Blog #2

In Hamilton’s article, I really liked the idea that literacy is all around us; that we can take a picture of out surroundings and more often than not be surrounded by literacy artifacts or activities, with all of us being participants without even realizing it. after reading that article, it really struck me how without even knowing it we’re surrounded by words but we’re so desensitized to it that we don’t even realize it. Literally, the only way we can escape literacy artifacts and activities would be to travel to unsettled or extremely rural areas in the country- even then there’s the chance that once could stumble upon a sign or garbage or even abandoned books.it’s very difficult to escape literacy, but not impossible, and I find that really awesome, given that the opportunities to read and learn are literally everywhere.

Did you know that  you could buy a haunted house doormat for $29.95 from Crate & Barrel? Neither did I, until I read their Fall 2014 catalog conveniently located on my mom’s kitchen table. This probably isn’t what you had in mind for ‘learning something new’ but the point still stands.

The picture I chose was an image of Times Square in New York City.  There aren’t any active participants- you can hardly even see the people in the photograph- and the setting of this image is the main focus. The location is the only thing that matters, and the artifacts are the ads pasted and displayed on the buildings in the city. No activities with the artifacts are obvious in the picture. According to Hamilton’s article, my image would be categorized as ‘Literacy in the environment’. it’s significant because Times Square is iconic for not only North America, but for the music and fashion industry as well as pop culture and many other global aspects. Times Square has two main physical characteristics- the buildings and Advertisements. One could argue that we are surrounded by literacy, with Times Square being a symbol for Americans in particular. That’s not to say other country’s are left out; they just have their own locations.