The theater of electricity : technology and spectacle in the late 19th century

The theater of electricity : technology and spectacle in the late 19th century / Ulf Otto.

Since the 1880s, electrical energies started circulating in European theaters, generated from fossil fuels in urban power plants. A mysterious force, which was still traded as romantic life force by some and for others had already come to stand in for progress, entered performance venues. Engineerin...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Otto, Ulf (Author)
Format: eBook
Language:English
Published: Berlin : Palgrave Macmillan, 2023.
Subjects:
1800-1899
Stage lighting > History > 19th century.
Theater > History > 19th century.
Theater > Philosophy.
Stage management.
Stage lighting
Stage management
Theater
Theater > Philosophy
History
Online Access:Click for online access
Table of Contents:
  • Intro
  • Preface
  • Contents
  • Introduction
  • Appearance of Electricity
  • Theatricality and Electricity
  • Electrification of the Theater
  • 1: Incandescence
  • 1.1 Installations: Technical Apparatus and Aesthetic Continuities (Frankfurt 1891)
  • 1.2 Legitimations: Interests of Directors, Industry and Monarchy (Munich 1883)
  • 1.3 Sensualities: The Meaning of Light Colors and Chandeliers (Paris 1881)
  • 1.4 Purifications: Oxygen Consumption and Nervous Disorders (London 1881)
  • 1.5 Combustions: Catastrophe Simulations and Safety Measures (Vienna 1881)
  • 2: Oxidation
  • 2.1 Gas Burners: Lamps and Street Lighting (1817/1818)
  • 2.2 Reflectors: Chemical Reactions and Enlightened Light (1781-1784)
  • 2.3 Foot Ramps: Natural Figures and Unnatural Light Sources (1757)
  • 2.4 Showcases: Optical Techniques and Artistic Light Changes (1760-1822)
  • 2.5 Pyrotechnics: Color Plays and Fatigue Phenomena
  • 3: Regulators
  • 3.1 Expectations of Salvation: Festivals of Incandescence (Wagner)
  • 3.2 Power Transmission: Vertical Integration and Avant-Garde (Appia)
  • 3.3 Parallel Circuits: Dividing the Light and Controlling the Current
  • 3.4 Switching Operations: Button Pressing and Weather Lighting (Benjamin)
  • 4: Fabrication
  • 4.1 Engineering Knowledge: Stage Engineering and Industrial Operations
  • 4.2 Transport Systems: Patent Stages and Image Changes
  • 4.3 Projection Surfaces: Cloud Apparatuses and Broadening Horizons (Fortuny)
  • 4.4 Soul Vibrations: Stage Walls and Cloud Apparatuses
  • 4.5 Atmospheric Arts: Rotation and Elfin Forest (Reinhardt)
  • 5: Attractions
  • 5.1 Rollercoasters: Power Transmission and Amusement Parks (Frankfurt 1891)
  • 5.2 Water Forces: Fountains and Rays of Light (Frankfurt 1891)
  • 5.3 Arts and Crafts: Upholstery and Total Works of Art (Munich 1882 and Frankfurt 1891)
  • 5.4 Festivals of Light: Enlightenment and Orientalism (London 1851-Paris 1900)
  • 5.5 Dynamos: Epiphany and Energy (Paris 1900)
  • 6: Industrial Ballets
  • 6.1 Newspaper Reports: Poetry and Technology
  • 6.2 Twilight of the Gods: Electrical Engineering and the Process of Civilization
  • 6.3 Dances of Progress: Culture Industry and Colonialism
  • 6.4 Luminous Jewels: Féerie and Industry
  • 6.5 Luminoclasts: Machismo and Avant-Garde
  • 7: Luminous Bodies
  • 7.1 Allegories: Trademarks and Women's Bodies
  • 7.2 Dispositives: Bodies on Display and Unidirectional Glances
  • 7.3 Specialties: Attraction and Scandal
  • 7.4 Salomania: Exoticism and Projection
  • 7.5 Maenads: Classical Philology and Psychoanalysis
  • 8: Projection Arts
  • 8.1 Serpentines: Belly Dances and Light Shows
  • 8.2 Textiles: Fabric Webs and Whitewashing
  • 8.3 Motors: Patented Art and Extensions of the Body
  • 8.4 Effects: Spotlights and Ghostly Apparitions
  • 8.5 Cinema: Serpentines and Images of Movement
  • 9: Conclusion: Aesthetics of Electricity

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