Brought to Light : Photography and the Invisible, 1840-1900

by Edited by Corey Keller; With essays by Jennifer Tucker, Tom Gunning, and Maren Gröning; Additional contributions by Marie-Sophie Corcy, Erin O'Toole, and CaroleTroufléau-Sandrin

• ISBN13: 9780300142105
• ISBN10: 0300142102
• Format: Trade Book
• Copyright: 2008-11-25
• Publisher: Yale University Press

Summary

Brought to Lightinvites readers to step back to a time when photography, X-rays, and movies were new, when forays into the world beneath the skin or the realm beyond our everyday vision captivated scientists and the public alike. In this book, accounts of scientific experimentation blend with stories of showmanship to reveal how developments in 19th-century technology could enlighten as well as frighten and amaze. Through a series of 200 vintage imagesproduced by photographers, scientists, and amateur inventorsthis book ultimately traces the rise of popular science. The images demonstrate early experiments with microscopes, telescopes, electricity and magnetism, motion studies, X-rays and radiation, and spirit photography. We learn how these pictures circulated among the public, whether through the press, world's fairs, or theaters. What started out as scientific progress, however, often took on the trappings of magic and superstition, as photography was enlisted to offer visual evidence of clairvoyance, spirits, and other occult influences. With beautifully reproduced plates and engaging narratives, this book embodies the aesthetic pleasures and excitement of the tale it tells.

Author Biography

Corey Keller is associate curator of photography at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Jennifer Tucker is associate professor of History at Wesleyan University. Tom Gunning is professor of Art History at the University of Chicago.

Maren Gröning is Curator of the Photographic Collection at the Albertina Museum, Vienna.

Table of Contents

Director's Foreword	p. 13
Acknowledgements	p. 14
Sight Unseen: Picturing the Invisible	p. 19
The Social Photographic Eye	p. 37
Invisible Worlds, Visible Media	p. 51
"Almost a Game of Chance": Josef Maria Eder and Scientific Photography	p. 65
Plates: with essays by Marie-Sophie Corcy, Corey Keller, Erin O'Tpole, and Carole Troufleau-Sandrin	p. 73
Microscopes
Telescopes
Motion Studies
Electricity and Magnetism
X-rays
Spirit Photography
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