The power of images brings together Art X (1952) by Ray and Charles Eames, George Nelson and Alexander Girard with Ken Isaacs’ Knowledge Box (1962), two revolutionary approaches to teaching art and design through images. Heirs to the immersive projection devices of the 19th century, which democratised knowledge on a large scale, these avalanches of experimental images short-circuit inductive reasoning and abolish the boundaries between disciplines and between the fields of knowledge and learning. Far from being case studies of the past, they attempt to counteract the loss of attention linked to the technological seductions of vision and their impact, a concern that we still experience today.

A professor of art and design history and theory at HEAD – Genève/HES-SO, Alexandra Midal is a practicing artist and independent curator whose research into visual culture translates into works, exhibitions, books and films.