---
title: "1 Visual Culture Quotes By William J. Mitchell"
description: "1 Visual Culture quotes by William J. Mitchell. Plus more from William J. Mitchell and more Visual Culture sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c1/william-j-mitchell-31611_capable_what-we-need-is-a-critique-of-visual-cul_2117824.jpg"
---

> [What we need is a critique of visual culture that is alert to the power of images for good and evil and that is capable of discriminating the variety and historical specificity of their uses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-mitchell/what-we-need-is-a-critique-of-visual-culture-that-is-alert-to-the/)

[William J. Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-mitchell/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c1/william-j-mitchell-31611_capable_what-we-need-is-a-critique-of-visual-cul_2117824.jpg)

## More by William J. Mitchell

> [ We \[MIT Smart Cities research group\] try to identify the fundamental underlying design assumptions that everybody takes as a sort of given and unchallengeable… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-mitchell/we-mit-smart-cities-research-group-try-to-identify-the-fundamental/)

[William J. Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-mitchell/)

> [Automobile is one of the most successful inventions of all time, but in my view, it is thoroughly obsolete already. And so by fundamentally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-mitchell/automobile-is-one-of-the-most-successful-inventions-of-all-time-but/)

[William J. Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-mitchell/)

> [Everybody thinks an automobile needs an engine. Well, an automobile doesn't necessarily need an engine. What we do is shift electric motors into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-mitchell/everybody-thinks-an-automobile-needs-an-engine-well-an-automobile/)

[William J. Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-mitchell/)

> [The relation of photography and language is a principal site of struggle for value and power in contemporary representations of reality; it is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-mitchell/the-relation-of-photography-and-language-is-a-principal-site-of/)

[William J. Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-mitchell/)

> [Most automobiles spend about 80 percent of their time sitting around doing nothing. They're gasoline powered; they go to very high speeds, which in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-mitchell/most-automobiles-spend-about-80-percent-of-their-time-sitting-around/)

[William J. Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-mitchell/)

> [Imagine a kind of system where you have lightweight electric vehicles relatively small battery capacity, and then picking up charge wherever they park. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-mitchell/imagine-a-kind-of-system-where-you-have-lightweight-electric-vehicles/)

[William J. Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-mitchell/)

> [...people have always known, at least since Moses denounced the Golden Calf, that images were dangerous, that they can captivate the onlooker and steal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-mitchell/people-have-always-known-at-least-since-moses-denounced-the-golden/)

[William J. Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-mitchell/)

> [That's not a utopian vision. It is a set of ideas that we think are important to discuss. Those ideas largely have to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-mitchell/that-s-not-a-utopian-vision-it-is-a-set-of-ideas-that-we-think-are/)

[William J. Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-mitchell/)

> [Photography is and is not a language; language also is and is not a photography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-mitchell/photography-is-and-is-not-a-language-language-also-is-and-is-not-a/)

[William J. Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-mitchell/)

> [The essential characteristic of digital information is that it can be manipulated easily and very rapidly by computer... Computational tools for transforming, combining, altering,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-mitchell/the-essential-characteristic-of-digital-information-is-that-it-can-be/)

[William J. Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-mitchell/)

> [There is no magical solution because urban traffic congestion arises from the fact that a lot of people want to be in the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-mitchell/there-is-no-magical-solution-because-urban-traffic-congestion-arises/)

[William J. Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-mitchell/)

> [What we need is a critique of visual culture that is alert to the power of images for good and evil and that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-mitchell/what-we-need-is-a-critique-of-visual-culture-that-is-alert-to-the/)

[William J. Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-mitchell/)

> [Exile is a series of photographs without texts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-mitchell/exile-is-a-series-of-photographs-without-texts/)

[William J. Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-mitchell/)

> [We are surrounded by pictures; we have an abundance of theories about them, but it doesn't seem to do us any good. Knowing what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-mitchell/we-are-surrounded-by-pictures-we-have-an-abundance-of-theories-about/)

[William J. Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-mitchell/)

> [An interlude of false innocence has passed. Today, as we enter the post-photographic era, we must face once again the ineradicable fragility of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-mitchell/an-interlude-of-false-innocence-has-passed-today-as-we-enter-the-post/)

[William J. Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-mitchell/)

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