin thehinterland.The degreeofdecorationto messagedeliveryarean importantfactorin analysingthevillage illustations.

5) ImportantElements:Whataretheelementsruralpeoplefindimportantin the message?

6) Symbols.Whatsymbolsareusedtodenotecllrtlcleanliness,good/bad,right/wrong; do/don’tdo.

7) Narration: Do theartistsnarrateastory astheydeliver the message?

Fig. 17: Thebeautyof ChinesepaintingliesIn theuseof multiple perspective.Theartist’seyehovers45 degreesabovethebndscape.

12

THE RURAL ILLUSTRATIONSHerearesomeof the illustrations

drawnby the ruralwomenartists.It isnotpossibleto reproduceall.

Fig 19: DhaniSahu.Drinking waterfrompondsandopenwellswIll makeussick Thisillustration is by the leastverballyliteratewoman.It lookslike a child’s drawriingat

first glance,but its elementsare mostusefulto our understanding.Only theobjectsImportantto themessageare depicted,and

they areclearlyandboldly illustratedon awhitebackground,with nociutter.Thethirddimension,depth,is representedperfectlyin thebroadestaspect:the tubewellplatform is seenfrom the top, asarethestepwellandopenweliThe pump,thewoman,thebucket,glass,cow,anddiseaseddrinicersareseenfromthe side ThereIs noattemptat representingroundnesswithlight andshade.Depthof field is shown bythedrinkersplacedbelowthe stepwell.Sheis drawingwhatsheknowsnotwhatshesees.Thefourthdimension,timeis showninthecause-effectof dirt/germstransferredfromthedirty sourceto theInsidesof thedrinkers,andthetubewell (thesolutiontotheproblem)is placedon theright A storyis narraed Thesymbolsfor cleanlinessisshownby flowers.Dirt/germsaresymbolizedwith splodges.The diseasedpeopleareImportant to themessagesotheyarelarger.Theartist makesno attemptto puttheelementsinproportionto eachother.Thisartist, the leasteducated,putstext Into herpictures;perhapssheisuncertainofherability to representvisually,theverbalmessage.

Fig. 20: Dhani Sahu:Wecancall ourSEAltorepair ourhandpumps.Sincetheself-employedmechanic(SEM) isimportantin this message,his houseislarge.A village is necessaryin this message,sotheotherhousesaresmall,andastheyareat a distance,areplacedandon topofthepicture, withoutoverlapThebroadestaspectis representedNoteespeciallytheSEM at the tubewell.Comparehim toFig. 11. Theroadmakesfor a feelingofcommunityA story is narrated.Someonehasgoneto call the SEM. TheSEM appearsIn thedoorof his house,toolsin hancL HethenrepairsthehandpumpNo framesarenecessary,thefourth dimension,time, issimply madepartof thepicture SincetheSEM is a ‘good man’, aflower growsat hisdoorstep.Thetubeweli is clean— thesymbolIs a flower

9/,~Ic~c~’c~~tI ~ ~~cj

13

Fig 21. Urmilla Swain.Drinking waterfrompondsandopenwellswill makeus sick Thisis part 2 of aIwo part illustration,acleanstepwellis her answerto part I whichshowsadirty pond (DharnSahu showsproblemandsolution in the samepicture)Part 1 appearsasadummy(Fig 28) Hereisa classicexampleof a mind picture atthebroadestaspectThestepwellis seenfromthe top There is no attemptto defineup ordown.Flowersarestylized, representingcleaninessThe illustration Is highlydecorative,but quite obviouslytherein nocontradictionbetweenmessageanddecoration.Were it to bedrawn realisticallyin vanishingpointperspectivewith onepointof view, it would clearlylose impactThis artist hasahighly developedsenseofstyle, designanddecoration,butnotmuchfor peopleor for story

FIg 22: UrmIlla Swain:Wecancall ourSEAlto repairour handpumpsWhile all herotherpicturesarequite beautiful,attemptsat drawingwith someattemptat perspectivearedisastrous.Sheis muchhappier,obviously,with whatsheproducedin Fig21, andtheillustrationson thecoverof thisGuide It is of interestthatshedoesnotparticularlynarrateastory andthefourthdimension,time, is of little consequence.The peopleIn herpicturesareverysmall inrelationto theobjects.This couldbeapersonalquirk; it couldalsobeIndicativeofwhatcamethrough in phase1 of the healtheducationprogrammethe importanceofthehardware,ratherthanthepeople.This isapossibility ratherthanacertainty,butsuggestsaway of evaluatingthe messagesreceivedfrom educationprogrammes.

-I

14

FIg 23: ChandramaDas.Drinking u’aterfrompondsandopenwellswill makeussick. This is aclassicof multipleperspective,where the artist is hovering45 degreesabovethe picture so as to obtain thebroadestaspectAll housesare the samesize, the onesbehind shown above.She hasno problemseeingthe pond, well, platformandroadfrom thetop, trees,houses,people,flowers,ducks, from theside Shehasahighly developedsensefor negativespaceand understatementAll elementsarediscrete,but theartist is ableto representoverlap,asin thehouseclusters.Shehasaslight sensefor pointof view asseenin theovoid shapeof theopenwell This artist hasa strongfeelingfor communityand villagelife, homes,temple,roadsandpeoplearevividly portrayed.A story is narrated all thedirty activitiesresult inpeoplegoing tothehospital to the middle right, or becomingsick asshownat bottomleft. Diseases/germsaresymbolisedin thesick manasdots Flieshoverover thefaeces.Dirt/germsareshownas splodgesattheopenwellwherethewomanis washingdishes.

Fig 24 ChandramaDas. UsinglatrineshelpspreventthespreadofdiseaseStoriesarenarratedon thetop of thepicture,a boyeatsrawvegetablesfrom thefield in whichanotherboy is defecating.Fliestravel fromanotherboy’s faecesto the foodbeingpreparedin averandah.And consequentlyawoman takesherchild to thehospital At thebottomof thepicture,flowers sprout in thegardenof ahousewhile thegoodpeoplegoto a latrinewith verymodernladies/gentsmarkingson it Thefourth dimension,timeappearsin thesameframe Story, to thisartist, in people,community,givesthemessagemorestronglythanthesymbolsforgoodlbad,do/don’t

15

Fig. 25: SurarnaPradhan.Keepingourtubewellplatform cleanbe4’sprevemdisease’Themosteducatedartist hasthemostcertainsenseof herself.peoplepredominatein herpictures.Exposuretomodem massmediacomesthroughat BApass:shebreaksup herpicturesInto framesfor thefourth dimension,time, anddistinctly nan-alesastory. Flowers, for thismosteducatedwoman,asfor the least,symbolizecleanliness.Thereis anattemptatpoint of view onthetubewellplatform,someat light andshade,but essentially,shetoo usesmult~pleperspectweandthebroadestaspectIn theobjects,lessso Inpeople

Fig. 26: SuramaPradhanUsinglatrines&‘4is preventthespreadofdisease.Hereagainis ademonstrationof astrong,individual style.Thereis aclearcause-effectstoiy.womendefecatingin thefields causesickness.Thedoctor tells them(in averymodernbubble)aboutwormsgoing upunshodfeet.The peoplebuilda latrineandall is well. A little moresophisticated,but asmuchof anarrativeasthat told byChandramaDas.This mostrealisticofillustratorsalsoshowsthe mostfeelingonthefacesof her people

16

The SecondStep:Preparing for theFieldTest

Forthehealtheducationprogramme,wewould havetouseonlyonestyleof illustrationcomprehensibleto all educationallevelsfor all pictorialaids.Howeverthefour styleswhich cameto us from thevillage artistsweresodiverse,that itwasdifficl.iit Initially to find common

GUIDEUNES FROM PREVIOUSWORKSA) First andseconddimensions:1) Overaii Layouta) Layoutshouldbefunctional,

enablingtheviewerto seebetter,andnotdoneon artisticconsiderations.

b) Illustratewithin an oval for bestimpact asperceptionis selectiveandthings in cornersget left out

c) Concentrateon elements,removebackgroundwherenotnecessaryto messageorcompletionof picture.

2) Stylea) Uselocal pictorial traditions.b) Usefamiliar, realistic, specific,

imageryratherthantheabstract.c) Don’t try to makeillustrations

into photographicreproductions:thetwo mediaelicit quitedifferentresponses.Photographscan, in fact, beless wellcomprehendedthanillustrations.

3) Coloura) Certaincolourshavespecific

mearnngsin different cultures.

b) Trueto life coloursarepreferred.c) Colour is preferredto blackand

white.d) Bright coloursmakegreater

impact.

4) GeneralContenta) Beawareof the readinglevelof

theaudience.b) Rememberinternalfactorssuch

as motivation,expectation,habitsandattitudesdeterminewhat isselectedfor attention.

c) Don’t offendthe religious beliefsof thepeople.

d) Partsof the bodyare notnecessarilyseenasrepresentationsof the whole Ahandholdinga glassin isolationmaynotbe understood.

e) Don’t usetoo manyunnecessarydetails,certaindetailshaverelevancetothewhole:usethese.

threads,but for the obviousone: astheliteracy level rose,sothestyle ofillustrationsevolvedfrom a childlikerenderingto that of a teenager.Previousworkson visualliteracy(Fuglesang,the KhatmanduSurvey,Haaland,Holmes),hadprovidedsomeguidelines.Theseareclassifiedhereundertheheadings,evolvedfor theGrid on pages10-12.

B) Third dimension:depth/depthof flekh

1) Vanishing pointperspectiveis aEuropeanartistic traditionandIsnot relevantto ruralcultures.

2) Make ‘memorypictures’‘twisted’to includeas manysideswhereverpossible,ratherthanpointof view pictures(by thisFuglesangmeans‘the conventionof the broadestaspect’).

3) A completefrontal picture ismore likely to be identifiedthanthe side viewwhich hidesa legandfoot (againthe conventionofthe broadestaspect).

4) Imagessuperimposedoneontop of theother, asin peoplesitting onebehindtheothermaynotbecomprehended(theconventionof thebroadestaspect,andmultipleperspective)

C) Fourth dimension: time:This hasnot beenattendedtospecifically,unlessweunderstandnarratinga storyasimplying thefourthdimension.

D) Decoration/realism:1) This hasnotbeenattendedto

specificallyunlesswe understand‘i.Ise local pictorial traditions’ toimply decoration.

2) Too muchshadingisdysfunctional,asIs totalsilhouette.

E) Symbols:1) Be carefulusingsymbolssuchas

arrows,ticksandcrosses,skullandcrossbones,insets,gatheringcircles.Theymaynot becomprehendedas theyareculturespecific.

F) Story narration:1) Illustrate people’sproverbs

whereverappropriate2) Try to get the pictures enactedto

seeif they are understood orunderstandable.

3) Narrateastory to get themessageacross.

17

SELECTINGA COMMERCIAL ARTISTWe werefortunateenoughto find

in Bhubaneswar,a commercialartistwith a stronggroundingIn thefolkstylesof OrissaHow the localurbanartist interpretedthe villageillustrations,we thought,would beanimportantelementin the experimentIt is of interestthat althoughmostdevelopmentissuesconcernwomen,theartistswho illustratefor them aregenerallymen.Men haveawiderexposureto the world, theirperceptionsarethereforedifferent.Thework, in theevent,wasexecutedby both the commercialartist andhisdaughterThedaughter’swork waswarmer,betterliked thanthatof herfather!

EVOLVING ILLUSTRATIONS TOFlEW TEST

After somediscussionsbetweenavisiting consultantsocial scientist,theartist,the Projectsocio-economists(whowereinterestedbutgenerallynonpiussedwith the experiment)andmyself,wedecidedon the following:1) Wewould field testonly two

messages:Onenegativein visualcontent,onepostive Thesewere:

a) Drinking waterfrom the tubewellkeepsus healthy(positive)

b) Drinking waterfrom pondsandopenwellsmakesus sick (negative).

2) Wewould evolvethreestyles to testa) Comprehensionb) Appeal

The threestyleswouldbeFolk: Highly decorative,passivefigures,stylized,all objectsin thebroadestaspect(‘full twist’ inFuglesang’sterminology),fiatcolours.Realistic:with depth(light andshade),depth of field on the tube-well, pond, openwell, houses.ThiswasIncorporatedassomesocio-e.conomlstsInsistedthatwhiletherural mindmightrepresentonly brimisive’styles,It did notmeantheycouldnotcomprehendmore ‘sophisticated’styles.Besidesthepeopleofthecoastalbelt ofOrissawerebettereducatedthan Inthehinterlandandmoreexposedtothe frogressft~‘modem’and~ieveloped’massmedia.This is animportantpoint in attitudeThere would be realismin posturesandexpressions.No decorations

would beaddedin this style assomesodo-economistsbelievedthat to decoratepicturesin suchaseriousbusinessas healthandhygieneeducationwould befrivolousMiddle style:a mixtureof thetwowith a ‘half twist’ on the majorobjects.

3) Multiple perspectivewould beusedinall threestylesasfar asdepthoffield wasconcerned,exceptin theRealisticwhere objectswereto beshownwith a singlepointof vIew.

4) Thebackgroundin eachillustrationwould beleft unclutteredandneutral

5) Wewould narratea story,cause/effect,in eachpicture,not bybreakingup thespaceinto frames,butby repeatingthesamefiguremovingthe actionfrom top left,aroundto middleright, andon tobottomleft in a clockwork sweep,aswomenuseIn decorating theirhomes.Thiswould encompassthefourthdimension,time, effectively,in a mannerthe peoplemightcomprehend,althoughthis hadbeenmerelysuggestedby thevillage artists.

6) Detailspertinentto village lifewould beadded

7) Wewould addas many elementsfrom thevillage women’sillustrationsaswecould.We hadsomeof thevillage illustrationsredoneby the commercialartist touseasdummies,In order to.

a) reducethe ‘add-oneffect’ (peopleable to guessthe messageof thethird posterhavingseenthe firsttwo),

b) testaudienceunderstanding ofvillage women’swork,

c) present a similar quality ofillustration: the village drawingswere less finished than those of thecommercialartist

The social scientist advisedus onthe methodologyfor the field test.Wewould test in groups since allcommunication aids: exhibition postersandwall posters,would not necessarilybe explainedby an educator,but wouldbe seenin groups by the audiencebythemselvesanddiscussed.Shehelpedus prepare a reporting card (Fig 37,page25), selectgroups, andgaveadvice on drilling testerson questions

18

to ask,andtheattitudeto maintainduringtesting.

THE RESPONDENTSThe audiencewould beGroupA~6 children,illiterate,ages9-12(3 boys,3 girls)Group B: 6 schoolgoing children, ages9-12,3 boys,3 girls (classes3-8).Group C: 6 women,ages18-45,(3 literate, 3 illiterate, laterchangedto6 each,separately)GroupD: 6 illiterate men,ages20-50.GroupE: 6 literatemen,ages20-50(classes7-11)

Here isanotherInterestingpointon attitude all ofuseducatedurbanwomenprofessIonalsagreedto testingfewerwomenthanchildrenandmenwomengo out less,wethought,andwouldbe lesslikely to attendexhibitionsandseepostersAlthoughwehadchosenwomenartiststo do the

illustrations, u~esufferedan interesting7apse’whenweconsideredfieldtesting’ Thiswasquicklyseenandcorrectedduring thepilot test

Eachof thesegroupswereto betestedIn 3 blocks:oneblockwhich hadreceivedthe healtheducationprogrammeandcouldbe usedas acontrolgroup,onenearthesea,one inthehinterland,soasto encompassdifferencesin educational attainmentandexposureto massmedia

The testerswere to be a seniorsoclo-economistfrom theProjectofficeto displaythe postersone by one andaskthequestions,anassistantto helpherfield theanswersbackto a reportersitting behindtheaudience,filling intheforms.Theassistantsandreporterwere from a local NGOwhich wouldbe carryingoutthe healtheducationprogramme.

DRILLING THETESTERSThe testersweredrilled in the

following points:

seem thispicture“Whatelse?”“What else?”

1) Thetestswere to bescheduledat a timeconvenientto the audience,

vii) At no pointwerethe testerstopatronizethe audienceorinterrupt an answer;

ii) Testerswere to be polite inrequestingattendance;

ill) Theaudiencewasto beapproachedas equals;

viii) All in the audiencewereto beencouragedto saywhateverthey liked, andto discusswitheachother if necessaryHowever,argumentsandprolonged discussionswereto be curtailed.lv) Doors to the roomor

courtyardwere to be locked,no oneelsewas to be allowedto intrude;

v) Testerswere to explainseveraltimesthat theaudiencewas notbeingtested;wewere testing ourability to make the rightpictures; therewas no ‘rightanswer’ expectedfrom them.

ix) Whatevertheaudiencesaidwas to be recorded Everyanswerwasto be considered‘right’. At no point was thetestorto say: “No that’swrong”, andattemptto givethe ‘right answer’.

vi) Thetesterwasto askonly thequestionson the form, not tohint or explain;(“What do you

x) The audiencewere to bethankedfor their time and anyquestionsthey might haveonthe test fully answeredat theend.

19

The Third Step:The Field Tc~tTHE IlLUSTRATIONS TESTED

The following are the illustrationsin the order in whIch they were tested,includingdummiesAll illustrationswere pastedon board, andcoveredtightly with cellophaneto ensuredurability.

Fig 27: SerIal 1,Style A: Folk, Message1,Pbsitive.Platform asin Urmilla Swain’sillustration(copiedasdummy,seeFig 33)Sari style takenfrom the illustrationsbyChandramaDas.

FIg. 28: SerIal 2, Dummy.Copiedfrom anifiustratlonby Urinilla Swain.Part 1 of a twopart message.Part2 Is In FIg. 21 Thedesignof the openwellandpondis usedin Fig. 32.

20

FIg. 29 Serial 3, Style B; Middle: Message2,Negative.Pond and well are in ‘half twist’

Fig. 30 Serial 4, Duniiny Copiedfrom anillustrationby ChandramaDas. The originalis in Fig 23. Apolntofinteresthere onthe

first attemptthe commercialartist ?ldzedup’the illustration ashecopiedit Hestraightenedthe treesandroad,andmadethebutclustersto his ownspecificationsHeu’as ‘improving’ theoriginal it tooksomeeffort togettheartist to realizehis versionwasnot better’ Anoherpointon attitudeTheurbaneducatednaturally Imowbetter’ It is a verydeep-seatedarrogance

21

Fig. 31: Serial5, Style C: Realistic;Message1,Positive.Light andshadeto represent thethird dimension,depth in the objects.RealisticexpressionsThe tubewell platformis shownwith a singlepoint of view

Fig. 32: Serial6, Style A. Folk, Message2,Negative.Well follows stylefrom UrmillaSwain’s illustration,Serial2.

22

Fig. 33: Serial 7, Dummy:Copiedfrom anillustration by Urmllla Swain.A classIcof a‘twisted’ picture in thebroadestaspect.Notesizeof the peopleto tubewell. The originalis on the cover of this Guide

Fig. 34: Serial8, StyleB. Middle, Message1,Positive.Later we realizedwe shouldhaveuseda ‘half twist’ on the tubewellplatform

23

Fig. 35; SerIal9, Dummy.Copiedfrom anillustrationby CbandramaDas.

FIg. 36: Serial10, StyleC; Realistic:Message2, Negative

24

A PILOT TESTA pilot testwasheld in the control

village with threeliterateandthreeilliterate womentogether.It wasfoundthat the literatewomendominatedandtheilliterate would notspeak.Sothegroups were broken up, six literateandsix illiterate womenweretestedseparatelyin the two remaining

villages. Altogether102 peoplewerequestioned.

During the pilot testwefound that• oneassistantcould notfield answers

backto the reporterefficiently, nor onereporter record all the answers,so twoof eachwereemployedin subsequenttests,andthe reportstallied after thetest.The seatingplaneventuallywasasin Fig. 38.

Thetestswereto beconductedInthe afternoonwhenpeoplewould havecompletedtheir morning’s work andhadeatentheir mid-day meal It wasd([flcult togetthepeopleto attendtobeginwith, andafterthetesthadstarted,d(flicult tokeepothenout TheyfilteredIn, generallythroughunattendeddoors,andsatveryquietlylistening.Pictures,obviously,wereveiyinterestingstuffandthetestitselfaneventwhichgaverise to muchdiscussionIn thevillage.

Originally thesocial scientisthadsuggestedthat thebestcomprehendedstylewastheonewhichshouldbeused,andthe reportcardsweremadeto thiseffect. However,during the pilotsurveyit wasseenthatwhile the testdid ascertaincomprehension,appealwas a quite different issue.More, thetestitself seemedincompletewithoutremovingthedummiesandpresentingthe threestylesof onemessagetogetherandaskingfor adirectresponseto appeal.Thereforeresponsesto overallappealwererecordedon individual responsesbehindthe reportcard.

• Thetesttookthreehours,andthewomenthoroughlyenjoyedit,concentratingcompletelyall thewhile.theyhadseldombeenaskedfor theiropinions Andthis wasthegeneraltenor in all subsequenttestsThesoclo-economistconductingthemreportedcontinuouslyhowdelightedthepeoplewereto beaskedfor theiropinions,andhowreadily theygavethem.ThetestersweremostImpressedwith howknowledgeablythevillagepeoplespoke,oncetheygotgoing

~ta~at#~a-c~- _xt’~~.~

___ -JAt~P&Wfl

___ T7~sTPvz~vA~ -

- - ~fi~l VI$VAL B

Q pj~j~,go“~ petin this victims 2

MaJor convonents identified ~

fl7Ksndpu~__Drain _______________________

PlatformWoman pimping water __________

Garden_______________________

Woman carrying water _________

Peopledrinking Water _________

Water pot and glass on sheif__Everything is clean __________

Everything is heal.thy _____

-. .~

- othercQwm~rits/auggçfliofls

- Q. What is the whole uicture about 2 _____-~ ~

- -tS-~-~~ _____—

IT: Uii~at do you like b~it S hisictu 2/Mw ?

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t,~_ ‘- .~-- ----

WhatdovoM.Ukeleastin this oicturç 7/~l’tjv2

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cnr~}

btaor cowonenta identified ~

1) Village huts ______________2) Tries _____________________3) Plant ______________________4) Girl giving

water to father ____________

5) M,thtrgiving water to son _______

6) Decorations._________________

7) Footstep ___________________

—Objects not understoodlouestions/atptements

—.--=-—.~--~--) ~ ~ .‘~ —~~

Fig. 37: TheReportingCardusedin thefield test.Onefor eachpicture,tenforeachgroup.Improvementsin thedesignof thiscardarenecessaryThe reportersspent toomuchtime searchingfor thecomponentonthetopagainstwhichto makeastrokewhenthe audiencemadeanidentification.Itwouldhavebeenbetterto haveleft spacesfor thereporterto write downresponsesastheycameandadd themup later.

25

COMPLETING ThE TESTSTesung17 groups took three

months(not continuous).Thecommercialartist wentalong toobservesomeofthetests,andfoundtheresvIts enlightening,hehadnotdreamedthevillagepeoplecouldbesovisuallydiscriminating.A schoolteacherpreparingteacher’sguidesforthe healtheducationprogrammeobservedthe testingof thechildren,andcameawaywith a newawareneschildren not attending schoolrespondedmore swiftly andfreely thanschoolgoing children, who hesitated,looking for the right answer’, afraidtheywould be chastizedfor giving the‘wrong’ one. Prepubescentgirlsansweredlessspontaneouslythan theyounger ones,somedidn’t answer atall. Elderly womenspokemostconfidently, theyoung marriedwomenwere often silent and had to beencouragedto speak.Elderly mengenerallyhadlittle to say.oftenweakeyesightandimpairedhearingmadethingsdifficult for them

Themostrevealingcommentcamefrom oneNGOcommunicatorfillingin report cards Hesaidthetestshadbeenan eyeopenerfor him•hehadn’trealizedthatvillagepeopleknewsomuch,andnowhesawhowmuchhehadbeenpatronizingthem Hewase~pressingan Insightgainedafter60hoursofLISTENING,somethingmostcommunicatorsdo notdo, Involvedastheyare in ‘communicating’,by whichtheyusuallymeanfilling up thespacewith theirelevated,urban,educatedwisdom.WethankthisNGOcommunicatorfor hishonestobservation.

The Fourth Step:Analysingthe Results

Analysingthe resultsfor suchasubjective testwas complex.Theresponseswere those of a group, andnot alwayseasyto record. However,uncertainties went acrossthe entire testfor everygroup. While somecomponentswerenot immediatelyidentified, remarksnotedshowedindentification had in fact, taken place.Tally strokes wereplaced later againstcomponentidentification. While themajor componentswere the sameineachillustration, not all pictures in allstyleshad identical minor components,a point to correct in anyfuture tests.

Fig. 38: The SeatingPlanduring field tests.This illustration Is an interesting testManyeducatedpeoplecannot immediatelycomprehendwhat it represents.It takestime todecode,sincethepointofview isunfamiliar It is thepeopleseatedseenfromdirectly above

1UPI~

I~U

26

Thismadethe responsesmore difficult

to systematize,but on the credit side,thereweremoreandvariedresponsesof which theartist couldtakecognizance.

The appreciation of styleappealwasnotedby individual responses andwasaccurate,butmessageunderstanding,likes anddislikeswerenecessarilyanalysedby recordedresponses.Similar responsesweregiven a code.The number of responseswithin a codewere countedover allgroups. The precentageof responseswas calculatedon the numberofrecordedresponses.

RESULTSThe resultsshowedbriefly the

following:

ComprehensionFull comprehensionof messagesfellsquarelybetweenstylesB andC,Middle andRealistic:52% of recordedresponseseach.A, the Folk, carried385% of the respondents.from thecommentsthe reasonswere thatover-stylizedobjectswerenotfoundcomprehensiblethoughthis styleassuchhadthehighestappeaLThenegativecontentmessagewasbetterunderstoodthan the positive, therewasmore story’ in the negative.

AppealThe overallappeal,however,fell

betweenstylesA andB, Folk andMiddle, againsquarely:38% and39%.(Figureson individual responses)CtheRealisticcarriedonly 23% of therespondents The style mostappreciatedwasMessage1, StyleB,(Middle) 45%; leastappreciatedMessage1, Style C, (Realistic)23%.

ByGmupWeanalysedby groups,literatev/s

illiterate,andfound that the literate,especiallymen,tendedgenerallyto likeStyle C, Realistic, the illiterate,especiallywomen, tended toward StyleA, Folk. Weanalysedmessagespartiallyunderstoodandnot understoodat all

By Negative/PositiveContentInterestingly,in the negative

contentmessagewhich showedby andlarge,highercomprehensionthan thepositive, therewas a reversal ofunderstandingin StyleA, Folk andStyleC, Realistic:the oppositemessagewasreceived(A: 19%; C: 14%). The

messageleastunderstood was the

Negative,StyleA, Folk (22%) Themessagemost fully understoodwas theNegative,in Style C, Realistic(74%).However, it was shown last and therewaspossiblyanadd-oneffect despitethe ctummies.The secondlast shown,

Message1, Style B also showsa higherresult.This in effectdemonstrateswehadunderestimatedour audience,yetanotherinstanceofhou’ Inslduousattitudesare This shouldbe notedforany furthertests.Thestylesshouldberepositionedwhile testingon difrerentgroups.

However the add-on effect istempered by comments to give a morebalancedresult In the controlgroup,the trend was the sameas that overall,

but that therewere lesspartiallyunderstoodor not understoodmessages.

DetailsIn bothcomponentappealand

understandingthe ‘twisted’ ‘memorypicture’ tubewell (in the broadestaspect)cameour on top, as did theopenwell,but thefull twist on thepond(Style A) wasnor as appreciatedasthehalftwist (Style B). Commentsshowedthat this wasbecausein StyleA thepondhadno basecolour to give itcoherenceThe realistic openwell StyleC was not appreciated and often notevenunderstoodTherewereseveralcommentswhich indicateda lackofcomprehensionof the languageofvanishmgpoint. “Everythingshouldbethesamesize”, ‘Why is thathousesosmall?”

Realistic,completeandactiveportrayalsof feelingsandposturesofpeople(asinStyleC) werepreferredtothe passive(StyleA) Family inter-actionswereappreciated.

Decorationsweregreatlyappreciatedandthelack of themInStyleC, Realistic,werecommentedonBut somedecorationswhichweretooabstractandexpressionistic,suchasthosein the roofof the hut, birds,pond,fish, plants,in StyleA wereneitherappreciatednor understood.

The familiar, suchascattlebeingbathedin apondwereliked, andsincethis is an activity theProjectwantedtodiscourage,wethoughtaboutdoingallnegativecontentmessagesin a lessattractivestyleas in advertising,withbefore and after pictures.

27

SOME TABLESGiven below are a few of tableswe

compiled as a guideto thosewhomighi want to use them.

TABLE 1OVERALL COMPREHENSIONAND APPEAL

Une ITEMPositivemessage—1

styleA StyleB Style CNegativemessage—2

StyleA StyleB StyleC

1 Style mostappreciaced 32% 45% 23% 43% 33% 24%

2 Messagefullyunderstood 37% 52% 43% 59% 53% 74%

3 Messagepartlailyunderstood 43% 42% 46% 16% 25% 11%

4 Messagenotunderstood 20% 6% 11% 5% 22% 2%

5 Opp messagereceIved 19% 14%

The stylemost appreciated (calculatedon Individual responses)averagedby stylefrom line 1, above

StyleA 38%Style B ‘39%StyleC . 23%

The style bestcomprehended(calculatedon responsesrecordedovergroups)averagedby stylefrom line 2, above

StyleA. 38.5%StyleB.52%StyleC:52%

TABLE 2APPEAL ONThE BASIS OF EDUCATION AND SEX OF ThE RESPONDENTS

GROUPS NoPositiveMessage—i

StyleA StyleB StyleCNegativeMessage—2

StyleA StyleB StyleC

No % No % No % No % No % No. %

Illiteratemen 18 5 28 7 39 6 33 9 50 5 28 4 22

Uteratemen 18 4 22 9 50 5 28 2 11 5 28 11 61

IlliteratechIldren 18 5 28 7 39 6 33 7 39 9 50 2 ii

Uteratechildren 18 7 39 7 39 4 22 10 56 4 22 4 22

Illiteratewomen 15 7 33 5 53 3 13 9 60 5 33 1 7

Llteratewomen 15 5 33 10 67 0 0 7 47 6 40 2 Ii

Total: 102 33 45 24 44 34 24

28

TABLE 3COMPREHENSIONAND APPEAL OF INDIVIDUAL COMPONENTh

Figuresrepresentpercentagesof recordedresponsesaveragedover all groups

MajorComponents

PositiveMessage—I

Insiructionsto artist

—~----

NotLiked Liked under-best least stood

NotLiked Liked under-best least stood

NotLiked Liked under-best least stood

l.Tubewell(withplatform,drainandstep)

17 0 0 13 0 0 8 0 0 Style’A’platformtobeused,butaddcentralblackasin C drain.

2Womaripumplng 5 0 0 6 0 0 12 0 0 Showrealistlcstance

3Womancarrylngwater 1 0 0 10 15 11 8 0 0 Showreaiisticstance

4 a)Water porlpitcherb)Shelf/bench

130

00

03

152

00

00

180

00

08

Usedecorativepitcherson mudshelfnotondecoratlvewoodenshelf

5Kltchengarden 9 0 0 12 6 0 12 0 0 Gardenshouldbereallsticwlthsomedecorativeelements

6. a) Wife giving water to husband 8

‘

0 3 -Use,Mother giving waterto son’,or‘wife giving husband’or ‘girl givingwater’with necessarymodificationsfrom comments.

b)Mothergivlngwatertoson 12 8 0

Though realIsticIn style, actionIs notaccurate

c) Girl giving water to father 4 8 0

d)Mandrinkingwater

9 0 13 10 8 22

C) 0 23

7, Uurlhou’,e Whennot understoodwasseenastempleorschoolso makemorerealisticthoughdecoratedhutsinvillage clusters

H Fenceof thegarden 0 0 33 8 7 09 DecoratIons 9 0 0

10, Clean dresses 1 0 011.Sittingpositionofpeople 0 18 13 0 13 0 Tobemodlfieda~ordlrigtosuggestIons~12 StandIngposition 1 7 0 0 15 013. Faceandnoseofpeople T’ 1 ‘~5

Usefamily/homedetailsas long astheydonot distractfrom message.

14 Childrengoingfor study 12 0 0

15 Boywlthbook/glass ~W —0’

16 Bird 7 14 0 To beproperly drawn andplaced.

17. Roofwith paddy hangIng 9 4 48 Noneed or makecompletebutwith walls,

18. Trees 6 23 0 To bemodified andplacedinright place.

19. Plantnear thewomen 0 No need,20.Actionof thefather ~~_~5_ ....~— To beclarified, -

21.Womanwalting 8 7 0 Realisminteellngisappreclated, -

if not in positionor ~ctlon.

22. Child standingbehind mother 4 13 0 This Is distractIngfrom message. -

Drawing Is not appreclaled.

23 C~eaninggrain 4 7 45 Thislsnotdoneinvlllagewhileeating.

24 a)Maneating 8 33 0 To be modified.b) Glassin theright hand 0 7 0 Glassshouldbein left hand.

C) Foodplacednearfeet On positivemessagesshowfoodonslightly raisedplatform.

29

However,poordrawingwasnotappreciated, “The drawingof the boy isnotgood”, sothe negativeaspectswould haveto be shownsymbolically.Laterwerealizedwehadnotclearlyobservedandanalysedwhatthewomen’sIllustrationshadshownusbeforewecreatedthe illustrationsforthefield test,or we wouldhaveusedsplodge.sIn thenegativecontentillustrationsto showdirt andgermsHereisanotherpoint on attitude.Further thecommercialartist atfirsttendedto bepatronizingaboutthevillage drawings.“Never mind,I don’tneedto studythem,I understandthemTheyare only village art&s.”

Detailsnot pertinentto themessagewerefounddisruptive,suchasthe boy with a slate/book(No 1,Message1, Style A).

Wheretheartist hadnot beencarefulenoughof village customs,itwaspointedoutveryfast. “The womanshouldnotsievegrainwhile herhusbandis eating“(No. 5, Message2,StyleC). It waspointedoutthehusbandshouldsit on a matwhile eating.Thisfirmly validated(asdid much in thissurvey)whatis said in earlierworks onvisuai literacy.

Cause-effectconnectionsweremadewheretheywerenotintended,suchas:‘The womanis spittingbecausethe man is defecating”(No. 3,Message2, Style B), indicating the needto becarefulaboutpositioning.We hadmissedoutroadsin showingvillagescenes,andthis wascommentedonloudly. That the village did notalwayslook like a village was consistentlyremarked upon “It doesnotlook like avillage”, “People should be insidetheirhouses”,‘Therearenot enoughhouses”;“The broom andpotsshouldbe insidethe house”.We hadshownthem symbolically,asthe lesseducatedruralartistshad.Obviouslycomprehensionis also lesssubtlethanrepresentation!

The respondentsgavemanysuggestionsfor Improvingboththevisualimpactof the picture,formessagecontentandfor village detail.Theywerein factveryvocalin theirobservatlonsi

Alongside are “Componentsnotunderstood”inMessage1, and“Commentsandsuggestions”onMessage2. It Is notpossibletoreproduceall.

COMPONENTS NOT UNDERSTOOD

Message1 : Positive

Visual A’ (Folk) (Fig. 27)(out of 31 recordedresponses)48% — Roof/paddyhanging19% — Boydrinkingwaterseenas

holdingbook.13% — Hut understoodastemple.13% — Man’s sittingposition.3% — Shelf/pot,stand.

Visual ~B’(Middle) (FIg 34)(Out of 9 recorded responses)33% — Position/actionof thefather.22% — Fenceofthegarden22% — Hut mistakenas temple.11% — Womancarryingwater.11% — Father understoodasa traveller.

Visual‘C’ (Realistic)(Fig 31)(out of 13 recordedresponses)23% — Womancleaninggrain understood

asservingfood23% — Man drinkingwater understoodas

drinkingtea14% — Womancleaninggrain8% — Womancleaninggrainseenas

holding plastic bag8% — Stoolunderstoodascot8% ‘— Fenceasbridge

RESPONDENTS’COMMENTSCommentsandSug,~estlonsfrom allGroups: (GrossRecordnotSynthesizedto Percentagepoint

Message2: NegatIveVisual ‘A’ (Folk) (Fig 32)

To Improvethestyle— Women drawing water from the

openwellshouldbend.— Fish shouldhavefins.— Boy’s bathingpositionIs notcorrect— Stepsshouldbebettershaped.— Thewaterpotcarriedon head,hut,

overall designof illustration andfaceslook like a tribal village.

— Plantsnearthewell look ugly.-‘ Theopenwellshouldhavesteps.— The manshouldstandon theother

sideof the bullock whilewashingit.— Thenosesof manandwomanshould

be drawnsharply.— Theropedrawingwaterfrom the

openwelldoesnot look right— The broom should be lying instead

of standingwithout any support.— Pond should have embankment.— The bird Is notperfectlydrawn.

30

To Improvethemessage:— Bathingandvomiting is not clear.— In thispollutedenvironment,there

shouldbemoreflies andmosquitoes— The human beings should not look

healthyIn this unhealthysituation.— We do not carry potson our heads.— The boy/womanshouldusea towel

while bathing in the pond.— The openwellshould be distant from

the pond.— There should be more houses.

Visual ~B’(Middle) (Fig. 29)

To Improvethestyle— All itemsshouldbe big.— The utensilsshouldbekept inside

the room, not In an open space.— A womanshouldbeshowncarrying

a pitcheron her hip.

To Improvethe message.— The man should carry a ‘lots’ (water

pot) whengoingfor defecation.— Bottle of medicine(ORT)shouldbe

kept nearthe diarrhoea patient— There should have been birds on the

treesdefecatinginto the water,flieson thevomit, more hydrilla in thepond andhumanexcretaaroundthepond togive amorevivid pictureofpollutionof thewatersourceandenvironment.

Generalcommentson thevillage:— A washingplatformshouldbe at the

edgeof pond/river,not at centre.— The washermanwashingclothesis

not clearandhe shouldlift up thecloth in the picture while washing.

— There should be a road from houseto pond and to open well.

Visual ‘C’ (Realistic)(Fig. 36)

To Improvethestyle:— Themanshouldcarrya lots (water

• pot) whengoing for defecating— Woodbundleshouldbe lying down.— The sitting position of thewoman is

• not perfect.— Woman’ssicknessshould be

specifiedin her actionandexpression.

— Stepsshould be placed in the pond.— Uncleanlinessof openwellis not

clear.— Someoneshould be shownvomiting.

To Improvethevillage situation:— A road should connectthewell.— A houseis necessarynearthe family

The Fifth Step:DevisinganOverallStyle

It seemedfrom theanalysisthat thestyle to be devisedwould definitely bein multiple perspectiveandthebroadestaspectThestyle would fallbetweenA & B, without the&ylizatlonandabstractionof A butwith itsdecorativeelements.From style C wewould userealisticpostures,expressionsandplants.We would havemorerealisticscenesof villagelife asinthe picturesbyChandramaDas:peopleinsidehouseswheretheyrealisticallywould be We would include roads andtemples.Wewould useflat boldcoloursthroughout,no light andshade,no groundcolour

Thebroadestaspect,andmultipleperspectivewon the day, evenwith thisgenerallywell educatedpopulation ofthe Orissacoastal belt, who have beenexposedto modernmassmedia(cinemahoardings,calendarart)

This wasconfirmedby trying outthe two perspectivedrawings.atubewellandplatform drawnin an ovalinvanishingpointandas a circle in thebroadestaspect,on two of the villageeducatorsfor appeal Theyinstinctivelychosethe circle over the oval.

It can be arguedthat skills inperceiving andrepresentingvanishingpoint andlight andshadeis, for theartist, a necessaryaccomplishment,heightening the ability to drawaccurately,andshould therefore beencouraged,andperhapsweareusingthe pictorial equivalent of ‘baby talk’ Indrawing in multiple perspective.However,our businesshereis tocommunicatein acurrentpictoriallanguage,notto teachartto ruralartists.

On the other hand perhapswhatwedo needto do is teachourcommercial/urban artists to break outof their narrow‘education’, andrespectour traditional perspectivesmore.Perhapsweneedto train up a newbreedof ‘developmenteducationartists’.

While exposureto mechanical

representation,will affectperceptionintime, the illustrations presentedin Figs.39 and40;synthesizedout of the fieldsurvey results,seemto be at this timevalid (within the limits of this field test)in communicating with pictures to anaudiencewith a pictorial tradition.

31

THE FINAL ILLUSTRATIONS

?~g.~9 : Illustrationssynthesizedfrom theresultsof the field survey.a) Sincethepeopleof theOrissacoastalbeltaregenerallymoreeducatedthanthoseIn thehinterland,we aim for a somewhatliterateaudience,on the assumptionthatthemoreliteratewill decodethepictureforthe less literate,and thatthe less literatewill, in anyevent,beable to comprehendmorethan they can represent.The purposeis anexhibition or reminderposterwherepeoplewill standand look at thepictureforawhile and talk aboutit

b) Thepicturesare switchedaroundtoshow‘before’ and ‘after’ Message2, now‘before’, reads “Drinking waterfromapondwill makeussick “The openwellisremoved:it will makeanothersimilarillustration Repetitiontea~hesMessage1,now~after’,reads ‘Drinking tubeweliwaterwill keepushealthy.”c) The major Items arethe samein eachpicturefor easyIdentification We ensurethe village is complete,with roadS,houses,electricitypoles,temple Howeversecondaryconceptsarekept to aminimum(eg. environmentalsanitation),they willmakeotherpictures. Extraneouscharactersareleft out (priest, wanderingcows,dogs,brooms)d) Wefollow a clearmultiple perspective,andthe broadestaspectasfar aspossiblee) Thepicture Is narratedfrom toptobottomin thesameframefollowing theroad:first thewomanfetcheswaterfrom apond.Next shewalkshomewith it

(secondarymessages:carrying itincorrectly,sloppingwatereverywhere,nofootwear);at homethewomandrawswater(incorrectly),gives it to her family, resultingIn diarrhoeaand vomitIng Hersonandhusbandarealso duplicatedat differenteventsIn the sameframe.Blacksplodgesindicategermsanddirt. Thesearerestrictedhere.On apictureon environmentalsanitationtheywould beusedmoreliberally.

I

32

Fig. 40: Weshow exactly thesamescenewith positiveaspects.Flowers, placeddecoratively(rather than realistically)denotecleanliness.The samewomanappearsIn all eventsin eachillustration:The pond Is replaced by a tubewell(Secondarymessages:footwear,waterproperlycarried,stored,anddrawn) Theresultis ahappy(gIrl) child who studiesandplays The samechild appearsthreetimes.f) As theeyewandersover the picture(Fuglesangdescribesits route) it picks up(hopeflully) first the pond/tubewellwheresomethingis happening.Next It movesrightto the temple—registersnothIng happening.Then to the woman walldng Right to thehouses— nothing happening.Down to thelargehouse— muchhappeningThendown,diagonally right to later events. The‘context’ of villagemovesIn a semicircletopleft to middle rIght. Major eventsmovemiddleleft in semicircleto bottom rIght.

NOTE: Communicatorsmustnot taketheseillustrationsasan easyformula to follow;but as an exercizeto makethemawareofthesubtlepointsin thepictoriallanguageofpeopleexisting In adifferent time/spacethanthemselves,andperhapsa takeoffpoint for conductingtheir Own surveysuntilsuchtimeamoredefiniteGuideis available.

33

III. CONCLUSIONThere weremany wayswefound

laterIn which the illustrationsfor fieldtestingcouldhavebeentightenedandstrengthenedfor a morerigoroustest.

We should havehadillustrationsdoneby an illiterate artistaswell. Wecould have testedthe illustrationsdoneby thevillage womenon differenteducationallevelsandon peopleinother villages,before we devisedtheillustrations for field testing: the data sogainedwould have been useful inmaking up illustrations to field test.Buttherewassimplyno timefor this: it washard enough to conductthis fieldsurveyatall, asprojects donot asa rulegive sufficient emphasisto field testingeducationalstrategies,lesstocommunicationaids,andcertainlynoneto this generallyincomprehensibleand‘pointless’aspectof thevisual. However,weanalysedappealandcomprehensionofthe dummiesbasedon the villagewomen’swork, and found,unsurprisingly, that while the appealwashigh on the work of Urmilla Swain,the comprehensionwas low: thepictures gavehalf a messageThecomprehensionwas better on the workof Chandrama Das.

We should have had the samemajor andminor componentsin allillustrations we eventuallyfield testedand the samecolours in all.

Much further field work needstobe done before the results of a surveysuchasthis can be said to be In any wayfinaL

Mostof all, this surveyneedsto beconductedasa single item with moreplanninganddetaileddiscussion,andwith trainedpersonnel,over a muchlargerdatabase;possiblyseveraldistricts In a stateand/orseveralstatesin India. PerhapsevenIn manycountrieswith similiar ruralpopulations.On different subjects:nutrition, immunization,familyplanning,andsocialforestry. Andonpictorial representationsof detailslikemagnifications/germs;hidden elementssuch asthoseunderground and insidebodies,germ cycles,weathercycles.Thiswill be especiallyvaluable,asmore accuratelydrawn generalIzationscanthenbe availableIn amorethoroughGuide,whichwill alsogive

pointers for regional and localvariations.As projectsseldom-havethetime, eventhe Inclination to carry outfield tests,adaptingfrom sucha Guidewill be a useful wayto cut down localfield teststo essentialaspectsofdecoration,symbolism,degreeofmodernity in perspectiveand variationsaccording to literacy levelsandexperienceof modern massmedia.

Thispublication,while in no waycomprehensive, should serve at theveryleastto demonstratetodevelopmenteducatorsandcommunicators that theyneed to bemuch more sensitive to theintelligence,abilitiesandvisualperceptions of their audience; andpossiblygo a little way to convincing‘hardware’oriented developmentofficials thatgreaterbudgetallocationsare necessary in the ‘software’, that ifthe hardware componentIs to besuccessful,educationandcommunicationmustbe givenfargreateremphasisthan is the casecurrently, and that while this Is adifficult area,it is neverthelesspossibleto be ‘scientific’ aboutit.

34

ADAPTING ILLUSTRATIONS.A SMALLEXPERIMENTFORTHE WHO.

Fig. 41: A PrIntedPagein colourfromStoriesofAdventureon the faIrly flexiblesubjectof Immunization,In whichtechnicaldetailsarestandard.All subjectsarenot asflexible to adaptation,asminortechnicaldetailsvarygreatlyfrom region to regionThIs is ageneral,non-technicalpage,whichcarriesthe story forward.

Earlythe nextmorning Jagannath andRamsevak set off for the jungle. Theycarried axes, brooms and matches.Soon the trees became thick, the lightgrew dim, and the undergrowth be-came heavy. Ramsevak and Jagan-nath had to hack their way with axes.

Two hours later they stood in the filth-lest, darkest, smelliest place they hadever seen. It was even worse than theyhad imagined. From the cave camehideous burbling and snortingsounds. It was Narbhakshl Rakshasa,snoring in his sleep

‘Ramsevak and Jagannath crept up tothe cave. Just then Narbhakshi Rak-shasa woke up with a start. “HahiFood!” he growled, “come to me byitself I” He leapt toward the man andboy, butfell back groaning, clutchinghis head, moaning, “Awwww!”

‘Jagannath gave Ramsevak a push,and Ramsevak said sternly, like aheadmaster, “You’re sick. And nowonder—living in such a filthy place.Aren’t you ashamed of yourself? Didn’tyour mother teach you anything? You’remaking everyone everywhere sick too.”

35

Fig. 42: Notesfor theIllustrator from theAdaptationKit. Not all pointsare madeonthis page, asmanyhavealreadybeenmadeon previouspages

Are these impLements you woulduse in your region?

Change foliage. Seeadaptation to Bhutan.

Turban cloth may not berelevant. See Bhutarzadaptation.

36

Fig. 43. The IllustrationsAdaptedfor aBhutanesecontext ChangesaremadeInminorcomponents.features,dress,accessories,foliage andportrayalof thedemon,which comesoutof Bhutanesefolklore. Field testedpositionsandmajorcomponentsremainthe same

37

Fig. 44: Whydo you tie mcup in the houseandbarterme like a cow at a stake?Anillustration producedby theDepartmentofAudio Visual PublIcIty (DAVP), Governmentof India, in associatIonwith DISHA. acommunicationcell withIn the Departmentof WomenandChild Development, NewDelhi, Ruralwomenin Rajasthanwereaskedto illustrate theirversionof messages,andtheir ‘ideas andsketches’wereusedbyan artist at the DAVP to produce the posterabove.It is of Interestthatalthoughaderailedstep-by-stepmethodologyassuggestedby this Guidewasnot followed,some elements of rural perceptionsareneverthelessevident:the fenceIs showninthe broadest aspect.

38

REFERENCES1) Acompositefrom severalsources

including Fuglesang,Watson(below) andWebster’sThirdNewInternationalDictionary. GCMerriam, Mass,1969.

2) Hubel,D H andWrisei, T N.‘ReceptiveFields,BinocularInteractionandFunctionalArchitecturein the Cat’s VisualCortex’, InJournalofPhysiology.160: 106, 1962.

3) Gregory,R L TheIntelligentEye.WeldenfieldandNicoLson,London,1970.

4) Watson,Lyall. L(fetide. HodderandStoughton,London,1987,p 24.

5) Hocken,Sheila.EmmaandI.William Collins and Co Ltd.,Glasgow,1977.

6) Fuglesang,Andreas.AboutUnderstanding.p 35.

7) Rana,I. ‘Comics — for Health’ inDevelopmentCommunicationReport,1987/4No 59.

8) Fuglesang,asabove,p 145.9) Holmes,Alan.A Studyof

UnderstandingofVisualSymbolsin Kenya.

10) ‘AshIshGram RachnaTrust’,AnubhavSeries.The FordFoundation,New Delhi, 1988. p 2.

11) Rana,I StoriesofAdventure,WHOPopular Text Series1. WI-JO, NewDelhi, 1986.

12) Pfohl,JacobandParwani,Nandini,A CommunityEducatloniParticipationE~perzmentin LowCostSanitationA Report:UNDPIWB/901,1983,p61

13) From Jansen,H W. History ofArt.PrenticeHall, NewJersey,1964,p 37, andlectures.

14) Fuglesang,asabove,pp 36,37.

ILLUSTRATION CREDITS

Fig. 1: Poster used in the DanidaassistedOrissaDrinking WaterProject, Healthand HygieneEducation Programme, PhaseI.

Fig. 7. Portion of a Chambarutnal atthe Bhuri Singh Museum,Chamba, Himachal Pradesh.

Fig. 8: From Perspective:A GuideforArtists,ArchitectsandDesigners,by G White, 1968.

Fig. 11 Pocrait panel of Hesy-ra.C 2650 BC. Egyptian Museum,Cairo.

Fig 12. ChesterBeattyLibrary, Dublin.Fig. 13: TheRoadto Calvary, Simone

MartIni, C 1340.TheLouvre,Paris.

Fig. 14: TheKotahMuseum, Rajasthan.Fig. 15~IllustratedPalmLeaf

Manuscriptat the OrissaStateMuseum,Bhubaneswar.

Fig 16. Collectionof Mrs MariaSarre-Hermann,Ascona.

Fig. 17: From ChangDa:-Chien’sPaintings,NationalMuseum,Taipei.

SELECTEDBIBLIOGRAPHY1) Communicatingwith PicturesIn

Nepal.A reporton a studyby NDSandUNICEF, Khatmandu1976.

2) ConductingFocusGroupIntetviews.EvaluationUnitProgrammeDepartment.Care,India, 1989.

3) Haaland,Ane. PretestingCommunicationMaterials~AManualforTrainersandSupeivisors.UNICEF,Rangoon,1984.

4) Fetter,KA Clark,MH, Murphy, CJ;Walters, JE. TeachingandLearningwith VisualAids.Educational Materials Unit.Programme for InternationalTraining in Health. School ofMedicine, University of NorthCarolina, ChapelHill, NC.

5) Fuglesang,Andreas.AboutUnderstanding.IdeasandObservationson CrossCulturalCommunication.DecadeMediaBooks Inc. NewYork, 1982.

6) Fuglesang,Andreas.AppliedCommunicationin DevelopingCountries.’IdeasandObservations.Dag Hammarskjold Foundation,Uppsala, 1973.

7) Griffiths, G; Manoff, K; NestorTighe, JP; Israel, LS and Ware, C.GuidetoMassMediaandSupportMaterialsfor Nutrition EducationIn DevelopingCountries.EDC.Washington,1985.

8) Holmes,Alan C.A StudyofUnderstandingofVisualSymbolsin Kenya.OverseasVisual AidsCentre,London.

9) ReportofWorkshopon InnovativeTraining Techniques.NIPPCD,NewDelhI, 1983.

10) Saunders, DenysJ. VisualCommunicationHandbookUnitedSociety for ChristianLiterature,LutterworthPress,Guildford, London.

11) Shaw,Bernard.VisualSymbolsSurvey:AReporton theRecognitionofDrawing in Kenya.Centrefor DevelopmentOverseas,London.

12) Werner,DavidandBower, Bill.HeipingHealth WorkersLearn.The HesperlanFoundation, PaloAlto, 1982.

39

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSSeveralpeoplewere very

encouraging about this field survey,itsmethodologyandresults.I want tothankVI~ayaGhosh(editor);ManjulaPadmanabhan(artist); Dr. SatinderBajaj (Professor of NutritionEducation);Ann Mukherjee(UlkaAdvertising); Dr Jon Rohde (SpecialAdivisor to the Regional Director,UNICEF); Roll Carriere(UNICEF) andKristian LaubJerg(SocialScientist,DANIDA).

I give specialthanksto GersonDaCunha(Advisor to the LiteracyMission)who recognizedthe potential of thefirst draftof whatwas to become thispublIcation;AshokeChatterjee(National Instituteof Design)whoencouragedthepublicationof thisGuide; Eirah Gorre-Dale(UNDPCommunicationCoordinatorfor theConference“SafeWater2000”), BjornKalmerHansenandLars Lund(DevelopmentCounsellors)ofDANIDA who madepossible theGuide andthe accompanyingExhibition for the Conference

Otherswho have extendedappreciationare Dr. EdwardDore (TheSchoolof GraphicArts, University ofManitoba)andL K Das(TheIndianInstitute of Technology).AlokMukhopadhyayand PadamKhanna(VoluntaryHealthAssociationof India).

And mostof all I thank MaltrayeeMukhopadhyay(consultantsocialscientist)for her adviceon field testinglogistics; Binodini Senapati(socio-economist) who carriedout thefield tests with ValerianD’lima(communicator CEDEC)andhisstaff;UmaMisra (statistician)whodecodedthe data with BInodInISenapati;Iakshmi Krishnamurti(Alarippu) who gavemeher invaluableinsights;K P Pandaand his daughterSabita,who devisedthe illustrations forfield testing;andof course— the villageartistswithout whom noneof thiswouldhave beenpossible.

40

The DanishInternationalDevelopmentAgency is partof theDanishMinistry of ForeignAffairsDanishdevelopmentcooperationwithIndiabeganin 1960. TheassistancetoIndiaaims at promotingsocial andeconomicdevelopmentforpopulationsliving belowthe povertyline Assistanceis concentratedin fourstatesMadhyaPradesh,Karnataka,Tamil NaduandOrissa,mainlywithinthe areasof Drinking Water, Energy,WomeninAgriculture andHealthCare

Indi Ranais a consultantincommunicationsfor developmenteducationandtraining. Shehasworkedon projects for theWorld HealthOrganization, The German AgencyforTechnicalDevelopmentCooperationandUNICEF, in addition to thosefotDANIDA. Shewaseducatedat Stanford,and hasa background in trade andeducationalpublishingin NewYork,London and NewDelhi Sheis a filmscriptwriter and author of severalbooksfor childrenanda novel forteenagerson Indo-Britishcrossculturalthemes

Copyright© The DanishInternationalDevelopmentAgency,1990.Reproductionand translationauthorized worldwide for non-profiteducationalactivities,providedthatDANIDA origin is mentionedandcopiescontainingreproducedmaterialaresentto Headof DANIDA MissionDANIDA, RoyalDanishEmbassy,2 GolfLinks, New Delhi 110 003, India.

ISBN 87-7265-095-8

Designed& ProducedbyDesignations, NewDelhi.

Coverillustrations by Urniilia Swain (front)& Dhani Sabu(back)

Keepingourtubeu’ellsurroundingscleanhelpspreventdisease

Usinglatrineshe/psuspreventthespreadofdisease

Keepingourvillageclean helpspreventdisease

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