Killian Coen

Visual Argument Assignment

Part 1:
Visual Argument

INRI

Part 2:
Reflective Analysis

In brainstorming topics, my goal was to use as the basis of this assignment something that
I personally value and have stake in. In the end, I chose the topic of religion. In looking at
various religious imagery, one immediately notices that each religion has its own symbol that
marks its followers. It is from this pool of images that I constructed my visual argument in an
effort to make the claim that all religions deserve equal treatment and respect. I chose two
images integral to my personal history and combined them in order to craft the image; the Pagan
Thors Hammer and the Christian Cross of Christ. I hope that this image speaks to those who
seek religious equality, and that this audience would feel that the symbol is different from others
of its kind.
I wanted my image to have a strong and immediate impact on its audience. As such, the
visual coherence is kept relatively straight-forward and stark in nature, and elements are arranged
according to a sort of visual unity that communicates religious unity. The starkness is achieved
through the designs solid black color, thick lines, and clean composition. It is the unity of this
piece that garnered most of the design attention. To begin, both symbols were arranged so that
they are combined and form a single image; the end of the hammer is the circle around the cross,
and the cross runs through the hammers handle. The fact that the images are combined in
addition to their identical color and weight communicates that both images are equally salient in
the design, and thus equally important images.
With each image are contained other smaller images that make the whole piece more
accessible to an audience, as well as further reinforce the message of unity. On top of the Cross

is a box that reads INRI, which is designed to mimic the sign that was hung over the Cross of
Christ. Within Thors Hammer are the runes that spell out MJOLNIR, the name for the hammer
in Norse. The fact that both images contain words gives them equal visual importance. In
addition, both words are themselves symbols that are widely known to represent both religions,
thus hopefully aiding in the audiences accessibility to the piece as a whole.
The last image contained in the piece are the crossed characters P and X in the middle
of the hammers handle. This symbol is otherwise known as the Chi-Roh, and is an ancient
Roman symbol that represents Christ. The location of the Chi-Roh in the middle of the image,
between the Runic script and Roman script, is meant to call the viewers attention to how similar
the symbol the Christ looks to the runes that are directly beneath it. The visual similarity between
the word INRI at the top, the Chi-Roh symbol in the middle, and the runes at the bottom again
hits the viewer with the idea of unity. In order to aid all three images accessibility, the images
were also arranged from smallest to largest, guiding the viewers eye to each visual one.
It is my hope that the plain nature of this image will make it easily adaptable to use in
different contexts, (tattoos, t-shirts, bumper stickers, etc.) as well as easily customizable to fit
different contexts, or even to a specific individual whom the symbol speaks to. Wherever it is
used, its message of religious equality will remain the same.

Part 3:
Evaluation