--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The postmodernist critique of…" description: "\"The postmodernist critique of representation undermines the referential status of visual imagery, its claim to represent reality as it really is - eith..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/147/craig-owens-62279_appearance_the-postmodernist-critique-of-representa_2868544.jpg" --- # The postmodernist critique of representation undermines… ![“The postmodernist critique of representation undermines the referential status of visual imagery, its claim to represent reality as it really is - either the appearance of things or some ideal order behind or beyond appearance.” quote by Craig Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/147/craig-owens-62279_appearance_the-postmodernist-critique-of-representa_2868544.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/147/craig-owens-62279_appearance_the-postmodernist-critique-of-representa_2868544.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/147/craig-owens-62279_appearance_the-postmodernist-critique-of-representa_2868544.jpg) > “The postmodernist critique of representation undermines the referential status of visual imagery, its claim to represent reality as it really is - either the appearance of things or some ideal order behind or beyond appearance.” [Craig Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-owens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author argues that postmodern theory questions the ability of images to truly reflect reality, suggesting that visual representation is always mediated. **In simple terms:** Images can’t fully capture reality. Key Takeaway Question how images shape perception. Themes art philosophy representation Mood critical intellectual Type theoretical analytical When to use this quote - museum curation - media analysis - advertising - academic research Key Concepts postmodernism semiotics visual culture Questions to Reflect On - Do images ever convey truth? - How does this critique affect your trust in media? A Different Perspective Postmodern skepticism may lead to nihilism about meaning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Critique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critique/) [Ideals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideals/) [Imagery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagery/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Representation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/representation/) [Visual imagery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/visual-imagery/) ## Related quotes > [The director’s task is to recreate life, its movement, its contradictions, its dynamic and conflicts. It is his duty to reveal every iota of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-tarkovsky/the-director-s-task-is-to-recreate-life-its-movement-its-2/) [Andrei Tarkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/) > [I think everybody starts out by seeing a few works of art and wanting to do something like them. 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The songs have always had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-mael/people-have-always-commented-along-the-way-that-you-guys-are-always/) [Russell Mael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-mael/) > [When I watch a movie I don't really care too much about the plot - not that it isn't important, but what I remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-hyneman/when-i-watch-a-movie-i-don-t-really-care-too-much-about-the-plot-not/) [Jamie Hyneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-hyneman/) > [I like visual imagery in my head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-malkmus/i-like-visual-imagery-in-my-head/) [Stephen Malkmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-malkmus/) > [The ability to have somebody read something and see it, or for somebody to paint an entire landscape of visual imagery with just sheets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mos-def/the-ability-to-have-somebody-read-something-and-see-it-or-for/) [Mos Def](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mos-def/) ## More by Craig Owens > [Photographs are but one link in a potentially endless chain of reduplication; themselves duplicates (of both their objects and, in a sense, their negatives),…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-owens/photographs-are-but-one-link-in-a-potentially-endless-chain-of/) [Craig Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-owens/) > [As an allegorical art, then, photography would represent our desire to fix the transitory, the ephemeral, in a stable and stabilizing image.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-owens/as-an-allegorical-art-then-photography-would-represent-our-desire-to/) [Craig Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-owens/) > [“Empty in this dirt and flat on my back both hands gripped tightly and widely around my bare neck the truth of it all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-owens/empty-in-this-dirt-and-flat-on-my-back-both-hands-gripped-tightly-and/) [Craig Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-owens/) > [Representation, then, is not - nor can it be - neutral; it is an act - indeed the founding act - of power in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-owens/representation-then-is-not-nor-can-it-be-neutral-it-is-an-act-indeed/) [Craig Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-owens/) [Explore all 5 Craig Owens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-owens/) ## More Appearance quotes > [Your looks don't make you pretty, it's the person inside who makes you pretty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-chan/your-looks-don-t-make-you-pretty-it-s-the-person-inside-who-makes-you/) [Aaron Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-chan/) > [I just worried about my weight. 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