Yu Tsukada | Toward an Even Newer Theory of Images: Osamu Maekawa, Morihiro Sato, and Nobuhiro Masuda (eds.), Adventurers of Image Theory (Part 2)
A review of the second part of Adventurers of Image Theory, discussing the expansion of image theory, the relativization of modernism, and Osamu Maekawa's mapping.Summary
This article is a review of the second part of Adventurers of Image Theory, edited by Osamu Maekawa, Morihiro Sato, and Nobuhiro Masuda. The reviewer first notes that reading the chapters provides a map of image theory centered on figures such as Aby Warburg and Heinrich Wölfflin. At the same time, the reviewer expresses concern that modernism is somewhat relativized. Chapters on Rosalind Krauss and Geoffrey Batchen deal with theorists who critically inherited modernism, but Clement Greenberg and John Szarkowski are not treated independently, making it difficult for readers without prior knowledge to grasp why Krauss and Batchen had to overcome modernism. However, this reflects the situation in which image theory has spread across various research fields. The book does not cover philosophers like Henri Bergson or Gilles Deleuze, but the chapter on Tim Ingold discusses how Deleuze and Guattari's "lines of flight" connect to Ingold's examination of lines, and the chapter on David Freedberg, who collaborates with neuroscience, confirms the name of Antonio Damasio. Osamu Maekawa's concluding essay, which also serves as an afterword, takes up Hal Foster and Keith Moxey and cross-references theories in three dimensions, introducing Foster's diagnosis of visual studies as a theoretical frame that merely affirms diverse images, and Moxey's genealogical account of how the "pictorial turn" transformed art history, citing Georges Didi-Huberman, Hans Belting, and Horst Bredekamp. It is also significant that Foster refers to design and architecture, which are rarely considered in the book. Through Foster and Moxey, Maekawa's skillful mapping will provoke further critical questions in readers. Although aimed mainly at students, the included texts by authors who have published substantial work are uncompromising in a good sense. Even the reviewer, who has followed image theory for about 15 years, made many discoveries. The book's not-too-long texts allow readers to grasp the theoretical essentials of representative theorists cost-effectively, and general readers can keep it at hand and start from chapters that interest them. It is now our turn to embark on the adventure.
(Source：artscape)