Summary Aantekeningen Visual Culture

Visual Culture in Latin America


Lecture 1: A Theory of Visual Culture


James J Gibson: direct link between what we do and what we see
 visual culture incites action
Ecological Approach: - Perception is direct
- Perception is for the control of action
- We directly perceive action relevant properties (affordances) via specifying
information

We scan the visual field, even while thinking to ourselves

We look through frames
* Comics: frames are given
 scan the frames: is something happening?

We are like animals, for our safety best to be directly able to act. Everything we see, what can it be?
It immediately comes to our mind. Do I need to do something? Safety.

Visual culture incites to action.

Gibson:
no interpretation = no textual interpretation, but there is unconscious interpretation in the visual

We are attracted to solving puzzles. If you look at something, and you ask yourself, do I need to do
something? You are building on some kind of experience. Unconscious interpretation of doing
something, or not. There is unconscious interpretation for your future actions.
 Cognitive psychology



Alva Noë: we walk around in a world and everything in the world comes to you  world by your
ecologic experiences
* They do things and correct them later

Sensory data  Knowledge stored in the brain  Inference about what is out there

The “producer” of an artifact of visual culture inevitably needs to attract viewers

Attraction: boring pictures, nobody looks. If you have a picture on the newspaper front page, make it
important and relevant, make it attractive.

Trokes: you immediately start thinking what it is
 thoughts guide our actions

Boring versus attention
 attracted to solving riddles
 form & stories

Storytelling: visual storytelling, they do it when they are able, way of surviving
* Attract people by building up stories behind a story and then the interpretation

, Form:
An arrangement, order or form discernible in things, actions, ideas, etc.
 Signaling regularities in the world : attracted to order
The idea of leaving chaos, to restore order activates the brain to act

Playing with form can be important. How do we solve these puzzles? We have a basic core about the
things we see. When we look at something, we compare what we have in our mind, with something
we see. It can never be the same. It can look alike (resemblances)


Method = family resemblances anchored in convincing narratives

Order in itself is boring/recognizing forms is attractive
Chaos and uncertainty inspires people to act
 attracted to order
- the idea of leaving chaos
- to restore order
- activates the brain to act



Method = family resemblances anchored in convincing narratives
- Familienähnlichkeit (Wittgenstein): could be thought to be connected by common characteristics or
overlapping similarities
- Warburg: something from the past recognized in the pictures : family resemblance
* What is made by the artist: doing/standing



Cognitive Schemata

We scan the world around us and immediately think what we should do or not. Visual artists play
with this, with complexities. When we don’t understand something we see, we need to find out. We
are attracted to it.

Schemas look static, but it is not. They are also static, because some things hardly change at all.
Changing things can be done quickly. You change your schema when you learn new things. You smell
fire, you start looking around. It’s dangerous.

We scan, we control
Building up
Core idea of family resemblance : schema

Memory works with cognitive schemata:
- schemata = categories
- editing of experiences
- script = event
- stimulus e.g. a sign

Being able to categorize, efficient judgement.
Processing information quickly, adapt to situations rapidly, advantages usually. Until we accidently do
something wrong. Schemas are largely implicit, they operate. You have automatic categories.