The Reality of Pictures

A wonderful introduction to the perception and reception of pictures – from the fundamental understanding of reality in a picture to the experience of art. Pictures: mirrored reflections, cloud formations, a magical symbol, a hologram, a monument to the unknown soldier, a landscape painting in the museum, a TV news item, the pictograph on a traffic sign, the face of a saint in a mosaic, a photograph from the trenches. What is it that turns these images into memorable pictures? How do we perceive them, sensually and mentally? What is the relationship between reproduction and reality, imitation and imagination? What makes a picture a work of art? Answers to these questions are provided in Reinhard Brandts new book. It is, in the best sense an elementary book, a primer of seeing and perception.