
Images, Reality, and Digital Culture
Towards a Post-Pictorial Condition
Kresimir Purgar(Editor)
Routledge (Publisher)
1st Edition
Published on 28. September 2025
Book
Hardback
202 pages
978-1-032-81804-7 (ISBN)
Description
Focusing on the moment of transition from the pictorial to the post-pictorial condition, this book advocates the opinion that what fundamentally distinguishes pictorial representation in Western civilization is one's ability to distinguish what the picture shows from what the picture refers to, and to that extent the reality inside the picture cannot be confused with what is outside it.
The contributions in this book serve as kind of a "missing link", connecting the genealogy of traditional images with contemporary environmental visualizations in the world that in this very moment undergoes a transition into a new, exciting age in which many old knowledges are rapidly becoming obsolete, and new ones are seeking their legitimacy. Instead of leading the reader to reconciliation with the fatal diagnosis of the world under the rule of technological determinism, this book indicates the key points of transition between the pictorial representation that traditionally "belonged" to the history of art and the virtual presence that is approached in quite different ways today.
This book will be of interest to scholars working in art history, image philosophy, image studies, and digital studies.
The contributions in this book serve as kind of a "missing link", connecting the genealogy of traditional images with contemporary environmental visualizations in the world that in this very moment undergoes a transition into a new, exciting age in which many old knowledges are rapidly becoming obsolete, and new ones are seeking their legitimacy. Instead of leading the reader to reconciliation with the fatal diagnosis of the world under the rule of technological determinism, this book indicates the key points of transition between the pictorial representation that traditionally "belonged" to the history of art and the virtual presence that is approached in quite different ways today.
This book will be of interest to scholars working in art history, image philosophy, image studies, and digital studies.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Postgraduate and Undergraduate Advanced
Illustrations
27 s/w Abbildungen, 24 s/w Photographien bzw. Rasterbilder, 3 s/w Zeichnungen
3 Line drawings, black and white; 24 Halftones, black and white; 27 Illustrations, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 246 mm
Width: 174 mm
Weight
560 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-032-81804-7 (9781032818047)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
09/2025
1st Edition
Routledge
€60.99
Available for download

E-Book
09/2025
1st Edition
Routledge
€60.99
Available for download
Person
Kresimir Purgar is a Professor in the Academy of Arts and Culture at J. J. Strossmayer University, Osijek, Croatia.
Content
Introduction: What is the Post-pictorial Condition? PART I THE STATE OF THE IMAGE IN DIGITAL CULTURE 1. Resurgence or Twilight of Images? 2. Welcome to the Desert of the Code. 3. We are All in the Picture. 4. The Visual Politics of Populism 5. Black Hole Picture. 6. Atmosphere, Affection, Visual Cognition. Images and Emotions in Blade Runner 2049 7. Unreal Architecture, Impossible Places. PART III THE STATE OF REALITY IN THE DIGITAL AGE 8. Images and Derealization. 9. From Cyberspace to Virtual Space. 10. Recycling Reality. 11. Reality of the Image, Image of Reality.