Page - 76 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 01/01

76 | sigrid schade www.jrfm.eu 2015, 1/1, 75–88 of approaches towards an analysis of visual cultural practices, production and circu- lation.1 “Visual studies” or “studies in visual culture” are terms that until recently have been used mainly in anglo-american academia, in which they were institutionalised much earlier than in the German-speaking countries, where even now only few excep- tions have found a place within academic institutions. One of the anglo-american re- presentatives of studies in visual culture often quoted would be, for example, W.T.J. Mitchell.2 Contradictory arguments and the different concepts of visual (culture) stu- dies circulating in the United states will not be discussed in this paper.3 Since the term “visual culture” signifies the subject of an approach as well as the approach4, silke Wenk and i decided to use the term “studies in visual culture(s)” as a description of the research activity and its German translation within the academic community in the German-speaking countries.5 Most authors involved, including those who are Anglo-American, have defined their research field as a form of cultural studies within – and sometimes extending and transcending – the traditional academic discipline of art history. They acknowl- edge that “art”, understood as artistic production, is not a separate element but be- longs to a wider concept of visual production that overlaps and is superimposed on other forms of visual culture. They could draw on social art history (or new art histo- ry), which elaborated on the processes of transfer, translation and reading of images through histories and societies as can be found in iconological and iconographical approaches (erwin Panofsky) and in the ideas of a repertoire of images and of cultural memory (aby Warburg). Over the last five to ten years discourse connected with studies in visual cultures has developed that in German academia today usually falls under the term “Bildwis- senschaft” or in the plural form “Bildwissenschaften”.6 it does not yet exist in a com- parable sense in english, although representatives of picture or image theory some- times also are subsumed under “Bildwissenschaft” by German colleagues, whereas in the anglo-american academic community, they might be considered part of visual cul- ture studies or visual studies. The German debate around “Bildwissenschaften” shows 1 Parts of this article are based on the book Studien zur visuellen Kultur. Einführung in ein transdisziplinäres Forschungsfeld (studies in Visual Culture. introduction into a Transdisciplinary field of research), which i wrote together with my colleague silke Wenk, Professor at the University in Oldenburg. schade/Wenk 2011. 2 He is one of the authors who critically reflects on the discussions within the field of visual studies including his own concept and argument for a “pictorial turn”. see Mitchell 2005, 336–365, in which he summarises his earlier comments and a lecture which he gave in the context of a conference held at the Clark institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts in 2001. 3 Other terms that have been used were “visual theory” (Bryson/Michael/Moxey 1991), and “picture theory” (Mitchell, 1994). a summary of methodological approaches can be found in the article by silke Wenk with rebecca Krebs (2007, 3–13). 4 Mirzoeff 2002, 3–23; also generally Elkins 2003; Cherry 2005, 3–23; Dikovitskaya 2006. 5 schade/Wenk 2011, 56–57. 6 The main protagonists are Gottfried Böhm and hans Belting (2007).