Human Beings and Their Images. Imagination, Mimesis, Performativity

Abstract

Bringing the image into dialogue with the imagination, mimesis and performativity, Christoph Wulf illuminates the historical, cultural, and philosophical aspects of the relationship between images and human beings, looking both at its conceptual and physical manifestations. The book explores the cultural power of the image. It shows that images take root in our personal and collective imaginaries to determine how we feel, how we perceive the arts and culture, and how our bodies respond with physical actions, in games and dance to rituals and gesture. By showing how imagination occupies an essential place in our daily conduct, the book makes a significant contribution to how we think about the role of images in culture, the arts and society.

Keywords: imagination, mimesis, performativity, body, anthropology, rituals, gestures