Pictures as Communicative Media. Constituents of a General Image Science

Abstract

This book presents a conceptual cartography of the basic concepts spanning the field of image uses: the systematic development of an overarching theoretical frame aiming at a common philosophical foundation for relating the many image studies. That common ground is intended as a general transdisciplinary framework that allows us to compare different image approaches and "translate" their peculiar perspectives into a shared rational discourse. It combines a semiotic approach with aspects of perception associated with phenomenological approaches by characterizing images as signs close to perception, which can be adapted to the manifold image types and image media. Pictures as Communicative Media systematically develops that core conceptualization, taking into account the image-external factors that influence the interrelations between semiotic and perceptual image aspects.