Philippe-Alain Michaud Expands Cinema's Definition Through Art History
In a new publication, art historian Philippe-Alain Michaud argues that cinema cannot be reduced to its spectacular application or a corpus of images, but must be understood through parameters like framing, scrolling, montage, projection, and the relationship between images and history. He draws on Aby Warburg's Mnemosyne project to connect cinema to pre-cinematic practices such as Étienne-Jules Marey's chronophotography, which extracted movement from reality; pyrotechnics, described as "intermittent light projection in darkness"; and tapestry, where "like the carpet, cinema transforms optical experience into bodily experience." Michaud also situates animation and experimental cinema within this expanded history. The book was reviewed by Jérôme Lebrun in artpress.
Key facts
- Philippe-Alain Michaud authored 'Sketches'.
- The book argues for an expanded definition of cinema beyond its technical and spectacular aspects.
- Michaud analyzes cinematic parameters: framing, scrolling, montage, projection, and image-history relations.
- He connects cinema to pre-cinematic practices like chronophotography, pyrotechnics, and tapestry.
- Étienne-Jules Marey's chronophotography is cited as a key influence.
- Aby Warburg's Mnemosyne project is referenced for its reconfiguration of image chains.
- Pyrotechnics is described as 'intermittent light projection in darkness'.
- Tapestry is compared to cinema as transforming optical experience into bodily experience.
- The book also addresses animation and experimental cinema.
- Jérôme Lebrun reviewed the book in artpress.
Entities
Artists
- Philippe-Alain Michaud
- Étienne-Jules Marey
- Aby Warburg
- Jérôme Lebrun
Institutions
- artpress
Sources
- artpress —