Interacting with the Multimodal Text: Reflections on Image and Verbiage in Art Express

Abstract

The phenomenon of the multimodal or composite text is a challenge for discourse analysts, particularly those working with linguistic tools fashioned to account for verbal texts. Drawing on systemic functional semiotics, this article focuses on the interactive meanings of two student artworks presented in a Sydney exhibition called Art Express. It analyses the complementary contribution of image (artwork) and verbiage (text panel) to the meaning-making process. Drawing principally on APPRAISAL analysis as practised within Sydney School linguistics, the article proposes a richer account of evaluation in both image and verbiage than is currently available in analyses of separate modes. The article aims to contribute to the development of semiotic grammars adequate for an integrated account of multimodal texts at different institutional ‘moments’ in their (re)production.

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