Reflexive mimesis in contemporary visual culture

A significant strand of new work in visual culture shows figures expressing extreme emotion. Such produces an experience of what I call “reflexive mimesis.” Modernism eschewed mimesis in favor of reflexivity; mass culture largely took over the role of producing mimetic experience for its audience. “Reflexive mimesis” represents an alternative that does not seek to deny or interrupt our mimetic capacity; indeed I argue that such work explores mimesis as a technique for experiencing ourselves as “mimetic animals.” However, this work is reflexive, not ideological. Among the artists considered in this chapter are Bill Viola, Chloe Piene, Paul Pfeiffer, Sam Taylor-Wood and Andy Warhol.