ABSTRACT
All technologies have a limited optical resolution, which depends on, for instance, aperture, wavelength, contrast, and angular resolution. In optical systems, the quality of the rendered image depends on the resolving power and acutance of the technological assemblage that renders the image; the light of the source or subject that is captured; and the context and conditions in which the image is recorded. Just as in the realm of optics, a resolution does not just mean a final rendition of the data on the screen, but also involves the processes and affordances involved during its rendition – the trade-offs inside the technological assemblage which record, produce, and display the image. The more complex an image-processing technology is, the more actors its rendering entails, each following their own rules or standards to resolve an image, influencing the image’s final resolution. A resolution is the lens through which constituted materialities become signifiers in their own right.
