This essay reflects critically on the notion of visuality, a centrepiece of current theory on visual culture and its underlying idea of a structural ‘discursive determination’ of visual phenomena. Is the visual really to be addressed through the post-war heritage of discourse and representation analysis relying on language/linguistics as a model for explaining culture? More specifically, how can the – creative – novelty of visual culture be addressed by a notion of discourse? This essay will argue that the debate on visual culture is lacking with regard to discerning the creative dimension of its own appearance. It will indicate an alternative conceptual framework based on Johann P. Arnason’s draft of tripartite culturalization which focuses on a shift from essences to dimensions of culture. This will be further developed by relating Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s idea of ‘chiasm’ of ‘the visible and the invisible’ to the notion of collective creativity and ‘the imaginary institution of society’ of Cornelius Castoriadis. In the theoretical relationship between Merleau-Ponty and Castoriadis it is possible to indicate a notion of visuality as a creative dimension.