Artificial darkness : an obscure history of modern art and media / Noam M. Elcott.

Main entry:

Elcott, Noam Milgrom, 1978- author.

Title & Author:

Artificial darkness : an obscure history of modern art and media / Noam M. Elcott.

Publication:

Chicago ; London : University of Chicago Press, [2016]

Description:

xi, 306 pages : illustrations ; 26 cm

Notes:
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 241-292) and index.
Artificial darkness -- Dark theaters -- Black screens -- The black art of Georges Méliès -- Spaceless play: Oskar Schlemmer's dance against enlightenment -- Coda: historical darknesses.

Summary:

"Darkness has a history and a uniquely modern form. Distinct from night, shadows, and artificial light, "artificial darkness" has been overlooked - until now. In fact, controlled darkness was essential to the rise of photography and cinema, science and spectacle, and a century of advanced art and film. Artificial Darkness is the first book to historicize and theorize this phenomenon and map its applications across a range of media and art forms. In exploring how artificial darkness shaped modern art, film, and media, Noam M. Elcott addresses seminal and obscure works alongside their sites of production - such as photography darkrooms, film studios, and laboratories - and their sites of reception, including theaters, cinemas, and exhibitions. He argues that artists, scientists, and entertainers like Étienne-Jules Marey, Richard Wagner, Georges Méliès, and Oskar Schlemmer revolutionized not only images but also everything surrounding them: the screen, the darkness, and the experience of bodies and space. At the heart of the book is "the black screen," a technology of darkness that spawned today's blue and green screens and has undergirded numerous advanced art and film practices to this day. Turning familiar art and film narratives on their heads, Artificial Darkness is a revolutionary treatment of an elusive, yet fundamental, aspect of art and media history"--Publisher's website.

Resources:
Table of contents

ISBN:

9780226328973 (cloth ; alkaline paper)
022632897X (cloth ; alkaline paper)
9780226597751 (paperback)
022659775X (paperback)
9780226329024 (e-book)

Subject:

Licht
Méliès, Georges, 1861-1938 Criticism and interpretation.
Schlemmer, Oskar, 1888-1943 Criticism and interpretation.
Shades and shadows in art.
Art, Modern 20th century History.
Ombres dans l'art.
Art 20e siècle Histoire.
20.02 philosophy and theory of the art sciences.
ART / History / Modern (late 19th Century to 1945)
PERFORMING ARTS / Film / History & Criticism.
PHOTOGRAPHY / History.
TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING / History.
Art, Modern History 20th century.
Art, Modern.
Dunkelheit
Künste
Kunst
Medien
Moderne
Schatten
Theater
Art, Modern 20th century.
Theaters History.
Motion pictures History.
Photography.

Form/genre:

History.

Holdings:

Location: Library main 293084
Call No.: BIB 237719
Status: Available

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