The Image

Images have become a source of knowledge and persuasion as powerful as the written word. And yet the image, as it manifests itself in painting, cinema, journalism, TV and photography, remains an enigmatic device. This text provides a theoretical account of the image, centred around five major questions - what does it mean to see an image? Who watches the image? How is the relationship between viewer and image regulated? How does the image "represent" the real world? Why do we classify some images as art? Introduction -- Ch. 1. The Role Of The Eye -- I. What The Eye Does -- Ii. From The Visible To The Visual -- Iii. From The Visual To The Imaginary -- Iv. Conclusion: The Eye And The Image -- Ch. 2. The Role Of The Spectator -- I. The Image And Its Spectator -- Ii. The Representational Illusion -- Iii. The Spectator As Desiring Subject -- Iv. Conclusion: The Anthropology Of The Spectator -- Ch. 3. The Role Of The Apparatus -- I. The Spatial Dimension Of The Apparatus -- Ii. The Temporal Dimension Of The Apparatus -- Iii. Apparatus, Technology And Ideology -- Iv. Conclusion: Apparatus And History -- Ch. 4. The Role Of The Image -- I. Analogy -- Ii. Represented Space -- Iii. Represented Time -- Iv. Signification In The Image -- Ch. 5. The Role Of Art -- I. The Abstract Image -- Ii. The Expressive Image -- Iii. The Auratic Image -- Iv. A Civilization Of Images? -- Index. Jacques Aumont ; Translated By Claire Pajackowska. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Provides a theoretical account of the image, centred around five major questions - what does it mean to see an image? Who watches the image? How is the relationship between viewer and image regulated? How does the image "represent" the real world? And why do we classify some images as art?