Techniques of the Observer: On Vision and Modernity in the 19th Century (October Books)

In __Techniques of the Observer__ Jonathan Crary provides a dramatically new perspective on the visual culture of the nineteenth century, reassessing problems of both visual modernism and social modernity. Inverting conventional approaches, Crary considers the problem of visuality not through the study of art works and images, but by analyzing the historical construction of the observer. He insists that the problems of vision are inseparable from the operation of social power and examines how, beginning in the 1820s, the observer became the site of new discourses and practices that situated vision within the body as a physiological event. Alongside the sudden appearance of physiological optics, Crary points out, theories and models of "subjective vision" were developed that gave the observer a new autonomy and productivity while simultaneously allowing new forms of control and standardization of vision. Crary examines a range of diverse work in philosophy, in the empirical sciences, and in the elements of an emerging mass visual culture. He discusses at length the significance of optical apparatuses such as the stereoscope and of precinematic devices, detailing how they were the product of new physiological knowledge. He also shows how these forms of mass culture, usually labeled as "realist," were in fact based on abstract models of vision, and he suggests that mimetic or perspectival notions of vision and representation were initially abandoned in the first half of the nineteenth century within a variety of powerful institutions and discourses, well before the modernist painting of the 1870s and 1880s. Jonathan Crary is Assistant Professor of Art History at Barnard College and Columbia University. He is a founding editor of __Zone__ and Zone Books. img003_2R 1 img004_1L 2 img004_2R 3 img005_2R 4 img006_2R 5 img007_2R 6 img008_1L 7 img008_2R 8 img009_1L 9 img009_2R 10 img010_1L 11 img010_2R 12 img011_1L 13 img011_2R 14 img012_1L 15 img012_2R 16 img013_1L 17 img013_2R 18 img014_1L 19 img014_2R 20 img015_1L 21 img015_2R 22 img016_1L 23 img016_2R 24 img017_1L 25 img017_2R 26 img018_1L 27 img018_2R 28 img019_1L 29 img019_2R 30 img020_1L 31 img020_2R 32 img021_1L 33 img021_2R 34 img022_1L 35 img022_2R 36 img023_1L 37 img023_2R 38 img024_1L 39 img024_2R 40 img025_1L 41 img025_2R 42 img026_1L 43 img026_2R 44 img027_1L 45 img027_2R 46 img028_1L 47 img028_2R 48 img029_1L 49 img029_2R 50 img030_1L 51 img030_2R 52 img031_1L 53 img031_2R 54 img032_1L 55 img032_2R 56 img033_1L 57 img033_2R 58 img034_1L 59 img034_2R 60 img035_1L 61 img035_2R 62 img036_1L 63 img036_2R 64 img037_1L 65 img037_2R 66 img038_1L 67 img038_2R 68 img039_1L 69 img039_2R 70 img040_1L 71 img040_2R 72 img041_1L 73 img041_2R 74 img042_1L 75 img042_2R 76 img043_1L 77 img043_2R 78 img044_1L 79 img044_2R 80 img045_1L 81 img045_2R 82 img046_1L 83 img046_2R 84 img047_1L 85 img047_2R 86 img048_1L 87 img048_2R 88 img049_1L 89 img049_2R 90 img050_1L 91 img050_2R 92 img051_1L 93 img051_2R 94 img052_1L 95 img052_2R 96 img053_1L 97 img053_2R 98 img054_1L 99 img054_2R 100 img055_1L 101 img055_2R 102 img056_1L 103 img056_2R 104 img057_1L 105 img057_2R 106 img058_1L 107 img058_2R 108 img059_1L 109 img059_2R 110 img060_1L 111 img060_2R 112 img061_1L 113 img061_2R 114 img062_1L 115 img062_2R 116 img063_1L 117 img063_2R 118 img064_1L 119 img064_2R 120 img065_1L 121 img065_2R 122 img066_1L 123 img066_2R 124 img067_1L 125 img067_2R 126 img068_1L 127 img069_1L 129 img069_2R 130 img070_1L 131 img070_2R 132 img071_1L 133 img071_2R 134 img072_1L 135 img072_2R 136 img073_1L 137 img073_2R 138 img074_1L 139 img074_2R 140 img075_1L 141 img075_2R 142 img076_1L 143 img076_2R 144 img077_1L 145 img077_2R 146 img078_1L 147 img078_2R 148 img079_1L 149 img079_2R 150 img080_1L 151 img080_2R 152 img081_1L 153 img081_2R 154 img082_1L 155 img082_2R 156 img083_1L 157 img083_2R 158 img084_1L 159 img084_2R 160 img085_1L 161 img085_2R 162 img086_1L 163 img086_2R 164 img087_1L 165 img087_2R 166 img088_1L 167 img088_2R 168 img089_1L 169 img089_2R 170 img090_1L 171 img090_2R 172 img091_1L 173 img091_2R 174 img092_1L 175 img092_2R 176 img093_1L 177 img093_2R 178 Crary aporta una perspectiva nueva acerca de los orígenes de la cultura visual contemporánea en el siglo XIX y revisa los problemas del modernismo visual y la modernidad social. Invirtiendo el enfoque convencional, que suele considerar el problema de la visualidad a través del estudio de obras de arte e imágenes, se concentra en el análisis de la construcción histórica del observador, insistiendo en que el problema de la visión está ligado al funcionamiento del poder social y analizando cómo, desde la década de 1820, el observador se convierte en la sede de nuevos discursos y prácticas que sitúan la visión dentro del cuerpo, como un acontecimiento fisiológico. Advierte que junto a la repentina aparición de la óptica fisiológica, se desarrollaron teorías y modelos de "visión subjetiva" que dotaron al observador de una nueva autonomía y productividad, abriendo también el paso a nuevas formas de control y estandarización de la visión. Examina en detalle una serie de obras provenientes de la filosofía, de las ciencias empíricas y de una cultura visual emergente, subrayando la importancia específica de aparatos ópticos e instrumentos precinematográficos como el estereoscopio. Sostiene que estas formas de cultura de masas, normalmente etiquetadas de "realistas", se basaban en modelos abstractos de visión, sugiriendo que las nociones de la visión y la representación miméticas o perspectivistas, fueron abandonadas en la primera mitad del siglo diecinueve, mucho antes de la aparición de la pintura modernista en las décadas de 1870 y 1880 This Text Considers The Problem Of Visuality Not Through The Study Of Art Works And Images, But By Analyzing The Historical Construction Of The Observer. The Author Insists That The Problems Of Vision Are Inseparable From The Operation Of Social Power And Examines How, Beginning In The 1820s, The Observer Became The Site Of New Discourses And Practices That Situated Vision Within The Body As A Physiological Event. In This Context, He Examines A Range Of Diverse Work In Philosophy, In The Empirical Sciences, And In The Elements Of An Emerging Mass Visual Culture. Modernity And The Problem Of The Observer -- The Camera Obscura And Its Subject -- Subjective Vision And The Separation Of The Senses -- Techniques Of The Observer -- Visionary Abstraction. Jonathan Crary. An October Book. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [151]-162) And Index.