IMAGEPOWER

POLITICS

looking is a social practice

looking is a social practice

-historical moment-social meaning-intent of the creator

looking is a social practice

-historical moment-social meaning-intent of the creator

*practices of looking also form power relationships. the choice to look, or not look is an act of power.

REPRESENTATION:the use of language and images to create meaning about the world

around us.

MIMESIS:a concept that understands

representation as a process of imitating or mirroring the real

without taking into account how coded and conventions of

representation impact meaning .

THE MYTH OF PHOTOGRAPHIC TRUTH

POSITIVISM:the philosophy that scientific

knowledge is the only authentic knowledge, and concerns itself with truths about the world.

in positivism, machines were regarded as more reliable than unaided human

sensory perception.

Roland Barthes1915-1980

DENOTATIVE:an image’s literal, descriptive meaning

--

CONNOTATIVE:reliance on cultural and historical context, as

well as viewer’s shared experience and knowledge of these contexts

DENOTATIVE:an image’s literal, descriptive meaning

VS.

CONNOTATIVE:reliance on cultural and historical context, as

well as viewer’s shared experience and knowledge of these contexts

IMAGES AND IDEOLOGY