Atlas of Emotion: Journeys in Art, Architecture, and Film

by Giuliana Bruno

Traversing a varied and enchanting landscape with forays into the fields of geography, art, architecture, design, cartography and film, Giuliana Bruno’s Atlas of Emotion , winner of the 2004 Kraszna-Krausz award for “the world’s best book on the moving image”, is a highly original endeavor to map a cultural history of spatio-visual arts. In an evocative montage of words and pictures she emphasizes that “sight” and “site” but also “motion” and “emotion” are irrevocably connected. In so doing, she touches on the art of Gerhard Richter and Annette the film-making of Peter Greenaway and Michaelangelo Antonioni; the origins of the movie palace and its precursors, and on her own journeys to her native Naples. Visually luscious and daring in conception, Bruno opens new vistas and understandings at every turn.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Film, Architecture, Theory, Art History, Academic

496 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Merve Eflatun]

Films about movements in the city
Germania Anno Zero (Germany Year Zero)
Uccellacci e Uccellini (Hawks and Sparrows)
Mamma Roma
Der Himmel Über Berlin (Wings of Desire)
Lisbon Story
The Tango Lesson
Beyond the Clouds
Hiroshima Mon Amour
Tian Mi Mi (Almost a Love Story)
Until the End of the World

[Lomme]

With every sentence I read my IQ multiplied by 10. An absolute gem to read, there seems to be a universe of knowledge behind every carefully chosen word, and it was so nice to explore those universes (and sometimes get lost in them).

After 7 pages I had enough though 😇. Maybe one day I’ll read more.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very humbling book. I've been working away at it for eight months and have managed to understand maybe one tenth of it. That one tenth was fascinating, but what all did I miss?

The book is inspired by the Carte du pays de Tendre , a French map, first published in 1654, showing a geography based around the theme of love. In the author's words:

"Scudéry's map effectively charts the motion of emotion - that particular landscape which the "motion" picture itself has turned into an art of mapping. Its tender geography has served as the navigational chart that has guided me in my endeavor to map a cultural history of the spatiovisual arts. Placing film within this architectonics, Atlas of Emotion explores the relation of the moving image to other visual sites, "fashioning" in particular its bond to architecture, travel culture, and the history of the visual arts as well as its connection to the art of memory and that of mapmaking."

And, yeah, okay, I can see that. But to me this book was mostly a chance to get a glimpse into someone else's mind - someone much smarter than me, and who comes from a completely different background/mental space. The times when I could follow along with the imagery, the word play, the jumps from one (unfamiliar) concept to another, it was fascinating. But the rest of the time I ended up feeling a little lost.

[Akmal A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boleh dikategorikan sebagai buku yang payah untuk aku faham kerana mungkin pengetahuan aku tentang dunia senibina dan seni sangat cetek ditambah pula dengan terhadnya kosa kata akademik aku. Bahan bacaan akademik memang payah dan memenatkan tetapi ini semua tak boleh dipandang dalam kerangka negatif kerana buku inilah yang membuatkan aku benar-benar menerokai sisi sudut pandang yang baru.

Selesai membaca buku ini, aku cuma faham mungkin sekitar 30-40% tentang apa yang ingin disampaikan penulis. Penulis menganjurkan satu sudut pandang yang baru dalam teori filem dengan mengambil kira sejarah perjalanan disiplin seni bina, seni, kartografi, fesyen dan budaya mengembara yang saling bersilang tindih sehingga mewujudkan suatu disiplin yang kita kenali sebagai seni filem hari ini. Dengan menjadikan Peta Emosi yang di pernah di pakai dalam novel Madeleine de Scudéry, penulis mengajak kita meneroka satu pandangan kritikal yang baru yang katanya kurang dipandang dalam pengajian filem hari ini.

Seperti yang aku katakan awal tadi, aku tidak berapa faham tentang apa yang dikatakan penulis dan banyak sebab yang mempengaruhinya salah satunya mungkin aku sendiri tidak faham bagaimana teori filem itu sendiri. Tetapi apa yang menarik tentang buku ini ialah banyak perkara yang aku pelajari terutamanya dalam perkembangan budaya barat seperti bagaimana rumah sinema itu muncul hasil daripada cerdik pandai Barat yang ingin meneroka deria rasa sehingga hari ini tidak henti-henti penerokaan tersebut. Keadaan ini bukanlah berlaku secara tiba-tiba dan semua ini bergerak seiring dengan perubahan keadaan sosial yang berlaku di barat sejak awal lagi Zaman Renaisans ditambah pesat sejak kurun ke 19 dimana era-era tersebut ramai pengembara barat menjelajah dan menjajah dunia dan membawa pulang berjuta-juta bahan-bahan yang dipamerkan di ruang awam di bandar-bandar besar Eropah seperti Inggeris dan Perancis. Keadaan ini juga mempengaruhi tindak balas sosial masyarakat ketika itu sehingga munculah apa yang dikenali sebagai rumah sinema atau panggung wayang yang merupakan sebahagian daripada proses urbanisasi.

Susah untuk aku terangkan sebab mungkin aku tidak berapa faham tentang gagasan yang ingin disampaikan penulis. Buku ini merupakan karya yang terbaik dalam genre seni/media/filem/budaya dan memenangi banyak anugerah. Mungkin satu hari nanti aku akan baca ulang.

[Matteo · Rating 1 out of 5]

In una parola: aptico.