The "Presence" and "Trace" of Media: on the Reconstruction of The Materiality of Oil Painting in the Digital Age

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Authors: Yanfeng Wang
Cited by: 0

Abstract

In the "post-media era" where digital image production, dissemination and consumption dominate, virtual images have constructed a universal "virtual presence". This article focuses on the inherent materiality of oil painting, arguing that it is not a remnant of nostalgia, but an aesthetic resistance that confirms “real presence” in the digital void. It evokes the embodied perception of the integration of body and mind through the visuality of touch, the condensation of time and the decisive traces of creation. The article reviews the revival of materiality theory from modernism to contemporary times. With the help of phenomenology and material culture research, it analyzes the contemporary return of the "aura" of oil paintings. Through artist cases and personal practice, it explains how materiality is actively "reconstructed" into a positive aesthetic strategy and philosophical statement.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Visual Culture and Art Theory Art Aesthetics and Perception Politics and Modernism

Publication details

Journal / source
Arts Studies and Criticism
Volume
6
Issue
6
Pages
502–502
Publication date
17 January 2026
Language
EN