Abstract
Viewing images and especially viewing works of art requires a "visual competence" that needs to be defined in more detail. Depending on the methodological orientation, this competence is more likely to be considered as historical-contextual expertise external to the image or as an ability to "read" or "aesthetically experience" individual works intrinsic to the image. This article playfully explores the dynamics of a visual competence that is negotiated between these two poles. A series of pictures by the Düsseldorf photo artist Thomas Ruff was chosen as an example. This is "postmodern" art photography in the broadest sense, which explicitly raises questions about competence in dealing with photographic imagery insofar as Ruff's works presumably thematise their reception themselves and seem to reflect on it within the image.
