ABSTRACT
Scholars in numerous fields, from philosophy to art history and politics, have started to engage these challenges, so much so that we can perhaps speak of a pictorial turn: a new and heightened awareness of the role that the visual plays in the world today. This chapter provides a brief sketch of critique of visual culture: when identifying a pictorial turn and highlighting the crucial role that images play in politics, it is important not to fall into the commonly held view that images have replaced words as the dominant mode of expression in our time. Politics, especially in a society that aspires to democratic values, is also deeply connected with issues of representation and mediation, not only the formal linkages between "representatives" and constituencies, but also the production of political power through the use of media.
