Picturebooks
Picture Theory
On 20, Dec 2015 | In Picturebooks | By Chris Vitale
Mitchell, W. J. T. Picture Theory. Essays on Verbal and Visual Representation. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994. Print.
Referrer: Carrie Hintz
Categories: picture theory, visual language, definitions, iconology
Annotation:
This longer work discusses picture theory in depth. The picture and it’s meaning are expounded upon to a great degree in this important endeavor. Concepts like visual language, iconology, visual narrative, are all given their footing in Mitchell’s text. Mitchell is attempting to give credence to pictures and their representational nature. Mitchell points out that there is a “pictorial” turn happening that forces us to ask what work pictures are involved in. He does this in relation to film as well as the use of visual images to influence sociopolitical and cultural moments. His main goal is to establish “picture theory” as a way to understand the function of the medium. In order to marry art, photography, and other visual cultures, we need to create a singular unifying theory.
