Notes on 'the visual'

We open our eyes to the world, and are immersed in a visual environment. To comment on 'the visual' is to direct our gaze, to look THERE, to notice, to pay attention. My ideas about 'the visual' are strongly influenced by my experiences with visual arts, and ideas about artistic vision. The concept of 'the visual', for me, is embedded in the idea of looking with intent: the intent to question, to understand, to interpret; the intent to see anew, or see differently; the intent to extend my own thinking, to imagine, to create; the intent to open up to experience, to feel, to be moved. While I understand the effective use of 'the visual' in research (the image as a representation, a resemblance, a pointer, a symbol, a window), I am as interested, if not more interested, in the visual's affective power. A picture is worth a thousand words not because it would take a thousand words to describe the image represented, but because the picture opens up the possibility of a limitless conversation.