Aesthetic Theories of the Visual Communication Media Arts: Television

The scientific study of the visual communication media arts must be based on general theories regarding these media and specific theories developed for each medium. It is possible that the delay in the development of vigorous scientific studies and empirical research findings in the visual communication medium of television has caused an inevitable delay in the development of specific television aesthetic theories. But this paper argues the exact opposite. Certain unique television aesthetic theories exist that can be further developed and used as the bases for the scientific study of the medium. Specifically, this paper (a ) reviews the major developments in the evolution of aesthetics of the arts, (b ) relates these developments to the creation of distinctive media aesthetic theories, and (c ) examines the newly developed holistic theory of television aesthetics, which stems from the threefold study of perception, cognition, and composition of televised images.