Digital Imaging Technology

Abstract

In this chapter, I examine one sense in which digital images are digital; namely, in virtue of being made and presented with digital technology. I begin by outlining some general theoretical commitments regarding the nature and conditions of appreciation. Broadly speaking, the appreciation of art is to be understood in terms of the differential exercise of cognitive skills. Such skills can be exercised when an appreciator takes into account the distinctively digital technology involved in both the production and the screening of digital images. I give some important background on the functioning of computers and digital display tools. This background helps us understand the debate surrounding potential aesthetic losses and gains when working creatively with digital, as opposed to analog, tools.