Devices of Wonder: From the World in a Box to Images on a Screen

Devices of Wonder: From the World in a Box to Images on a Screen

An inquiry into emergent media's rich lineage, Devices of Wonder explores the artful machines humans have used to augment visual perception. The encyclopedic cabinet of curiosities serves as a model for this study of the archaic instruments lurking in state-of-the art technology. Featured in Devices of Wonder are android automata, lunar landscapes, perspective theaters, vues d'optique, microscopes, magnetic games, magic lanterns, camera obscuras, boxes by Joseph Cornell, Lucas Samaras's Mirrored Room, Suzanne Anker's Zoosemiotics, Mark Tilden's UniBug 3.1, panoramic works by Jeff Wall and Giovanni Lusieri, paintings by Jean-Baptiste Chardin and Joseph Wright of Derby, projections by Diana Thater and James Turrell, and a pop-up book by Kara Walker. Barbara Stafford's introduction weaves these fascinating artifacts into a provocative narrative analyzing the complex links between old and new media. Her wide-ranging investigation is complemented by thirty-one short essays in which Frances Terpak tracks the often surprising connections among individual items. Like the cabinet of curiosities, Devices of Wonder functions as an analogical instrument, reframing the beautiful "eye machines" that continue to mediate our encounters with the world. This book is published in conjunction with an exhibition at the Getty Museum from November 13, 2001, through February 6, 2002. Somewhere between the science of optics and the world of visual amusements lies the material to be featured in an upcoming exhibition at the Getty Research Institute, as documented here. The show will gather inventions that alter or enhance visual perception, from the Renaissance to the present, including a startling variety of "eye machines," from mirrors and microscopes to dioramas and panoramas. Among the more familiar tools of perception are curiosity cabinets, faceted lenses, anamorphic images, and clockwork automatons. Joseph Cornell's boxes, Diana Thater's video projections, and paintings by Jean-Baptiste Chardin further extend the idea of visual perception, taking it from the mechanical into the artistic realm. Stafford (Univ. of Chicago) admirably condenses centuries of experimentation into a short essay. Unfortunately, despite many intelligent observations, her attempt to deconstruct these objects philosophically and her academic writing style often detract from the wonder of the subject at hand. Terpak (curator of photography, Getty Research Inst.) relates a more straightforward history, dividing the disparate inventions by type. Despite the drawbacks, the subject matter is compelling and there is much to be gleaned factually, making the volume worth consideration for all art collections. Susan Lense, Upper Arlington P.L., OH Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. Barbara Maria Stafford is William B. Ogden Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago. Frances Terpak is curator of photographs at the Getty Research Institute. Isotta Poggi is research associate at the Getty Research Institute. Used Book in Good Condition