Picture Theory: Essays on Verbal and Visual Representation

by W.J. Thomas Mitchell

What precisely, W. J. T. Mitchell asks, are pictures (and theories of pictures) doing now, in the late twentieth century, when the power of the visual is said to be greater than ever before, and the "pictorial turn" supplants the "linguistic turn" in the study of culture? This book by one of America's leading theorists of visual representation offers a rich account of the interplay between the visible and the readable across culture, from literature to visual art to the mass media.

Genres: Art, Theory, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Art History, Research, Cultural

462 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

William J. Thomas Mitchell is a professor of English and Art History at the University of Chicago. Editor of the journal Critical Inquiry.

His monographs, Iconology (1986) and Picture Theory (1994), focus on media theory and visual culture. He draws on ideas from Sigmund Freud and Karl Marx to demonstrate that, essentially, we must consider pictures to be living things. His collection of essays What Do Pictures Want? (2005) won the Modern Language Association's prestigious James Russell Lowell Prize in 2005. In a recent podcast interview Mitchell traces his interest in visual culture to early work on William Blake, and his then burgeoning interest in developing a science of images. In that same interview he discusses his ongoing efforts to rethink visual culture as a form of life and in light of digital media.

Reviews

[Dennis · Rating 1 out of 5]

Reading this book is like walking into the middle of a heady conversation between two hoity-toity art historians who don't stop to brief you on what they discussed so far. You have to catch up on your own and even though you expend a lot of effort trying to do so, the two art historians try their best to ignore you. They may even sneer at you for being so unrefined. Ultimately, you regret joining this duo and try to gracefully walk away to another group where a lively debate is raging on a more accessible topic (e.g., comic books).

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

What's good in this book, is really good. Particularly, Mitchell's discussion of William Blake is astounding and I found myself captivated by it. Unfortunately, his language could go up for a "most unreadable theoretical discourse" award. I read this during grad school and it helped me to rethink several things about the relationship between the word and image (hence, the Blake piece), but ultimately I am having trouble remembering everything I read. The brilliant moments are brilliant, but the rest is almost too hard to decipher. Especially if you aren't up on what's happening in the art world.

[Cobarde · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un sujeto bastante agradable este Mitchell, habilidoso el cabro

[Raúl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mitchell es uno de los más reputados investigadores acerca de la imagen de hoy en día. Sus textos, que llegan a España con cuentagotas, son visiones críticas sobre el estado de la cuestión, sobre la representación, la evolución de la forma en que apreciamos las imágenes, su relación con el lenguaje, con nuestros deseos y con la ideología. "Picture Theory" tiene una doble acepción, la de Teoría de la Imagen, pero también la de Imaginizar la Teoría y bajo este doble punto de vista, correspondiente a la revolución del "Giro imaginal", debe ser contemplado.

[Dora · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mitchell, as I expected, did not disappoint me with regards to the quality of his work. The examples he provides are extensive and clear, though some references are a bit too complex for my taste and would need a lot more either research or background knowledge (his style is usually a bit simpler than this - at least from my previous experience). Nevertheless, for anyone interested in the relationship between language and pictures, or as the title says "verbal and visual representation", this book is a great resource, but I would not recommend it for anyone just getting into this topic or anything similar to it. You'd better read up on your philosophy first (especially aesthetics and post-modern philosophers).

[sus ⊹⟡₊⋆∘ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Non lo so Rick, potresti anche parlare un po' piú come mangi, e non riempiendoti la bocca di paroloni e frase contorte e periodi infiniti solo per sentirti intellettualmente superiore mentre mi dici che il le immagini e il digitale non sono mostri cattivi. Cosí per dire eh.

[Michela C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A parte un paio di capitoli, che all'inizio mi hanno non poco spaventato, è piuttosto leggibile e interessante.

[Evan Ash]

Compelling but not all essays are of equal quality. Really interesting discussion of the public sphere vis-a-vis Do The Right Thing.

[Birch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Weird but loved it

[Samuele Lo Grasso · Rating 3 out of 5]

2º libro per la testi.

Tanti spunti, tanti discorsi interessanti, ma si danno troppe cose per scontate, forse perché è indirizzato a un pubblico molto più informato.
Miiiiiii che fatica.

[Jessica Zu]

Only read the required chapters. A turning reading experience.