VCM

11Story

25 January 2010

Mind

Posing Questions: Being & image in Europe & Asia

Contents
- Introduction
- The sections
     * Agent
     * Role
     * Person
     * Mind
- The panels
     * Optical character recognition?
     * Vernacular parallels
     * Modernist Politics
     * Show & Tell                                                        - Acknowledgements

Mind

The actions of an agent, the performance of a role, even the unique appearance of an individual, are all ‘ways of doing’ that people experience directly.

Mind or character, however, is something very different: a supposed ‘way of being’. It is a projection of at least some awareness of one’s own thought onto others. An action or appearance of someone else is then interpreted as the expression of their thoughts, character or mind.

Mind cannot reliably be read in this way from visual evidence alone, nor captured in a portrait, but in certain conditions such achievements can seem possible.

In modernist settings, whether in Europe, Asia or elsewhere, those adapting to new social opportunities ‘self-fashion’ by claiming qualities of character or mind and acting in ways meant to confirm them.

Once such ‘being’ is taken for granted, a modernist portrait can become a potent agent of its makers or users. When it clearly refers to a verifiable role or individuality, it is easier to assume that the image captures character too.