Camouflage, Zoomorphism, and the Origins of Image-Making

Abstract

In my paper I will consider camouflage as a possible primary source for image-making and the creation of social worlds in and through the use of such images. In camouflage, I will argue, we find competences at work that are essential for image making and interaction by means of them: the ability to create and display forms that refer to something else, and to recognize shapes as such, for instance. Camouflage also shares important functions and features with man-made images: that of visual persuasion for instance, closely connected to the dynamics of display, and it raises interesting questions about the relation between competence and comprehension.