Editing Visual pun

{{Short description|Pun involving an image, often a rebus}}
{{Cleanup rewrite|almost the whole article is unsourced and unlikely to be sourced; some new sources are listed in the Further reading section|date=March 2018}}
{{no footnotes|date=September 2014}}
[[File:Batenburg gevelsteen, Prinsengracht, Amsterdam.JPG|thumb|upright|A [[gable stone]] in the village of [[Batenburg]], [[Netherlands]] depicting a visual pun: Batenburg ([[Dutch language|Dutch]] for "profit castle") is shown as a castle turning [[silver coin]]s into more valuable [[gold coin]]s, thus creating [[Profit (accounting)|profit]].]]
A '''visual pun''' is a [[pun]] involving an [[image]] or images (in addition to or instead of [[language]]), often based on a [[rebus]].

Visual puns in which the image is at odds with the inscription are common in [[cartoon]]s such as ''[[Lost Consonants]]'' or ''[[The Far Side]]'' as well as in Dutch [[gable stone]]s. For instance, a gable stone in the village of [[Batenburg]] puns on the words {{lang|nl|baten}} (‘to profit’) and {{lang|nl|burg}} (‘castle’) by depicting silver coins becoming gold in a castle.

European [[heraldry]] contains the technique of [[canting arms]], which can be considered punning.

== In heraldry ==
{{See also|Canting arms}}
Visual puns on the bearer's name are used extensively as forms of heraldic expression.  These are called [[canting arms]]. They have been used for centuries across Europe and have also been used recently by members of the [[British royal family]], such as on the arms of [[Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother]] and of [[Princess Beatrice of York]]. The arms of US Presidents [[Theodore Roosevelt]] and [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] are also [[Canting arms|canting]].

==In visual arts==
[[Surrealist]] artists such as [[Salvador Dalí]], [[René Magritte]], [[Marcel Duchamp]], and  [[Remedios Varo]] made extensive use of visual puns, as they played with shifting perceptions and reality. [[Graphic artist]]s (such as [[Maurits Cornelis Escher]] and [[Noma Bar]]) and [[photographer]]s (such as [[Man Ray]] and [[Dora Maar]]) have used visual puns for a surreal or humorous effect, or to catch the attention of a viewer. Some types of [[optical illusion]]s also operate within the liminal zones of perception. 

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:148FS USAF emblem.png|[[USAF]] squadron emblem shows a kicking donkey (ass) with slogan "Kickin' Ass"
File:Coat of Arms of Theodore Roosevelt.svg|The coat of arms (a [[canting arms]]) of [[Theodore Roosevelt|Roosevelt]], whose name means “rose [[Veldt|field]]” in Dutch.
File:Allisvanity.jpg|''All is Vanity'' (1892) by [[Charles Allan Gilbert|C. Allan Gilbert]] (the table is a [[vanity table|vanity]])
File:Royal Standard of Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother.svg|[[Royal standard]] of [[Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother]] (a [[canting arms]]), her maiden name being [[Bowes-Lyon]]: bows and lions.
File:Toronto Towers (1).jpg|A lamppost (foreground) and Toronto's [[CN Tower]] (in distance)
File:Computer mouse trap.jpg|A [[computer mouse]] caught in a [[mousetrap]] typically used for [[Mouse|live mice]]
File:Washington crossing the Delaware, Scranton PA.JPG|[[George Washington|Washington]] [[George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River|crossing the]] [[Delaware River|Delaware]]
</gallery>

== See also ==
* [[Japanese rebus monogram]]
* [[Slapstick]]

==Further reading==
* Christian Hempelmann and Andrea C. Samson. “Visual Puns and Verbal Puns: Descriptive Analogy or False Analogy?” In: Diana Popa and Salvatore Attardo (Eds.), “New Approaches to the Linguistics of Humor.” Galati: Dunarea de Jos. 2007. 180-196.
* {{cite web|last1=Heller|first1=Steven|title=The Object Poster, the Visual Pun, and 3 Other Ideas That Changed Design|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/04/the-object-poster-the-visual-pun-and-3-other-ideas-that-changed-design/255797/|website=[[The Atlantic]]|access-date=10 March 2018|date=12 April 2012}}
* {{cite web|last1=Shnidman|first1=Ronen|title=Dror Karta's Play With Visual Pun|url=https://www.algemeiner.com/2012/02/08/dror-karta%E2%80%99s-play-with-visual-pun/|website=[[Algemeiner Journal]]|access-date=10 March 2018|date=8 February 2012}}
* {{cite web|last1=Mendoza|first1=Manuel|title=Bridgman{{!}}Packer creates visual puns, evokes sensuous mystery by blending dance with video imagery|url=https://www.dallasnews.com/arts/dance/2017/01/28/bridgmanpacker-creates-visual-puns-evokes-sensuous-mystery-blending-dance-video-imagery|website=[[The Dallas Morning News|Dallas News]]|access-date=10 March 2018|language=en|date=28 January 2017}}
* {{cite web|last1=Mufson|first1=Beckett|title=Korean Artist Makes Visual Puns from Pop Culture|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/korean-artist-makes-visual-puns-from-pop-culture--monday-insta-illustrator/|website=Creators|publisher=[[Vice Media|Vice Media LLC]]|access-date=10 March 2018|language=en-us|date=21 December 2015}}
* {{cite web|last1=Wilson|first1=P.F.|title=Can you guess Matthew Broussard's visual puns?|url=http://www.citypages.com/arts/can-you-guess-matthew-broussards-visual-pun-7983257|website=[[City Pages]]|access-date=10 March 2018|date=25 January 2016}}
* {{cite web|last1=Boyd|first1=Chris|title=La Vie Dans Une Marionette: visual puns, no strings attached|url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/stage/la-vie-dans-une-marionette-visual-puns-no-strings-attached/news-story/f8dc562cf5ec9335111431dd46fffd9c|website=[[The Australian]]|access-date=10 March 2018|language=en|date=18 January 2018}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Abed |first1=Farough |title=Visual Puns as Interactive Illustrations: Their Effects on Recognition Memory |journal=Metaphor and Symbolic Activity |date=March 1994 |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=45–60 |doi=10.1207/s15327868ms0901_3}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Humour]]
[[Category:Puns]]


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