
Most everybody has heard the saying “A picture is worth a thousand words,” It is true that when artists use visual elements like lines, spacing, color, and focus, a picture is able to display a message to its viewers without the use of actual words. Often times, pictures and images can portray a deeper meaning behind a message that words are not able to do. The image that is going to be reviewed and reflected on shows two different children who come from two completely different backgrounds. The drawing is black and white and shows the polarity of our world by depicting a young boy who is struggling to make it by eating scraps off the ground, and an innocent-looking baby who is teething on an Apple iPad. Even though the children are both very young, the viewer can already tell that their childhood and growing up will be nowhere near similar. The children represent the opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to living in poverty and living privileged. With the help of color, texture, and focus, the artist of this drawing is able to display the difference between first world and third world countries.

It is unclear about where the two children grew up or where their current residency is, but the viewer can easily spot that they both come from different families with different financial statuses. The baby’s family is obviously more well off and has enough money lying around for their baby to slobber all over a very expensive product. The older boy seems to be struggling to find food to eat and probably does not have the kind of money to spend like the baby’s family does. The boy seems to be wearing a baggy, dirty shirt saying that he might not have enough money to buy other clothes to wear, either. Viewers cannot really see what the baby is wearing, but the little part that is visible looks very white and clean. Another important part of the picture is the black shaded area in the back behind the children. It is to play the part as a barrier almost. It separates the two from their separate “worlds” they live in and is taller than both of the children displaying how great the problem at hand is. Even though the shaded area is there to show a separation, the two children are also overlapping which can show they might be closer in the world than one might think. The baby is in front of the older boy stating that his social class is higher than the boys’ behind him. It is almost as if the baby shows some sort of supremacy towards the other boy. They both share the same skin color which might not seem significant, but the artist of this drawing might be trying to tell the viewer something with it. They are both white which could mean they come from similar regions or areas. The fact is that even though America is not considered a poor country, many people have it just as rough in the US as they do in poorer, outside countries. Poverty breeds poverty and the young boy in the picture might have gotten caught up in just that.

Color plays a huge role in this image. Even though the picture consists of mostly black, white, or grey it shows how important and deep the message behind the image is. The artist of this drawing wanted the people viewing this to feel some type of way towards the older child. The focus is more on him rather than the baby because of the color the boy has on him. His shirt is wrinkly and dirty, causing shadows and dark stains. As stated before, the two have the same skin color, but they boy’s is darker because of the dirt on him. The only slightly colored part of this image is the food the young boy is eating off the ground. This can portray many things. One might say that it is not significant to this drawing and the coloring has nothing to do with the meaning. Others might feel as though the food being colored is not a coincidence at all and goes beyond what one might think at first glance. Food gives people brainpower and nutrients to function. It is the only thing somewhat colored in this picture because it is the only thing that either of the two children have that is important and is needed to survive. Sure, an iPad is nice to have, but nobody really needs one in their life to survive. Therefore, it is not colored. One could also point out the fact that the iPad is much bigger in size than the food. These two things can represent how much each child has materialistically. The iPad is almost the size of the child that is holding it which can say the baby has been given so much in his life already. The older boy who barely has any food, might not be as blessed in that area. The food is the smallest item in the drawing indicating that the older child might not have nearly as much as the baby. Color and size of the objects plays a huge role in deciphering the meaning behind this drawing.

The direction each child is facing shows significance, as well. Staring off into space probably not knowing what is going on, is the baby. Focused strictly on what he is eating in front of him is the older boy. The baby does not know any better or does not know what he is trying to eat while the older boy knows just how important the food is that he’s eating. The boy might not know the next time he will be getting to eat so he takes advantage of spotting the food on the ground and eats it. The baby gnaws on an iPad because he knows no different and just eats whatever is presented in front of him. He is probably used to eating on a schedule and might have just gotten hungry while playing on it. Texture is another visual element that can help viewers find out what the artist is trying to tell them. Of course, the viewer cannot actually feel the texture of how a picture might look, but the way a picture is drawn out can show if an object is meant to be rough or smooth. The texture of the objects in the drawing can explain the boy’s lifestyle and how they are different. The baby is very smooth looking. Not seeming to have any wrinkles or dark marks on him, he holds his smooth iPad which has nothing dark on it except the Apple logo. The older boy has many wrinkles in his shirt and has dirty skin implicating that his life is a little more complex than the baby’s. While the baby has nothing to worry about and is growing up in a very privileged home, the older boy seems to not know where his next meal is coming from or when it’s coming.

There are many ways design elements can help in making a picture speak louder than words. The viewer must pay attention to not only what the picture is blatantly of, but also the color, lines, spacing, and focus on what the artist is trying to portray. Using these elements, the viewer of this image are able to tell that these children come from very opposite families and have very opposite lives. This shows that the American society is much more privileged than other parts of the world. It also shows how people can take advantage of things like food, shelter, and good clothing that others aren’t as fortunate to have.  They can see how serious this problem is by the coloring, and how the two are separated by the dark shaded area in the back. A lot of times, pictures and images can speak louder than words. This is just one example of that true testament. 
