Visual Turn and Fine Art

This article analyzes the so-called visual turn, which represents a subsequent shift in the philosophical paradigm of modern knowledge. This concept boasts the broadest level of generalization among related concepts, such as the iconic turn and the pictorial turn. It is widely recognized that the visual turn occurred after the linguistic one, to some extent modifying its implications. The article provides a comparative analysis of the outcomes generated by these two phenomena. By reviewing the scholarly discourse on the causes of the visual turn, the study categorizes the factors that facilitated this shift and underscores the role of fine arts within its structure. The current stage of development in fine art serves as both a prerequisite and a mode of its implementation, as contemporary painting and graphics significantly shapes the content of the visual turn. Furthermore, the analysis highlights the impact of the postmodern cultural situation on the formation of this phenomenon. It reveals the significance of the emerging digital reality for the visual turn within the structure of cognition. To investigate this process, N.A. Bernstein’s model of the levels of construction of movements is applied. The structure of the visual turn is presented as a result of the development of systemic inversion in the hierarchical system of levels of human activity. A comparison with the similar structure of the linguistic turn is provided outlining the connection between these two phenomena. It demonstrates that during the visual turn, one of the subordinate hierarchical levels of human activity acquires a dominant role. The role of artificial intelligence in the visual turn is separately considered. On this basis, it is concluded that the visual turn is not a coincidental confluence of circumstances, but a predetermined stage in the evolution of cognition, driven by both ontological and epistemological factors.

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