Operational Images

Call for papers

Title: Operational Images. Aesthetics Facing Computational Control
Guest Editors: Dario Cecchi (Sapienza Università di Roma), Nicolò Pioli (Sapienza Università di Roma)

Over the last 20 years, the concept of operational image has sparked a heated debate on the relationship between machines and visuality, which may prompt us to rethink traditional 20th century perspectives linking technology and aesthetics (see Benjamin; Simondon; Flusser). Operational images are produced by technical media such as satellites, drones, cameras, for carrying out various types of operations like monitoring, planning, surveying, recognition and surveillance. Their applications span many domains including military, environmental, architectural, medical, and urban.
Scholarly interest on operational images has grown inasmuch computational processes rely on vision to manage fundamental infrastructure, from border control to traffic management, from supply chains to distribution pipelines, from urban planning to governmental protocols (see Halpern; Hoelzl & Marie; McCosker & Wilken; Zylinska). The literature on the topic ranges from attempts to investigate image’s role within the history of technical media (see Dobson; Parikka) to critical investigation of how visuality conveys various forms of violence, from military to colonial, racial and gender-based (see Eder & Klonk; Kurgan). Philosophy has analyzed the role of operationality in classical image theories, assessing the validity of concepts such as representation, agency, and invisibility in analyzing current issues (see Alloa; MacKenzie & Munster; Hoel; Parisi). Works at the intersection of art and theory have promoted public debate on the ambiguities, injustices and inequalities engendered by machine vision (see Farocki; Paglen; Steyerl).
Aesthetics could provide access to the often unquestioned, opaque and invisible computational operations. Contemporary visual technologies raise the question of whether and to what extent aesthetic experiences can be linked to operationality. Aesthetic investigation of operational images might thus allow us to reevaluate the contribution of fundamental theoretical categories such as disinterestedness, contemplation, spontaneity, and representation in analyzing recent technical developments.

We especially, but not exclusively, welcome papers on the following issues:
· Aesthetic interpretations of operational concepts, including computation, control, operation and infrastructure.
· The history of the use of images as technical control devices and the role of images in the organization of human forms of life.
· The impact of machine vision on aesthetics, as well as the possibility of elaborating aesthetic understating of the technological gaze.
· Aesthetics of operational images, including their place and function in urban, environmental and military contexts.
· An analysis of the way art practices can work with operational images, entailing both the curatorial and the creative work.

Deadline: April 2028
Expected release: July 2028