Class Visual Culture

The Visual Culture curricular unit presents visual culture in the contemporary context from different perspectives and artistic practices. The course focuses on how visual culture have been developing, mainly from the sphere of the arts, and its inscription in the field of communication. In this context, photography and digital processes stand out, as both are important visual and communication media, increasingly prevalent in the arts and central to the constitution and development of visual culture. The CU also deals with the relationship between photography, computing and design, and the framing of the latter in the language and discourses of public art and in the design of art exhibitions.

Not applicable

1. What is Visual Culture? 1.1 Visual Culture, Visual Studies and Cultural Studies. 1.2 The beginning of the discipline, since Bela Balazs. 1.3 From Modernity to Contemporaneity. 1.3.1 Modern Art and Contemporary Art. 1.3.2 The regime of the visual. 1.4 Visual communication. 1.5 Design in public space and in exhibition space.   2. Photography. 2.1. Roland Barthes, between studium and punctum. 2.2. Walter Benjamin, The work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction. 2.3. The discursive space of photography. 2.4. Photography in communication design.   3. Visual Culture in the Digital World 3.1. Visuality in the digital world and the poor image. 3.2. The image of technique, the body and the image in the virtual world. 3.3. New media and invisibility. 3.4. Digital Culture. 3.5. Visual Culture in Computing and Design.

The CU presents theory based on fundamental references in its field of study, and case studies presented through visual content.    In order to contribute to technical training, a key part of the Degree in Communication Design, the aim is to convert the theoretical content into practical application. To this end, although classes are developed mainly from the CU bibliography, there will take place in-class exercises, with analysis and discussion to encourage student action. 

 - Balazs, B. (1924). O homem visível, Visual Culture, Revista de Comunicação e Linguagens,  - Barthes, R. (1979). A Câmara Clara, nota sobre a fotografia. Edições 70 - Barthes, R. (1977). The Rhetoric of the Image. - Benjamin, W. (1931). Pequena história da fotografia. - Benjamin, W. (1935) A Obra de Arte na Época da Sua Possibilidade de Reprodução Técnica. - Bragança de Miranda, J. (2007). Teoria da Cultura. Nova Vega. - Bragança de Miranda, J. (2017). Corpo e Imagem. Nova Vega. - Crimp, D. (1998) Estudos culturais, cultura visual. Revista USP, n.40. - Carvalhais, M. (2016). Artificial Aesthetics. Creative Practices in Computational Art and Desing. Universidade do Porto Edições. - Gere, C. (2002). Digital Culture. Reaktion Books, 2008. - Krauss, R. (1990). O fotográfico. Editora G.Gili. 2014. - Mirzoeff, N. (ed.) (1998). Visual Culture Reader. Routledge. 1999. - Steyerl, H. (2012). The Wretched of the Screen, e-flux journal. Sternberg Press.