Thoughts on the Nature of Some Visual Objects

One should begin, perhaps, by saying that most visual objects are not just visual objects. Many of them can also be touched, heard, even smelled or tasted. We can touch a tree or an animal or, if we are allowed to do so, even a sculpture or an ordinary object. We hear the people speak in a film or a TV serial or even in a news presentation or discussion. We can smell both living and nonliving visual objects, such as a person or a freshly printed or old, rusty book. And we can taste fruit or bread, etc. Apart from all this, many visual objects—a painting, a photo, a cartoon—are normally accompanied by some text, such as a commentary, a title or a caption.