ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the mechanics of visual perception more specifically, including the physiology and neurology of seeing and also the visual apparatuses and technologies people have developed over the centuries as aids for seeing. Modern neurophysiology has determined that something like half the brain is dedicated to visual recognition, and that how and what we see is tied up with our physiological structure. The chapter addresses the relationship between mechanisms of perception and the types of ‘visions’ they produce. It looks at cultural frames such as photography, film and 3-D or interactive devices, and discusses their effect on seeing and perceiving. The chapter examines the ways in which post-Renaissance notions of ‘seeing’ and mapping space have contributed to our understanding of the contemporary world. Finally, it discusses some of the technologies of reproducing line and image—particularly the digital technologies involved in seeing—and their effect on our perspective of the world.
