The main marker for belonging to a certain cultural community is the ability to recognize and reproduce the common clichйs. The verbal clichйs seem to be more obvious and thus we have a greater critical distance to them. What is thought the role of the visual clichй in the construction of various identities such as national, gender, religious, etc.? What is the relationship between the visual clichй and the discursive one? Does one depend directly on the other or is there a different kind of dynamics between them?

The use (or the abuse) of the clichй in the artistic practices is becoming more important. Is an artistic statement possible at all without relaying somehow on the clichй? The process is ambiguous: on one side, irony is undermining the clichй and disturbs its trust value; on the other, it may actually be recalling and re-confirming it.

Not every one is able to identify the visual clichйs. The local knowledge about them constitutes a clear border between the locals and the foreign. We are here the ones who can recognize certain clichйs regardless whether we worship or ironize those. The knowledge of global clichйs is just a case of that: not everyone can identify them; although universal, these are after all distinguishing one slim layer of the enlightened ones over the rest.