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Artificial Darkness: An Obscure History of Modern Art and Media
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Artificial Darkness: An Obscure History of Modern Art and Media Hardcover - 2016

by Noam M. Elcott


From the publisher

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 tienne-Jules Marey, Richard Wagner, Georges Mlis, 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.

Details

  • Title Artificial Darkness: An Obscure History of Modern Art and Media
  • Author Noam M. Elcott
  • Binding Hardcover
  • Pages 312
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher University of Chicago Press
  • Date 2016
  • ISBN 9780226328973 / 022632897X
  • Weight 2.7 lbs (1.22 kg)
  • Dimensions 9.5 x 6.5 x 1.1 in (24.13 x 16.51 x 2.79 cm)
  • Library of Congress subjects Shades and shadows in art, Art, Modern - 20th century - History
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 2015031842
  • Dewey Decimal Code 709.04

About the author

Noam M. Elcott is associate professor of art history and archaeology at Columbia University and an editor of the journal Grey Room.