Visual Impact Culture and the Meaning of Images

by Wright, Terence

• ISBN13: 9781859734735
• ISBN10: 1859734731
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-01-15
• Publisher: Berg Pub Ltd

Summary

From the office to domestic interiors to shops, images surround us in modern life. The internet has increased this visual onslaught exponentially. Is there a systematic order to this seemingly endless array of pictures and depictions? Looking at picture-making traditions around the world, the author demonstrates how schemes of depiction are ordered throughout all ages and across all cultures. Drawing on a wide range of examples - from painting and drawing to film, photography and the web - Visual Impact analyzes the theory and practice of visual representation. Pictures and images provide a cognitive context through which people can explore and understand their world. They frame and shape daily life. By considering the techniques and systems that inform visual displays, the author examines how cultural values and traditions shape particular visual styles. Drawing on the growing field of visual anthropology, Visual Impact sets image making in an historical and global context, and uses it as a window for exploring the human condition at a deeper level. Anyone interested in the cultural role of art, film and the internet will find this book an exciting and stimulating read.

Author Biography

TERENCE WRIGHT is Reader in Critical, Historical and Theoretical Studies in Visual Art at the University of Ulster.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	p. vii
Preface	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
Perception and Representation	p. 15
Perceiving Images	p. 33
Cultural Representation	p. 49
News Media and Pictorial Tradition	p. 65
The Representation of Refugees	p. 87
Collateral Coverage	p. 103
æTo Boldly Go': Digital Media and Interactive Narratives	p. 121
Theory into Practice: The interactive Village	p. 141
Conclusion	p. 155
Notes	p. 157
References	p. 167
Index	p. 187
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