ABSTRACT
Several theorists have attempted to construct models outlining a developmental response to visual texts. (We are using text in the loosest sense – it could be a painting, a photograph, a video, a picture in a book, an art object … .) Others have tried to identify the phases viewers go through in their deepening responses to works of art. In this chapter we have provided a survey of some of the key works in this field, which takes in a wide range of disciplines, from art history to psychology, aesthetics to cultural studies, information technology to education. Some scholars take a special interest in children; others are more concerned with adult responses to art. Whereas Parsons spent years collecting data to develop his model of aesthetic response, others, such as Clark, include some discussion of the process of responding to works of art within a huge and varied body of work. We will begin by looking at definitions for the slippery concept of visual literacy, then move on to examine some of the processes, frameworks and developmental models of response to visual texts.
