--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think its a fundamental feature of…" description: "\"I think its a fundamental feature of images that they move from one medium to another. And this has become hyper-evident in our time with the computer,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cf/w-j-t-mitchell-32893_all-kinds_i-think-its-a-fundamental-feature-of-ima_1790890.jpg" --- # I think its a fundamental feature of images that they move… ![“I think its a fundamental feature of images that they move from one medium to another. And this has become hyper-evident in our time with the computer, which is a kind of master-medium also and allows us to transfer data of all kinds from one platform to another, turning sounds into sights or…” quote by W. J. T. Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cf/w-j-t-mitchell-32893_all-kinds_i-think-its-a-fundamental-feature-of-ima_1790890.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cf/w-j-t-mitchell-32893_all-kinds_i-think-its-a-fundamental-feature-of-ima_1790890.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cf/w-j-t-mitchell-32893_all-kinds_i-think-its-a-fundamental-feature-of-ima_1790890.jpg) > “I think its a fundamental feature of images that they move from one medium to another. And this has become hyper-evident in our time with the computer, which is a kind of master-medium also and allows us to transfer data of all kinds from one platform to another, turning sounds into sights or language into image. The computer has made something that is very old evident in a new way.” [W. J. T. Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-j-t-mitchell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Images act as a bridge, shifting meaning across media, a process amplified by computers that translate sound, language, and data into visual form. **In simple terms:** Images move between media, computers make this visible. Key Takeaway Embrace media fluidity to expand communication. Themes media technology translation perception Mood curious analytical Type theoretical observational When to use this quote - advertising - education - art installations - data visualization Key Concepts semiotics intermediality digital mediation Questions to Reflect On - How does media shift affect interpretation? - What ethical issues arise from visualizing data? A Different Perspective Computers can distort original meaning during translation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Computer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computer/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Data](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/data/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [When I started working with a computer, to me it was kind of like animating with a backhoe. But when you see the results,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bud-luckey/when-i-started-working-with-a-computer-to-me-it-was-kind-of-like/) [Bud Luckey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bud-luckey/) > [ \[Quantity is the fundamental feature of things,\] the 'primarium accidens substantiae,' ...prior to the other categories. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johannes-kepler/quantity-is-the-fundamental-feature-of-things-the-primarium-accidens/) [Johannes Kepler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johannes-kepler/) > [CGI means, just to be clear, creating any type of image with a computer. Basically, starting off with nothing, or with images and manipulating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-aronofsky/cgi-means-just-to-be-clear-creating-any-type-of-image-with-a-computer/) [Darren Aronofsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-aronofsky/) > [We also have the option of scanning in an image from outside the computer... a photo, or a sketch done with traditional tools; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buffy-sainte-marie/we-also-have-the-option-of-scanning-in-an-image-from-outside-the/) [Buffy Sainte-Marie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buffy-sainte-marie/) > [It's equally hard and labor intensive to create an image on the computer as it is in a darkroom. Believe me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-uelsmann/it-s-equally-hard-and-labor-intensive-to-create-an-image-on-the/) [Jerry Uelsmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-uelsmann/) > [Our civilization is experiencing unprecedented changes across many realms, largely due to the rapid advancement of information technology. The ability to code and understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/our-civilization-is-experiencing-unprecedented-changes-across-many/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [Hip-hop is contributing to American society's misogyny and racism, hyper-sexuality anti-Black representations. Hip-Hop isn't setting the standard for misogyny. No one reduces the presidency…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bakari-kitwana/hip-hop-is-contributing-to-american-society-s-misogyny-and-racism/) [Bakari Kitwana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bakari-kitwana/) > [I've always had this hyper kinetic energy, so I don't really need much sleep at night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leander-paes/i-ve-always-had-this-hyper-kinetic-energy-so-i-don-t-really-need-much/) [Leander Paes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leander-paes/) > [I think that it's important to try to keep reality. I think that Gabriel Garcia Marquez speaks a lot about reality in his magical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/i-think-that-it-s-important-to-try-to-keep-reality-i-think-that/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) > [I always play these rodent type characters - skittish and hyper like a chipmunk. It's a complete act though. 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Then I'm hyper so I just run around like crazy and work it all off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-mcadams/i-drink-maple-syrup-then-i-m-hyper-so-i-just-run-around-like-crazy/) [Rachel McAdams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-mcadams/) > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) ## More by W. J. T. Mitchell > [We segregate men from women, and no matter how many times we insist that men and women are equal, men and women should be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-j-t-mitchell/we-segregate-men-from-women-and-no-matter-how-many-times-we-insist/) [W. J. T. Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-j-t-mitchell/) > [I see stereotypes as fundamental and inescapable and not as something that is... The kind of common view is "Oh, we shouldn't think in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-j-t-mitchell/i-see-stereotypes-as-fundamental-and-inescapable-and-not-as-something/) [W. J. T. Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-j-t-mitchell/) > [Imperialism, or the conquest and colonization of other populations, other peoples, has had as one of its side effects the growth of a discourse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-j-t-mitchell/imperialism-or-the-conquest-and-colonization-of-other-populations/) [W. J. T. Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-j-t-mitchell/) > [Distinction between species and specimen is very much like the distinction between images and actual pictures, or, you know, objects that have a definite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-j-t-mitchell/distinction-between-species-and-specimen-is-very-much-like-the/) [W. J. T. 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Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-j-t-mitchell/) > [I think it's very important to distinguish between objectivity - which tends to be open, flexible, skeptical of its own certainty and open to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-j-t-mitchell/i-think-it-s-very-important-to-distinguish-between-objectivity-which/) [W. J. T. Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-j-t-mitchell/) > [Writing, in its physical, graphic form, is an inseparable suturing of the visual and the verbal, the “imagetext” incarnate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-j-t-mitchell/writing-in-its-physical-graphic-form-is-an-inseparable-suturing-of/) [W. J. T. Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-j-t-mitchell/) > [Objectivism is basically the same thing as faith-based science or for that matter faith-based foreign policy, where you start out with the assumption "We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-j-t-mitchell/objectivism-is-basically-the-same-thing-as-faith-based-science-or-for/) [W. J. T. Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-j-t-mitchell/) > [Obviously invidious and prejudicial stereotypes need to be deconstructed and overcome, but it's not that they can be destroyed. I think that would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-j-t-mitchell/obviously-invidious-and-prejudicial-stereotypes-need-to-be/) [W. J. T. Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-j-t-mitchell/) > [The great moment I think in human consciousness is when you realize that the object in front of you is perhaps not nameable or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-j-t-mitchell/the-great-moment-i-think-in-human-consciousness-is-when-you-realize/) [W. J. T. Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-j-t-mitchell/) > [Stereotypes, I want to say, have to be thought of not just as these invidious, bad things that we could get rid of, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-j-t-mitchell/stereotypes-i-want-to-say-have-to-be-thought-of-not-just-as-these/) [W. J. T. 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Mitchell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-j-t-mitchell/) ## More All kinds quotes > [I was interested in all kinds of things, whether it be Avatar, Mad Men, Troy, 300, Battlestar Gallactica, or the poems of Horace and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mendelsohn/i-was-interested-in-all-kinds-of-things-whether-it-be-avatar-mad-men/) [Daniel Mendelsohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mendelsohn/) > [While husbands and lovers in the stories are of all kinds, ranging from sympathetic to disgusting, women are invariably deceivers: inconstant, unscrupulous, quarrelsome, querulous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/while-husbands-and-lovers-in-the-stories-are-of-all-kinds-ranging/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [I'm not technically proficient enough to attempt all kinds of music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-gallagher/i-m-not-technically-proficient-enough-to-attempt-all-kinds-of-music/) [Noel Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-gallagher/) > [My office in New York is overflowing with all kinds of cookbooks, and in New Orleans we have a huge culinary library. 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