The Antropology of New Visuality as the Reflection on "Digital" Visual Culture (original) (raw)

2012, Visualist 2012 International Congress on Visual Culture: New Approaches Communication, Art and Design „Digitalization”, eds. Işık Zeybek, Deniz Yengin, Papers/Volume I, Istanbul: Istanbul Kültür University Art and Design Faculty, p. 96–106, (pp. 11)

Abstract: The Anthropology of New Visuality is a project formulated by Arturo Escobar concerning visual aspects of the Anthropology of Cyberculture. The issues addressed in this project include new forms of visuality in the context of "digital" technologies of seeing. Within this theoretical scope the technologies of virtual reality, the technologies of the control of public and private spaces as well as the technologies of net-work are included. The main thesis of this article is based on conviction that Escobar’s project finds new research areas in Visual Culture Studies and is discussed basing on the research of theoreticians indentifying themselves with this field of knowledge. The name “the anthropology of new visuality” was proposed by Ryszard W. Kluszczyński, who came to the conclusion that its theoretical scope are included within: technologies of virtual reality, technologies of control of public and private space, and network technologies. The research contexts within its scope of this article have been divided into three groups of issues: “virtual cultures”, “panoptical cultures”, and “interface cultures”. On the one hand, "virtual cultures" include the issue of new visualities, which are the effect of functioning of various types of virtual realities. On the other hand, "panoptical cultures" are a current reflection, which refers Michel Foucault’s theories directly to web-cameras monitoring private, public and satellite space, as well as to the pro-cinema media (photography, panorama as well as diorama). Whereas, "cultures of interface" are aspects of identity on-line, telepresence, and "artificial life", which are obtained by means of Internet and web-cameras monitoring private and public space.