RUTGERS SEMINAR IN THE HISTORY OF THE BOOK 2010-2011 - public lecture and
graduate seminar

Gerry Beegan (Rutgers University)

Thursday, 18 November
6 p.m. (Pane Room, Alexander Library)

COMING CLOSER: The Photomechanical Page and the Visual Turn

Abstract: In my book The Mass Image I discuss photographic reproduction as
an element in the surge of hand drawn and photographic imagery in the late
Victorian press. The introduction of photomechanical technologies
destabilized reproduction and representation so that the discrete
categories of photograph, wood engraving, halftone and drawing took on a
new fluidity. Imaging practices melded wood engraving with photomechanical
processes and photography with drawing so that the illustrated periodicals
of the 1890s contained a malleable flow of images. At the same time the
increase in imagery unsettled and complicated the relationship between
text and image in numerous ways as the text intersected with the
comparatively enigmatic photographic image. In this talk I want to
consider specifically the ways in which word and image began to co-exist
more closely on the designed page of illustrated periodicals. In the press
there was a renewed and intense focus on the visual and material qualities
of the printed object shaping a new graphic space in which words,
photographs, illustrations, and elements such as borders, rules, and logos
came together. The printed page was a vehicle for communication and
attraction, for visual pleasure. At the same time the page as an object
assumes a viewer who needs to be reassured of the status and meaning of
both the illustration and the letterpress.

Gerry Beegan will also conduct a Graduate Workshop on Thursday, 18
November, 1-4 p.m. titled, "Spatial Practices in the Decorative Book." Due
to space limitations, participation in this workshop is by reservation
only. Please contact Curtis Dunn at CCA: 732.932.8426.


More about RUTGERS SEMINAR IN THE HISTORY OF THE BOOK 2010-2011 events at:
http://comminfo.rutgers.edu/book_history/RSHOB_2010-2011.html

For their support for the lecture series, the Rutgers seminar in the
History of the Book would like to thank the following programs and units
at Rutgers:

Center for Cultural Analysis | Departments of English, French, and History
| Program in Early Modern Studies | Rutgers University Libraries | School
of Arts and Sciences (Dean's Office) | School of Communication and
Information | The Transliteratures Project

-- 
Marija Dalbello
Associate Professor
School of Communication and Information
4 Huntington Street
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901-1071
Voice: 732.932.7500 / 8215
FAX:  732.932.6916
Internet: [log in to unmask]
http://comminfo.rutgers.edu/directory/dalbello/index.html