Visual Culture

Research and essays on photography, design, color, perception, and the relationship between physical and digital media.

When AI Restores a Photo, Is It Preserving the Past or Inventing It?

AI photo restoration can recover a useful image while adding details the original cannot verify. What peer-reviewed research says about reconstruction, memory, and preserving the evidence.

Theoplis Stewart II

Oct 125 min read

A hand holding a smartphone displaying app icons against a wooden background.

That Influencer Might Not Exist: AI Personalities and the Instagram Disclosure Gap

A strange Reel raises a bigger question: does that influencer exist? Granny Spills, Mia Zelu, and Instagram's disclosure rules show what to check before trusting the person on screen.

Theoplis Stewart II

Sep 2711 min read

Gray sofa beside a geometric marble coffee table in a neutral living room.

Where Did the Color Go? Screens, Neutral Design, and the Search for Visual Quiet

Neutral cars, muted rooms, colorful screens: has visual intensity migrated online? A photo-led examination of color psychology, design choices, and the unproven screen-compensation hypothesis.

Theoplis Stewart II

Sep 259 min read

Visual Culture

When AI Restores a Photo, Is It Preserving the Past or Inventing It?

That Influencer Might Not Exist: AI Personalities and the Instagram Disclosure Gap

Where Did the Color Go? Screens, Neutral Design, and the Search for Visual Quiet

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