Realism in the Age of the Simulated Image: Two Black Holes

Peter Nelson

doi:10.1162/leon_a_02253

Realism in the Age of the Simulated Image: Two Black Holes

Peter Nelson^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › peer-review

Abstract

This paper examines the production and reception of two scientific images of black holes, the 2019 image of the M87 black hole and Gargantua from Christopher Nolan’s 2014 film Interstellar. The author argues that these two images of unobservable phenomena crystallize a definition of contemporary realism. In an information-rich society a simulated image achieves realism by compressing large amounts of data into an intelligible image using an algorithmic methodology that the viewer trusts as scientifically reliable and therefore realistic.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	489-492
Number of pages	4
Journal	Leonardo
Volume	55
Issue number	5
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1162/leon_a_02253
Publication status	Published - 1 Oct 2022

Scopus Subject Areas

Engineering (miscellaneous)
Music
Visual Arts and Performing Arts
Computer Science Applications

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Realism in the Age of the Simulated Image: Two Black Holes

Abstract

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