Publicize, publicity, publish—the semantic relationship of the word “public” with the world of words and letters is no coincidence. The Western notion of the public—or “audience,” for that matter—is primarily a verbal and acoustic one. Modern institutional concepts like “public law,” “public opinion,” or “public sphere” are not only a legacy of the Enlightenment—they also reflect an exclusive reliance on language. As such, they concede the capacity of constituting a critical rational discourse for the legitimacy of power solely to words and the realm of acoustics, leaving the realm of the visual associated with the age-old stigma of suspicion and mistrust. The thrust of the articles presented in this issue of Critical Interventions challenge this perspective. Based on a variety of case studies, ranging from commercial sign board painting in Cameroon and Côte d’Ivoire, and colonial advertisement and religious billboards in Nigeria, to administrative photography in Gambia and political posters Namibia, the authors focus on the visual fabric of the public. Illuminating the complex scope of what it means to speak of “visual publics,” they remind us that readers and listeners are equally viewers and spectators.

Download this article as a PDF.