On the definition of image as a representation of reality

Abstract

This essay aims to examine and discuss the canonical definition used to refer to visual images, which states that every image is a representation of reality. The purpose is to qualify from different perspectives the definition that is so commonly used in the teaching of visual and communicative disciplines. To do so, the diverse nature of images is addressed, differentiating between material images, indexical images and digital or e-images, seeking to establish the different relationships that the images from these categories have with reality and with materiality. It also explores the difference between diverse images according to the field to which they belong, drawing distinctions, for example, between those of journalism and those of art. Finally, the nature of virtual reality and augmented reality is questioned in order to rethink not only said definition, but also to address the nature of the visual in the current scenario.