‘Visibility’: A Materialist Study of Images

Abstract

This article examines methodological discussions around existing approaches to visual analysis. In light of emerging cultural theories that conceive affective forces as materialities, it suggests images are forms of cultural materialities. The article features art criticism, cultural theories and philosophical discussions that exemplify a materialist understanding of visual analysis. Finally, I claim that a materialist study of images and the recuperation of their ontological status offer a potent lens for bridging a range of Humanities disciplines within which visual analyses are central (visual culture, art history, cultural studies).