Humor
I have an academic degree in visual art.
I have no degree in humor. But I do consider it a virtue. I use it a lot in my short-form writing (i.e., the bulk of it). In conversation, it often manifests as gentle self-deprecation, satire, and sarcasm as well as a large dose of irony and dramatic exaggeration.
My running writing has also provided a avenue for visual humor, particularly through the humble attendance photo. Paint has been the premier digital tool for propelling it to a distinct visual form.
In a work as casual as an attendance photo, visual elements force the observer to determine that there’s more than what initially meets the eye. Framing lines and discontinuities between foreground and background elements accentuate the need for attentiveness.
(ShawmontRunningClub.com, 2023’12’30’S Zen Yanni Newsletter)
• A Genesis • A History • A Single-panel Comic Strip • A Gallery • A Continuation •
A Genesis
In the beginning, one simple attendance problem elicited an equally simple solution, facilitated by one of the earliest and most simple digital tools: Paint.
(2022’08’17’W)
(L-R, front: Candasay, T’Adam [inset], A.A.Ron. Back: CtCloser)
A History
Take a historical journey into the evolution of the practice.
A Single-panel Comic Strip
One evolutionary stage found the attendance photo the basis of a virtual “comic strip” in one panel with three sections.
In the absence of other techniques that otherwise generate attention, observers engage with pictures the same way they read; in Westernized culture, left to right. This comic-strip panel draws attention first to the center of the picture where hands are on display like rays from a light source. The observer’s eye then moves from the left to the right flanking sections.
(2024’02’22’W)
(L-R: A.A.Ron, Stacey, Maria, Jason [back], [noob] Pam, Eric’S [back], [noob] Jay, Train David [back], CtCloser, Adelaide)
A glance at the caption and the bracketed three-fold conversation challenges the observer to understand the photographic account in a narrative sequence that actually does begin from the left.
The first section features an element pasted from an earlier image in the process of staging the pose: It is artificially framed. A shoe provides one visual tip off that not everything is what it initially appears. The second (central) section derives from the pose as the intended attendance record. No graphic element is necessary to frame it as the eye moves from left to right. The framing in the right-most section of a third particular element highlights a character foil who has artificially frozen her action for her own tongue-in-cheek contribution to the attendance record.
A Gallery
View a gallery of the best of this genre.
A Continuation
The use of Paint, as a simple digital editor, continues to enhance the humor in attendance photos. For more: Still More Enhanced Attendance Photos
(2024’07’17’W)
(Photos courtesy GGR Aaron. L-R: Train Dave, Andrew, Jim, A.A.Ron, Cuz [of Andrew], Adelaide [behind, or maybe in front, depending on the perspective], Theresa, Sam, Li)
Go up one level
2025’11’20’R: Updated (Navigation bar)
2025’01’09’R: Updated (New link to “Still More…”)
2024’08’20’T: Updated (Addition of “For more”)
2024’07’18’F: Updated (Addition of “State of the Art section.” Editing.)
2024’04’25’R: Published
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