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An image is a visual representation of something. An image can be a two-dimensional (2D) representation, such as a
drawing Drawing is a form of visual art in which an artist uses instruments to mark paper or other two-dimensional surface. Drawing instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, various kinds of paints, inked brushes, colored pencils, crayons, ...
, painting, or
photograph A photograph (also known as a photo, image, or picture) is an image created by light falling on a photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor, such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are now create ...
, or a three-dimensional (3D) object, such as a carving or sculpture. An image may be displayed through other media, including
projection Projection, projections or projective may refer to: Physics * Projection (physics), the action/process of light, heat, or sound reflecting from a surface to another in a different direction * The display of images by a projector Optics, graphic ...
on a surface, activation of electronic signals, or digital displays. Two-dimensional images can be still or animated. Still images can usually be reproduced through mechanical means, such as photography,
printmaking Printmaking is the process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand processed techniq ...
or
photocopying A photocopier (also called copier or copy machine, and formerly Xerox machine, the generic trademark) is a machine that makes copies of documents and other visual images onto paper or plastic film quickly and cheaply. Most modern photocopiers u ...
. In some cases, three-dimensional images may also be animated (capable of passive or active motion). The term has a technical meaning in some fields. In the context of signal processing, an image is a distributed amplitude of color(s). In optics, the term "image" may refer specifically to a 2D image. A volatile image is one that exists or is perceived only for a short period of time. This may be a reflection of an object by a mirror, a projection of a camera obscura, or a scene displayed on a
cathode-ray tube A cathode-ray tube (CRT) is a vacuum tube containing one or more electron guns, which emit electron beams that are manipulated to display images on a phosphorescent screen. The images may represent electrical waveforms (oscilloscope), pictur ...
. A fixed image, also called a hard copy, is one that has been recorded on a material object, such as paper or textile by photography or any other digital process. A mental image exists in an individual's mind, as something one remembers or imagines. The subject of an image need not be real; it may be an abstract concept, such as a graph, function, or imaginary entity. For an image to be understood, however, there must be a way of conveying that mental image through the words or visual productions of the individual subject.


Characteristics


Three-dimensional images

Aside from sculpture and other physical activities that can create three-dimensional images from solid material, some modern techniques, such as holography, can create three-dimensional images that are reproducible but intangible to human touch. Some photographic processes can now render the illusion of depth in an otherwise "flat" image, but "3-D photography" (
stereoscopy Stereoscopy (also called stereoscopics, or stereo imaging) is a technique for creating or enhancing the illusion of depth in an image by means of stereopsis for binocular vision. The word ''stereoscopy'' derives . Any stereoscopic image is ...
) or "
3-D film 3D films are motion pictures made to give an illusion of three-dimensional solidity, usually with the help of special glasses worn by viewers. They have existed in some form since 1915, but had been largely relegated to a niche in the motion pict ...
" are optical illusions that require special devices such as eyeglasses to create that illusion of depth. Copies of 3-dimensional images have traditionally had to be crafted one at a time, usually by an individual or team of
artisans An artisan (from french: artisan, it, artigiano) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art, s ...
. In the modern age, the development of
plastics Plastics are a wide range of synthetic polymers, synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their Plasticity (physics), plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be Injection moulding, moulded, Extrusion, e ...
and other technologies made it possible to create multiple copies of a 3-dimensional object with less effort; however, the advent and development of "
3-D printing 3-D, 3D, or 3d may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Relating to three-dimensionality * Three-dimensional space ** 3D computer graphics, computer graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data ** 3D film, a ...
" have expanded that capability.


Two-dimensional images

A two-dimensional image does not have to use the entire visual system to be a visual representation. An example of this is a greyscale ("black and white") image, which uses the visual system's sensitivity to brightness across all wavelengths without taking into account different colors. A black-and-white visual representation of something is still an image, even though it does not make full use of the visual system's capabilities. On the other hand, some processes can be used to create visual representations of objects that are otherwise inaccessible to the human visual system. These include
microscopy Microscopy is the technical field of using microscopes to view objects and areas of objects that cannot be seen with the naked eye (objects that are not within the resolution range of the normal eye). There are three well-known branches of micr ...
for the magnification of minute objects, telescopes that can observe objects at great distances, X-rays that can visually represent interior structures of the human body (among other objects), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET scans), and others. Such processes often rely on the detection of electromagnetic radiation that occurs beyond the
light spectrum The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of frequency, frequencies (the spectrum) of electromagnetic radiation and their respective wavelengths and photon energy, photon energies. The electromagnetic spectrum covers electromagnetic waves with f ...
visible to the human eye, converting such signals into recognizable images. The word 'image' is also used in the broader sense of any two-dimensional figure such as a map, graph,
pie chart A pie chart (or a circle chart) is a circular Statistical graphics, statistical graphic, which is divided into slices to illustrate numerical proportion. In a pie chart, the arc length of each slice (and consequently its central angle and are ...
, painting, or banner. In this wider sense, images can also be ''rendered'' manually, such as by
drawing Drawing is a form of visual art in which an artist uses instruments to mark paper or other two-dimensional surface. Drawing instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, various kinds of paints, inked brushes, colored pencils, crayons, ...
, the art of painting, or the
graphic arts A category of fine art, graphic art covers a broad range of visual artistic expression, typically two-dimensional, i.e. produced on a flat surface.
(such as lithography or etching), or rendered automatically by printing or computer graphics technology, or developed by a combination of methods.


Moving images

"Moving" two-dimensional images are actually illusions of movement perceived when still images are displayed in sequence, each image lasting less, and sometimes much less, than a fraction of a second. The traditional standard for display of individual
frames A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent. Frame and FRAME may also refer to: Physical objects In building construction *Framing (co ...
by a motion picture projector has been 24 frames per second (fps) since at least the commercial introduction of "talking pictures" in the late 1920s, which necessitated a standard for synchronization of images and sounds. Even in electronic formats such as television and digital image displays, "motion" is actually the result of many individual lines giving an impression of continuous movement. This phenomenon has often been described as " persistence of vision," a physiological effect of light impressions remaining on the retina of the eye for very brief periods. Even though the term is still sometimes used in popular discussions of movies, it is not a scientifically valid explanation. Other terms emphasize complex cognitive operations of the brain and human visual system. " Flicker fusion," the "
phi phenomenon The term phi phenomenon is used in a narrow sense for an apparent motion that is observed if two nearby optical stimuli are presented in alternation with a relatively high frequency. In contrast to beta movement, seen at lower frequencies, the st ...
," and "
beta movement The term Beta movement is used for the optical illusion of apparent motion in which the very short projection of one figure and a subsequent very short projection of a more or less similar figure in a different location are experienced as one f ...
" are among the terms that have replaced "persistence of vision," though no one term seems adequate to describe the process.


Cultural and Other Uses

Image-making seems have been common to virtually all human cultures since at least the
paleolithic era The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tool ...
. Prehistoric examples of
rock art In archaeology, rock art is human-made markings placed on natural surfaces, typically vertical stone surfaces. A high proportion of surviving historic and prehistoric rock art is found in caves or partly enclosed rock shelters; this type also ...
--including cave paintings, petroglyphs,
rock reliefs A rock relief or rock-cut relief is a relief sculpture carved on solid or "living rock" such as a cliff, rather than a detached piece of stone. They are a category of rock art, and sometimes found as part of, or in conjunction with, ro ...
, and
geoglyphs A geoglyph is a large design or motif (generally longer than 4 metres) produced on the ground by durable elements of the landscape, such as stones, stone fragments, gravel, or earth. A positive geoglyph is formed by the arrangement and alignmen ...
--have been found on every inhabited continent. Many of these images seem to have served various purposes: as a form of record-keeping; as an element of spiritual, religious, or magical practice; or even as a form of communication. Early writing systems including
hieroglyphics Egyptian hieroglyphs (, ) were the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt, used for writing the Egyptian language. Hieroglyphs combined logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements, with some 1,000 distinct characters.There were about 1,00 ...
, ideographic writing, and even the
Roman alphabet The Latin alphabet or Roman alphabet is the collection of letters originally used by the ancient Romans to write the Latin language. Largely unaltered with the exception of extensions (such as diacritics), it used to write English and the o ...
owe their origins in some respect to pictorial representations.


Meaning and Signification

Images of any type may convey different meanings and sensations for individual viewers, regardless of whether those were intended by the image's creator. An image may be taken simply as a more or less "accurate" copy of a person, place, thing, or event. It may be taken as a representation of an abstract concept, such as the political power of a ruler or ruling class, a practical or moral lesson, an object for spiritual or religious veneration, or an object--human or otherwise--to be desired. It may also be regarded for its purely
aesthetic Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed th ...
qualities or for its rarity or monetary value. Such reactions can depend on the viewer's context. A religious image in a church may be regarded in a different manner than the same image mounted in a museum. Some might view it simply as a object to be bought or sold. Viewers' reactions will also be guided or shaped by their education, class, race, and other contexts. The study of emotional sensations and their relationship to the image falls into the category of aesthetics and the philosophy of art While such studies inevitably deal with issues of meaning, another approach to signification was suggested by the American philosopher, logician, and semiotician Charles Sanders Peirce. "Images" are one type of the broad category of "signs" proposed by Peirce. Although his ideas are complex and changed over time, the three categories of signs that he distinguished stand out: # The "icon," which relates to an object by resemblance to some quality of the object. A painted or photographed portrait is an icon by virtue of its resemblance to the painting's or photograph's subject. A more abstract representation, such as a map or diagram, can also be an icon. # The "index," which relates to an object by some real connection. For example, smoke may be an index of fire, or the temperature recorded on a thermometer may be an index of a patient's illness or health. # The "symbol," which lacks direct resemblance or connection to an object, but whose association is arbitrarily assigned by the creator or dictated by cultural and historical habit, convention, etc. The color red, for example, may connote rage, beauty, prosperity, political affiliation, or other meanings within a given culture or context. The Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman claimed that his use of the color in his film ''
Cries and Whispers ''Cries and Whispers'' ( sv, Viskningar och rop, lit=Whispers and Cries) is a 1972 Swedish period drama film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman and starring Harriet Andersson, Kari Sylwan, Ingrid Thulin and Liv Ullmann. The film, set in ...
'' (1972) came from his personal visualization of the human sou

A single image may exist in all three categories at the same time. The
Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a List of colossal sculpture in situ, colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the U ...
provides an example. While there have been countless two-dimensional and three-dimensional "reproductions" of the statue (i.e., "icons" themselves), the statue itself exists as * an "icon" by virtue of its resemblance to a human woman (or, more specifically, previous representations of the Roman goddess
Libertas Libertas (Latin for 'liberty' or 'freedom', ) is the Roman goddess and personification of liberty. She became a politicised figure in the Late Republic, featured on coins supporting the populares faction, and later those of the assassins of Jul ...
or the female model used by the artist Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi

* an "index" representing New York City or the United States of America in general due to its placement in
New York Harbor New York Harbor is at the mouth of the Hudson River where it empties into New York Bay near the East River tidal estuary, and then into the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of the United States. It is one of the largest natural harbors in t ...
, or with "immigration" from its proximity to the immigration center at Ellis Island. * a "symbol" as a visualization of the abstract concept of "liberty" or "freedom" or even "opportunity" or "diversity."


Critiques of the image

The nature of images, whether three- or two-dimensional, whether created for a specific purpose or only for aesthetic pleasure, has continued to provoke questions and even condemnation at different times and places. In his dialogue ''The Republic'', the Greek philosopher Plato described our apparent reality as a copy of a higher order of universal forms. As copies of a higher reality, the things that we perceive in the world, whether tangible or abstract, are inevitably imperfect. Book 7 of ''The Republic'' offers Plato's " Allegory of the Cave," where ordinary human life is compared to being a prisoner in a darkened cave who believes that shadows projected onto the cave's wall comprise actual reality. Since art is itself an imitation, it is a copy of that copy and all the more imperfect. Artistic images, then, not only misdirect human reason away from understanding the higher forms of true reality, but in imitating the bad behaviors of humans in depictions of the gods, they can have a corrupting influence on individuals and society. Echoes of such criticism have persisted across time, accelerating as image-making technologies have developed and expanded immensely since the invention of the
daguerreotype Daguerreotype (; french: daguerréotype) was the first publicly available photographic process; it was widely used during the 1840s and 1850s. "Daguerreotype" also refers to an image created through this process. Invented by Louis Daguerre an ...
and other photographic processes in the mid-19th century. By the late 20th century, works like John Berger's '' Ways of Seeing'' and
Susan Sontag Susan Sontag (; January 16, 1933 – December 28, 2004) was an American writer, philosopher, and political activist. She mostly wrote essays, but also published novels; she published her first major work, the essay "Notes on 'Camp'", in 1964. Her ...
's ''
On Photography ''On Photography'' is a 1977 collection of essays by Susan Sontag. It originally appeared as a series of essays in the ''New York Review of Books'' between 1973 and 1977. Contents In the book, Sontag expresses her views on the history and prese ...
'' questioned the hidden assumptions of power, race, sex, and class encoded in even realistic images and how those assumptions and how such images may implicate the viewer in the
voyeuristic Voyeurism is the sexual interest in or practice of watching other people engaged in intimate behaviors, such as undressing, sexual activity, or other actions of a private nature. The term comes from the French ''voir'' which means "to see". A ...
position of a (usually) male viewer. The documentary film scholar Bill Nichols has also studied how apparently "objective" photographs and films still encode assumptions about their subjects. Images perpetuated in public education, media, and popular culture have a profound impact on the formation of such mental images:


Religious critiques

Despite, or perhaps because of, the widespread use of religious and spiritual imagery around the world, the making of images and the depiction of gods or religious subjects has been subject to criticism, censorship, and criminal penalties. The Abrahamic religions ( Judaism, Christianity, and
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
) all have had admonitions against the making of images, even though the extent of that proscription has varied with time, place, and sect or denomination of a given religion. In Judaism, one of the Ten Commandments given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai forbids the making of "any graven image, or any likeness f any thingthat sin heaven above, or that sin the earth beneath, or that sin the water under earth." In Christian history, periods of iconoclasm (the destruction of images, especially those with religious meanings or connotations) have broken out from time to time and some sects and denominations have rejected or severely limited the use of religious imagery. Islam tends to discourage religious depictions, sometimes quite rigorously, and often extends that to other forms of realistic imagery, favoring
calligraphy Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...
or geometric designs instead. Depending on time and place, photographs and broadcast images in Islamic societies may be less subject to outright prohibition. In any religion, restrictions on image-making are especially targeted to avoid the depictions of "false gods" in the form of idols. In recent time,
militant The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Latin " ...
extremist groups such as the Taliban and ISIS have destroyed centuries-old artifacts, especially those associated with other religions.


In culture

Whether or not one uses or disregards Peirce's categories of "signs," virtually all cultures have produced images and applied different meanings or applications to them. The loss of knowledge about the context and connection of an image to its object is likely to result in different perceptions and interpretations of the image and even of the original object itself. Through human history, one dominant form of such images, whether two- or three-dimensional, has been in relation to religion and spirituality of different kinds. Such images, whether in the form of idols that are objects of worship or that represent some other spiritual state or quality, have a different status as artifacts when copies of such images sever links to the spiritual or supernatural. The German philosopher and essayist Walter Benjamin brought particular attention to this point in his 1935 essa
"The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction."
Benjamin argues that the mechanical reproduction of images, which had accelerated through photographic processes in the previous one hundred years or so, inevitably degrades the "authenticity" or quasi-religious "aura" of the original object. An obvious example is Leonardo da Vinci's '' Mona Lisa'', originally painted as a portrait, but much later, with its display as an art object, having a "cult" value as an example of artistic beauty. Following years of various reproductions of the painting, the portrait's "cult" status has little to do with its original subject or as an object of purely artistic veneration. It has become famous for being famous, while at the same time its recognizability has made it a subject to be copied, manipulated, satirized, or otherwise altered, in forms ranging from Marcel Duchamp's ''L.H.O.O.Q''. to Andy Warhol's multiple silk-screened reproductions of the imag

On the other hand, the development of " Non-fungible token, non-fungible tokens
FTs FTS may refer to: * Fatehpur Sikri railway station, in Uttar Pradesh, India * Federal Tax Service (Russia) * Fellow of the Theosophical Society * Ferrocarriles y Transportes Suburbanos, a former Spanish railway company * File transfer service *Find ...
which exist only in digital formats, have been touted as an attempt to create "authentic" or "unique" images that have a monetary value, an assumption that has been widely debated.


Other considerations

The development of synthetic acoustic technologies and the creation of sound art have led to a consideration of the possibilities of a sound-image made up of irreducible phonic substance beyond linguistic or musicological analysis.


Still or moving

A ' is a single static image. This phrase is used in photography, visual media and the
computer industry A computer is a machine that can be programmed to carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as programs. These progra ...
to emphasize that one is not talking about movies, or in very precise or pedantic technical writing such as a standard. A ' is typically a movie (
film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
) or video, including
digital video Digital video is an electronic representation of moving visual images (video) in the form of encoded digital data. This is in contrast to analog video, which represents moving visual images in the form of analog signals. Digital video comprises ...
. It could also be an
animated display Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...
such as a zoetrope. A still frame is a still image derived from one frame of a moving one. In contrast, a
film still A film still (sometimes called a publicity still or a production still) is a photograph, taken on or off the set of a movie or television program during production. These photographs are also taken in formal studio settings and venues of opportun ...
is a photograph taken on the set of a movie or television program during production, used for promotional purposes. In
image processing An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimensiona ...
, a picture function is a mathematical representation of a two-dimensional image as a function of two spatial variables. The function f(x,y) describes the
intensity Intensity may refer to: In colloquial use *Strength (disambiguation) *Amplitude * Level (disambiguation) * Magnitude (disambiguation) In physical sciences Physics *Intensity (physics), power per unit area (W/m2) *Field strength of electric, ma ...
of the point at
coordinates In geometry, a coordinate system is a system that uses one or more numbers, or coordinates, to uniquely determine the position of the points or other geometric elements on a manifold such as Euclidean space. The order of the coordinates is sig ...
(x,y).


Literature

In literature, a " mental image" may be developed through words and phrases to which the senses respond. It is just picturing an image mentally, also called imagining hence imagery. It can both be figurative and literal.


See also

* Cinematography *
Computer-generated imagery Computer-generated imagery (CGI) is the use of computer graphics to create or contribute to images in art, printed media, video games, simulators, and visual effects in films, television programs, shorts, commercials, and videos. The images may ...
*
Digital image A digital image is an image composed of picture elements, also known as ''pixels'', each with ''finite'', '' discrete quantities'' of numeric representation for its intensity or gray level that is an output from its two-dimensional functions ...
* Fine-art photography *
Graphics Graphics () are visual images or designs on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, screen, paper, or stone, to inform, illustrate, or entertain. In contemporary usage, it includes a pictorial representation of data, as in design and manufacture ...
* Image editing * Imaging * Mental image *
Photograph A photograph (also known as a photo, image, or picture) is an image created by light falling on a photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor, such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are now create ...
*
Pictorial script An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimensiona ...
* Satellite image *
Drawing Drawing is a form of visual art in which an artist uses instruments to mark paper or other two-dimensional surface. Drawing instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, various kinds of paints, inked brushes, colored pencils, crayons, ...
* Painting * Visual arts * * *


References

{{Authority control Photography Digital photography Computer graphics Graphic design Vision