ABSTRACT
The visual culture
movement has focused on issues of
interdisciplinarity, appreciating everyday objects and experiences,
re-examining
methodologies and reasoning, and broadening our inquiries to the
cultural
products of diverse cultures. While these goals are admirable and
worthwhile,
they are also interests shared with
scholars in the history, theory, criticism, and philosophy of
the arts
and have been for a long time. Abandoning or ignoring this rich legacy
weakens
the valuable contributions which visual culture and its adherents can
make to
scholarly dialogue and the education of students. The challenge with
the visual
culture movement is to understand the new and worthwhile methodologies
it
brings to more established approaches to understanding the arts. Such a
dialogue is always welcome. Swinging the pendulum so far as to abandon
worthy
insights, whether old or new, is not.