Does more metabolic activity occur if there's more "visual activity"?

Is there a metabolic difference in the occipital lobe (or anywhere in the brain, for that matter) when looking at something visually stimulating (e.g., Times Square, strobe lights, explosions) versus something not as stimulating to look at (a desert, a bare room, etc.)? Or even being in a place completely lacking light? Or does the brain not objectively find a difference between them, process them the same, and we just subjectively perceive them as different levels of visual stimulation?

Also, an additional question, does the brain perceive a difference between being in a place completely absent of light and just having your eyes closed? (Does it "know" the eyes are closed?)