An approach from the philosophy of the image to the research of iconoclasm

Authors

  • Fernando R. Contreras Universidad de Sevilla

Abstract

This article studies the destructive visual practices of iconoclasm. Destruction is a gesture of emancipation and an act of immunization against religious, social and political idolatry. The evidence of the influence of images in the creation of falsehoods allows us to consider the iconoclastic action as an exercise in liberation. We analyze the fundamentals of the offensive against the power of images in public space. Visual mutilation, denial, censorship, and prohibition will be common practices in an intermediate space (aestheticpolitical) in which freedom of thought is entangled.

Keywords:

Iconoclasm, Idolatry, Aesthetics, Politics, Destruction, Philosophy of the Image, Visual Studies, Art, Communication

Author Biography

Fernando R. Contreras, Universidad de Sevilla

fmedina@us.es