abstract
The paper aims to characterize the relation between spectators and images and, therefore, uses the mythological figures of Narcissus, Pygmalion and Medusa, routinely used to talk about pictures. Often, Narcissus is associated with self-representation; Medusa with photography and death and Pygmalion with the simulacrum. However, in a brief footnote, W.J.T. Mitchell talks about the "effects" that images provoke in viewers, establishing a relationship between spectators, images and these three paradigmatic figures. This paper proposes to expand Mitchell´s view and assume that the three myths contain the main elements to follow the relationship between spectators and images.
keywords:
spectator; image; Narcissus; Medusa; Pygmalion
