CHArt Computers and the History of Art CHArt 2000 Conference Paper Abstracts

VISUAL CULTURE AND THE NEW MILLENNIUM

Anna Bentkowska,
Courtauld Institute of Art

Moving Images, Shifting Notions. Who can trust the digital image?

In The Last Dinosaur Book published in 1998, the art historian, W.J.T. Mitchell put forward an idea that images might live like a species. A year later Walking with Dinosaurs amazed its television audience by the photo-realistic image of life on earth in the Mesozoic era, which was created through a digital photo-montage of small-scale animatronic models and computer models of pre-historic giants, pasted into film shots of modern, South American habitats. The 'living' digital imagery of this 'documentary' has probably replaced, once and forever, the familiar, static image of dinosaurs as gigantic, petrified skeletons housed in natural history museums. The new, complete image of a walking dinosaur has not only reduced one's scope for imagination, but also filled gaps in this particular field with questionable data. Walking with Dinosaurs illustrates to the letter Mitchell's view of images being an extension to organic life. Images, and digital images in particular, can indeed be modified, tampered with, reproduced and cloned like living organisms. In another television programme produced in 1999, World War II was shown through the use of original black and white film footage from the 1940s, which had been edited digitally in colour. The manipulation of documentary material, in this particular case, resulted in an image 'truer' to the real events.

Whether in history, natural history or history of art, the increasing use of manipulated digital imagery has a direct effect on the interpretation of historic material. Although playing with images is as old as human creativity, the techniques of computer graphics seem to push the limits of what is possible beyond the control of the beholder; the criteria which he was able to rely upon in order to assess the authority of a visual record are no longer sufficient. With changing conventions and shifting notions can the digital image still be trusted? In the history of art in particular, a photographic reproduction used to enjoy an almost sacrosanct status comparable with the original work of art it represented. Despite its technical limitations, the reliability of an art reproduction as a true record was hardly ever questioned. Important interpretations and misinterpretations, based on the analysis of a photograph have been formulated. Digital reproductions can be seen as a natural extension of old photographs, but there is uncertainty in how to assess their reliability. This paper seeks to readdress some of the issues pertaining to the role of digital images as a form of knowledge.