Image And Reality

In the 20 th century, the development of imaging technology helped people gain the ability to get information about the object images rapidly and accurately, which contained both flat and moving images. This phenomenon seems to indicate that we can use technical means to achieve the realistic art of copying as well as a real presentation of objects. The image text generated by these techniques used to be sent with high expectations, the authenticity of the text in these images has become the most valuable part of the image text in aesthetics. But in realistic beauty-appreciation and artistic practice, image production did not bring the truth we wish, but rather create a kind of "phantom" which was visually high realistic due to the development of digital imaging technology and image producing technology, such as three-D fantasy film "Avatar" or "Lord of the rings", but we know the images are not "real" in these movies. Therefore, in order to understand the images, to understand the features of the image texts, as well as the art form which takes image as a carrier, the subject faces the most controversial part: the problem of “truth” in video media texts; makes a systematic reflection about the image texts; questions the authenticity of images in accordance with its basis and scale; makes a comparison between the images and realistic painting images, between images and photography, especially between the forms of video art such as documentaries, films, and 3D image; makes reflections on the possibility of getting reality in image texts by the means of digital imaging technology.Rooted on the cultural context of the era of reading pictures, this paper attempts to seek a mutual interpretation among image and photo, media text and multimedia image text, to make detailed enquires about the effectiveness and authenticity of meaning conveyed by the contemporary image and image text from the perspective of the reality of traditional art on one hand, and to make detailed enquires about the appropriateness of the way of questioning such a theoretical paradigm of “truth” from the angle of image and photo on the other hand. Meanwhile, the author attempts to make a dialogue between the image archives, film and television, realistic painting, and photography, to study the concept of "truth" in the new cultural context.The images like realistic painting, photography, documentary in text form are known for their "authenticity". “Truth”is the fundamental characteristics in these texts in the perspective of theory. But in consideration of the way the photos and images were made, "truth" itself becomes suspected, If “truth “does not exist, what are we referring while mentioning about “truth”? Questioning on this issue is one of the core thinking problems of this study. For this kind of thinking, this paper makes a comparative study on painting, image files, documentary films, photography, digital images, so as to reflect the connotation and effectiveness of the word "truth" in the image. The thinking of the above problems constitutes the basic innovation of this paper.The author is not only engaged in teaching the theory of visual arts, but also engaged in the study of archival science as academic focus. Thinking about the significance and value of image files, the latest form in archives development, which is embodied in the historical files makes the author come up with a question: image was once thought to be the most authentic method to record reality in human history, and authenticity is absolutely required in files, and then from the angle of “truth” in files, can “truth” be guaranteed during the process of generating images? From the view of documentary art form, some image forms like realistic painting and photography that are based on a certain number of technical means have formed another kind of “truth” whose base is to realize the image making by the use of some reliable technological means to maintain resemblance with the object of experience and to maintain the state of being artistic at the same time. When these art forms are claimed to be true, the truth often has a phantom nature. Finally, about films, with the intervention of digital technology, movies, such as 3D movies, may have a sense of reality which goes beyond vision. That sense of reality, or in another word, a real psychological sense can not only strengthen but also surpass the authenticity of the images. Therefore, the problem of authenticity in movies has become the most popular concerned theoretical issue in the Post Modernist Aesthetics in the past three decades. The traditional concept of art truth actually cannot explain the sense of reality brought by the films as in “Avatar”, though the whole world of text is illusory.As a conclusion, it is impossible even for the technological form as “image” which has been placed with high hopes to get “truth” in the capture of "reality". The traditional art of realism has no way to explain the simulacra of the world, the essence of image art is by nature the art of simulacra, which cannot be judged simply by the concept of “truth”. When we talk about documentary files, documentary films, documentary photography, movie art, and painting art, we can realize that authenticity is gradually retrogressing according to the traditional art theory of authenticity. But looking from the simulacrum angle, this difference does not matter much. Even in the "most real" image files, the production, the interpretation, the choice of the moment of image have their own representation. If technology does not bring us reality, we should not rely on the technological means in pursuit of reality. Technology can provide us the way of manufacturing simulacra without ensuring the authenticity of images. The key point lies in the performance of the significance and value of images, because images and videos are expressive. “Truth” cannot be guaranteed by technical means.