Our culture has come to appreciate hybrid representational practices not only in digital media but also in traditional forms such as television and film. Nevertheless, our culture's fascination with a contrary representational practice—its “desire for immediacy”—remains strong. The desire for immediacy manifests itself not only in popular entertainment forms, but also (with unfortunate results) in the popular understanding of forms of scientific representation.

The extent to which thinking about art has been shaped by the predominantly descriptive approach of the past is a topic in need of review. This paper summarizes historical influences that stimulated the textual turn and traces the evolution toward more visual communication.