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An Introduction to Visual Culture by Nicholas Mirzoeff 1999 274 pages Complementary Texts Rudolf Arnheim Edward Tufte Gunther Kress and Theo Van Leeuwen Mark Johnson N. Katherine Hayles Jay Bolter and Richard Grusin Marcel Danesi Keywords Theory Visual Design Media Theory  Copyright © 2005-2007Isabel Pedersen

In the final words of his Introduction, Nicholas Mirzoeff names the thesis for his book, “Visual Culture used to be seen as a distraction from the serious business of text and history. It is now the locus of cultural and historical change” (31). In a manner similar to Bolter & Grusin’s Remediation, An Introduction to Visual Culture traces visual media through a cultural and historical web. It comes to terms with concepts like visual power and visual pleasure and their transformation of everyday culture. Mirzoeff draws extensively on Jean Baudrillard, Walter Benjamin, and Judith Butler, as well as many other critical theorists to support his arguments. He also provides thorough text analyses across various media including photography, television, film, and reality-shifting technologies.