Arts of Darkness

Arts of Darkness
Author: Thomas S. Hibbs
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2008
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 9781890626716

"Often denounced as nihilistic and even degenerate, film noir seems an unlikely antidote to the despair of contemporary popular culture. But at the heart of these dark films is a spiritual quest that is profoundly hopeful. In a fascinating re-evaluation of "American noir," Thomas Hibbs argues that these powerful tales of sin and redemption embody religious themes that are essential for cultural renewal." "Starting with early noir classics such as Double Indemnity and The Maltese Falcon, Hibbs reveals their surprising connection with contemporary quest films such as The Passion, The Sixth Sense, and Spider-Man. Despite its roots in the heyday of Hollywood Marxism, noir even displays a distinctly conservative bent - redemption is personal, not political, and scientific rationalism fails to deliver on its sunny promises." "Arts of Darkness explores not only the shadowy works of the 1940s and 1950s but also recent films in which the dark themes of noir converge with the quest for redemption. Hibbs dubs these diverse but related works "American noir," a term that encompasses Chinatown and Taxi Driver, The Matrix and The Terminator, American Beauty and Thelma and Louise. Hibbs insists that these tragic and gritty films stand among the most powerful religious narratives of our time."--BOOK JACKET.

How to See a Work of Art in Total Darkness

How to See a Work of Art in Total Darkness
Author: Darby English
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 387
Release: 2010-09-24
Genre: Art
ISBN: 0262514931

Going beyond the 'blackness' of black art to examine the integrative and interdisciplinary practices of Kara Walker, Fred Wilson, Isaac Julien, Glenn Ligon, and William Pope.L—five contemporary black artists in whose work race plays anything but a defining role. Work by black artists today is almost uniformly understood in terms of its "blackness," with audiences often expecting or requiring it to "represent" the race. In How to See a Work of Art in Total Darkness, Darby English shows how severely such expectations limit the scope of our knowledge about this work and how different it looks when approached on its own terms. Refusing to grant racial blackness—his metaphorical "total darkness"—primacy over his subjects' other concerns and contexts, he brings to light problems and possibilities that arise when questions of artistic priority and freedom come into contact, or even conflict, with those of cultural obligation. English examines the integrative and interdisciplinary strategies of five contemporary artists—Kara Walker, Fred Wilson, Isaac Julien, Glenn Ligon, and William Pope.L—stressing the ways in which this work at once reflects and alters our view of its informing context: the advent of postmodernity in late twentieth-century American art and culture. The necessity for "black art" comes both from antiblack racism and resistances to it, from both segregation and efforts to imagine an autonomous domain of black culture. Yet to judge by the work of many contemporary practitioners, English writes, black art is increasingly less able—and black artists less willing—to maintain its standing as a realm apart. Through close examinations of Walker's controversial silhouettes' insubordinate reply to pictorial tradition, Wilson's and Julien's distinct approaches to institutional critique, Ligon's text paintings' struggle with modernisms, and Pope.L's vexing performance interventions, English grounds his contention that to understand this work is to displace race from its central location in our interpretation and to grant right of way to the work's historical, cultural, and aesthetic specificity.

Ribbon of Darkness

Ribbon of Darkness
Author: Barbara Maria Stafford
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 228
Release: 2019-06-21
Genre: Art
ISBN: 022663065X

Over the course of her career, Barbara Stafford has established herself the preeminent scholar of the intersections of the arts and sciences, articulating new theories and methods for understanding the sublime, the mysterious, the inscrutable. Omnivorous in her research, she has published work that embraces neuroscience and philosophy, biology and culture, pinpointing connections among each discipline’s parallel concerns. Ribbon of Darkness is a monument to the scope of her work and the range of her intellect. At times associative, but always incisive, the essays in this new volume take on a distinctly contemporary purpose: to uncover the ethical force and moral aspects of overlapping scientific and creative inquiries. This shared territory, Stafford argues, offers important insights into—and clarifications of—current dilemmas about personhood, the supposedly menial nature of manual skill, the questionable borderlands of gene editing, the potentially refining value of dualism, and the limits of a materialist worldview. Stafford organizes these essays around three concepts that structure the book: inscrutability, ineffability, and intuitability. All three, she explains, allow us to examine how both the arts and the sciences imaginatively infer meaning from the “veiled behavior of matter,” bringing these historically divided subjects into a shared intellectual inquiry and imbuing them with an ethical urgency. A vanguard work at the intersection of the arts and sciences, this book will be sure to guide readers from either realm into unfamiliar yet undeniably fertile territory.

Artificial Darkness

Artificial Darkness
Author: Noam M. Elcott
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 319
Release: 2016-05-30
Genre: Art
ISBN: 022632897X

This ambitious study explores how important darkness--artificial darkness--was, as an actual technology, in producing not just photographs but visual novelties and experiments in cinema in the nineteenth century. The study plays out against a backdrop of urban history, where most scholars have focused on the growth of artificial light and the electrification of cities. Elcott’s study challenges that approach. In considering zones of darkness, it ranges from the sites of production (darkrooms, studios) to those of reception (theaters/cinemas/arcades) that shaped modern media and perceptions. He argues that, in the nineteenth century, the avant-garde was often less interested in the filmed image than in everything surrounding it: the screen, the projected light, the darkness, the experience of disembodiment. He argues that darkness has a history separate from night, evil, or the color black, and has a specifically modern manifestation as a media technology. We are all aware of the "velvet light trap” in photography, but at the heart of this book are technologies of darkness crucial to cinema that were commonly known as "the black screen,” but have, over time, faded from the storied discourse.

Juxtapoz Dark Arts

Juxtapoz Dark Arts
Author: Saelee Oh
Publisher: Gingko Press
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2009
Genre: Art, Modern
ISBN: 9781584233619

This book is all about an art form that aims to be unsettling and has its roots in the 20th Century. Some people make a connection between dark art and gothic subculture, others simply associate it with the metaphysical, the disturbing or the nightmarish. However you perceive it, this art form is now part of mainstream culture and is becoming ever more popular. It can be found in all sorts of media including advertising, television, and film. This collection of works compiled by Juxtapoz features todays most talented dark artists, all of whom create a certain mood or emotion in their work that is uniquely theirs. Some are especially lush in detail and color such as those by Wendy Cogan-Toyoda; others more minimalist such as Irana Douers hidden treasure nudes. Artists featured include Cleon Peterson, Richard Colman, Seonna Hong, Marci Washington, Caroline Hwang, Alex Pardee, Suzanne Sattler and more.

Harry Potter: The Dark Arts (Tiny Book)

Harry Potter: The Dark Arts (Tiny Book)
Author: Insight Editions
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 192
Release: 2020-09-29
Genre: Art
ISBN: 1683834593

Explore the mysterious and sinister Dark Arts with this collectible tiny art book featuring facts and art from the Harry Potter films. Go behind-the-scenes of the beloved Harry Potter films and learn all about the Dark Arts of the Wizarding World. From basic curses and jinxes to Dark creatures like the Basilisk to the Dark Lord himself, this fascinating little book is filled with fun facts and unique insights on the darker side of the Harry Potter films, illustrated by concept art and unit photography from the set! One of a new line of collectible pocket-size art books on the Harry Potter films, this book on the Dark Arts features exciting artwork and behind-the-scenes facts in a fun, readable miniature size. Fans can choose their favorites or collect them all!

Sketching from the Imagination - Dark Arts

Sketching from the Imagination - Dark Arts
Author: 3dtotal Publishing
Publisher:
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2018-03
Genre: Artists' preparatory studies
ISBN: 9781909414532

An inspiring collection of dark and macabre drawings and articles exploring the sketchbooks and artistic practices of 50 talented artists.

Dark Arts

Dark Arts
Author: Fiona Starr
Publisher: FS Romance Press
Total Pages: 173
Release: 2023-02-04
Genre: Fiction
ISBN:

Three wolf shifters tormented by a deadly secret. Two worlds torn by a twisted legacy. One girl determined to choose her own fate. They say being called to the world's oldest magic organization is the pinnacle of achievement for a witch. The lottery is done in secret. The names appear by magic. Membership in this exclusive club is like receiving a golden ticket. When you're called—you go, because that's how it has always been. With only a trace of magical ability, I've accepted a different role… a life of service to the witching community. So when the leader of the Society of Ancient Magic arrives at my door to escort me to initiation, I’m convinced there’s been a mistake. My name doesn’t belong on their list. And yet… The first guy I meet makes me feel like a princess. The second one I meet sparks an inferno in my heart. The third feels like the reason I was born. They are the sexiest males I have ever met. Dazzled by the glamour and the fabled history, I let myself fall into a world whose mystery and intrigue are as seductive as they are secretive. But not everything is as it seems within the Society of Ancient Magic. Just because it glitters, doesn't mean it's gold. ★ SERIES COMPLETE ★ ★★★★★ "I can't get enough of Joely and her men!" ★★★★★ "So many twists and turns!" ★★★★★ "Amazing series!" Dark Arts is the first in this 6-book reverse harem paranormal romance series, Society of Ancient Magic. This series features witches, vampires, wolves, ghosts, steamy scenes, language, and death. This is book one in a series and is not a standalone. Mind the cliff! Find out more at https://www.bingeworthyfiction.com Reading Order: Dark Arts Over Hexed Witch Wars Cursed Souls Broken Spells Magic Reclaimed