Our modern way of seeing is governed by the camera obscura — Reflection on the logical foundations of perception and measurement

Is perspective a way of representing space among other possible ways of representation or does it say a truth about real space? Does photography give us a direct access to the real world, or is it influenced by the subjectivity of the photographer, or by a betrayal of the camera? In which respects the virtual worlds of image synthesis are different from real world? These questions drive us to re-examine the visual perception, the origin of our knowledge about the external world, the operation of measurement, the links between foundation of physics and language. To see is to compare representa­tions to sensations and also to act on the external world in a creative way. Representa­tions are not necessarily located in space, and not necessarily constituted of matter. They are in a loop combining action and sensation in which there are also language and culture. We have to imagine reality, even if our imagination has to be tested with the real.