A Phenomenon of Visual Turn and Visual Studies in Contemporary Culture

Abstract

With references to such well known scholars of visual culture as T. Mittchel, M. Jay and V. Flusser, the author examines the phenomenon of visual turn—shows how and why twentieth century philosophers and scholars are interested in visual culture and how visuality conquered various socio-cultural spaces. Interfaces between pictorial turn and privileging of vision over the other senses (ocularcentrism) and new technologies are analyzed. The author argues that visual turn should not be understood as a mechanical copying of reality or an act without creativity, therefore it is different from ancient theory of mimesis. Thus this paper disclose concept of visual, which represents not a return to traditional theory of adequacy, but rather it represents a re-discovered post-linguistic image created by interaction of imagination, conceptual creative process and visible reality. Interfaces among popular visual studies and various social sciences and humanities are analyzed; their testing problems and methods are highlighted. Conclude that scholar’s attention focused toward visual studies and rousing of new visual studies programs at various universities and high schools is connected with domination of visual aspect in contemporary culture and rapidly growing need for specialists who could work in various fields of visual culture. The author argues that visual studies are interdisciplinary phenomenon, but they could be treated as a separate discipline, even if having rather studio than scientific nature. The aim of visual studies is to create and present theories to help understand how images function in the wider cultural sphere. By analyzing development of visual studies in contemporary Lithuania the author conclude that it is very dynamic and popular field.