藝術作品之光自何而來？此一問題觸及藝術的界域問題。在西方社會中，從柏拉圖以來，「光」(lumière)的意思是指明亮、也是指知和智慧，並兼具道德和理智雙重價值。作品之「光」不僅來自藝術，並夫具道德和理智雙重價值。作品之「光」不僅來自藝術作品本身，而且來自製作作品的科學儀器。美學領域、科技領域、知領域因此相互交融、混成一體。攝影術是典型的範例。從光而生、用科學儀器製作而成的圖像所具有之自動性(uatomaticité)、指示性(indicialité)、記憶性(mémorielles)、可複製性(reproductiblilité)等特質，成為獨特認知世界的途徑。誕生於十九世紀初的「新圖像」，為了確保其獨特的美感品質，掀起了一場「藝術」與「非－藝術」的界域之爭。

From where does artistic work’s light come? At once the question poses the problem of art boundaries. In Western societies, heir to Plato, the word “lumière” is both equivalent to clearness, to knowledge and to wisdom. It carries moral and intellectual values. Moreover, “lumière” is not only coming form the artistic work itself but also form its technical devices. So aesthetic, technical, cognitive spheres all blend together. The example of photography is emblematic: its automaticity, its indexicality, its reproductibility, its memborizibility lead the way to a specific knowledge of the world. The《new picture》, born at the beginning of the XIXth century, quarreled the boundaries between “art” and “non-art” while ensuring its specific aesthetic qualities.