Bergson and the Art of Immanence: Painting, Photography, Film - Paperback

by John ﾓ. Maoilearca (Editor), Charlotte de Mille (Editor)

This collection of 16 essays brings 20th-century French philosopher Henri Bergson's work on immanence together with the latest ideas in art theory and the practice of immanent art as found in painting, photography, film and performance. It places Bergson's work and influence in a wide historical context and applies a rigorous conceptual framework to concepts of rhythmic duration, perception, affectivity, the body, memory and intuition - all of which were first formulated as immanent objects through the work of Bergson. The international, interdisciplinary contributors include Iris van der Tuin, Eric Alliez, Simon O'Sullivan and Howard Caygill.

Back Jacket

'This collection is focussed on a central problem: the necessity and the difficulty of thinking immanence, of getting within phenomena and reflecting on them as such. Among several concerns, the contributors attempt to bring art history to its true vocation, which is not only preservation but the provoking of new insights. Towards this goal the clarity of these essays is equalled by their vitality.' Pete A. Y. Gunter, University of North Texas An immanent turn in art history Bergson and the Art of Immanence brings Henri Bergson's philosophy of immanence together with the latest ideas in art-theory and the practice of immanent art as found in painting, photography and film. This collection of 14 new essays from world renowned art theorists, philosophers and Bergson-scholars provides both a wide historical context and a rigorous conceptual framework for contemporary art-theory and practice. It involves the concepts of rhythmic duration, perception, affectivity, the body, memory and intuition - all of which were given their first systematic theorisation in the twentieth century as immanent objects through the work of Bergson. The variety of perspectives and methodological approaches present new levels of exchange between art and theory and bring philosophy closer to the history of art. John ﾓ Maoilearca is Professor of Film and Television at Kingston University. Charlotte de Mille is Lecturer in Art History at the University of Sussex. Cover image: Orientation. For Auguste Choisy (c) Stella Baraklianou, 2009. Cover design: [EUP logo] www.euppublishing.com

Author Biography

John Mullarkey is Professor of Film and TV at Kingston University, London. In 2014, his name reverted from the English 'Mullarkey' to the original Irish, 'ﾓ Maoilearca', which ultimately translates as 'follower of the animal'.

He previously taught at the University of Dundee (2004-2010) and the University of Sunderland (1994-2004). He is the author of Bergson and Philosophy (1999), Post-Continental Philosophy: An Outline (2006), and Philosophy and the Moving Image: Refractions of Reality (2010). He is an editor of Film-Philosophy and co-editor of The Continuum Companion to Continental Philosophy (2009) and Laruelle and Non-Philosophy (2012). His work explores variations of 'non-standard-philosophy', arguing that philosophy is a subject that continually shifts its identity through engaging with (supposedly) 'non-philosophical' fields such as cinema, diagrams, and animality. He is currently working on a book entitled Reverse Mutations: Laruelle and Non-Human Philosophy.

Charlotte de Mille is Lecturer in Art History at the University of Sussex. Her work studies the intersection of painting, music and philosophy in Europe c. 1848-1950, on which she has published for Art History, and in chapters for Continuum, Routledge, and the Courtuald Institute of Art. She is editor of Music and Modernism (2011), and Chair of the Royal Musical Association Music and Visual Arts Group. She previously taught at the Courtauld Institute of Art, where she continues to curate a music-art series for the Courtauld Gallery Lates.