Visual culture is being forged and becoming more widespread due to imaging technologies. It is instrumental in imposing the ideologies of dominant authoritative structures on individuals. Visual culture has also begun to influence and transform the qualitative foundations of aesthetic perception. These developments were also have an impact on art education. Recent years have seen an increase in studies relating to visual culture in the field of art education. And in the field of criticism, the quantitative increase in semiotic studies is especially noteworthy. The semiotic approach deals with meaning, signification and the manufacture of meaning. It is thought that the analytical methods proposed by semiotics might be more effective in the criticism of visual culture in art education. The study will seek to answer: What is visual culture? What is semiotics? What are the core topics of visual culture studies and utilizing semiotic method on them in art education? The study will employ descriptive analysis – a qualitative research method. The study indicates that research made on visual culture concentrates on ideology and power, representation, attraction, perception, intertextuality and polymorphism which can also be studied using semiotic method.
Keywords: Art education, visual culture, semiotic method, art criticism, fine arts.