Theory of the Image

Thomas Nail

Develops an original kinetic philosophy of aesthetics
Offers the first history of movement in Western art
Provides a new trans-disciplinary theoretical framework based on motion--"kinesthetics."

Theory of the Image

Thomas Nail

Description

We live in an age of the mobile image. The world today is absolutely saturated with images of all kinds circulating around the world at an incredible rate. The movement of the image has never been more extraordinary than it is today. This recent kinetic revolution of the image has enormous consequences not only for the way we think about contemporary art and aesthetics but also for art history as well.

Responding to this historical moment, Theory of the Image offers a fresh new theory and history of art from the perspective of this epoch-defining mobility. The image has been understood in many ways, but it is rarely understood to be fundamentally in motion. The original and materialist approach is what defines Theory of the Image and what allows it to offer the first kinetic history of the Western art tradition. In this book, Thomas Nail further develops his larger philosophy of movement into a comprehensive "kinesthetic" of the moving image from prehistory to the present. The book concludes with a vivid analysis of the contemporary digital image and its hybridity, ultimately outlining new territory for research and exploration across aesthetics, art history, cultural theory, and media studies.

Theory of the Image

Thomas Nail

Introduction

Part I: Kinesthetics
1. The Flow of Matter
2. The Fold of Affect
3. The Field of Art

Part II: History of the Image

I. The Functional Image
4. Centripetal Function
5. The Prehistoric Image

II. The Formal Image
6. Centrifugal Form
7. The Ancient Image I
8. The Ancient Image II

III. The Relational Image
9. Tensional Relation
10. The Medieval Image I
11. The Medieval Image II

IV. The Differential Image
12. Elastic Difference
13. The Modern Image I
14. The Modern Image II

Part III: The Contemporary Image
15. The Digital Image
16. The Generative Image

Conclusion

Theory of the Image

Thomas Nail

Author Information

Thomas Nail is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Denver. He is the author of numerous works, including Theory of the Border (OUP 2016) and Being and Motion (OUP 2018).

Theory of the Image

Thomas Nail

Reviews and Awards

"This is an engaging book with a fascinating argument. Thomas Nail stakes out new territory, building a theory from the group up of the image as kinetic" -- David Morgan , Duke University

"Thomas Nail's Theory of the Image is an ambitious and original attempt to re-theorize the material and cognitive dynamics of the image. In this respect, his model is kinetic as opposed to representational, mimetic, or hermeneutical. The book is eminently suitable for use on a range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses, in particular, philosophy, cultural theory, and art history." -- John Roberts , University of Wolverhampton