LANGUAGES AND THEORIES OF IMAGES
- Overview
- Assessment methods
- Learning objectives
- Contents
- Full programme
- Bibliography
- Delivery method
- Teaching methods
- Contacts/Info
Strong interest in the humanities (in particular philosophical-literary), consolidated during high school; attention to the world of communication and consideration of the field of visual culture (figurative art, cinema, photography).
The examination will take place in oral form on the contents of the course and will focus on the study of the texts in the program. In addition to knowledge of the course content, the ability to place the works in their appropriate historical and cultural context (10 points), the ability to deepen a theme (5 points), and to argue critically (5 points), the ability to link different aspects and to trace affinity / divergence between the different authors (5 points), as well as the correctness of the exhibition (5 points) will be evaluated. Non-attendants are asked to take contact with the teacher.
The aim of the course is to explore the interweaving of languages and theories of the image in a very broad perspective, starting from the declinations of the representation of the myth according to classical authors such as Herder, through the questions of the artistic image in Goethe, to examine some significant examples of “èkphrasis”, i.e. how the words "say", "evoke" images in modern times. The term "images" therefore includes pictorial references as well as plastic models and even photographic films. Texts here mean both exemplary essays and literary works. On the contrary, it is precisely the interweaving that, from this point of view, is privileged, in the awareness that in order to access the fortress of the image it is necessary to follow different paths, sometimes even roads that are not very well travelled. Knowing the power of images, investigating it in its various meanings (also examining the images of power), means in fact entering the "workshop" of today's mass culture. For this reason, the lessons of the course intend to range in different directions, from the aesthetic-philosophical to the socio-anthropological, from the psychoanalytical to the historical-political, from the theological to the artistic, from the literary to the visual. It is within the network traced by these paths (and others to be discovered) that the mass media question of the "icons of the twentieth century" finds - as we shall see - its main road.
The lessons will be aimed at investigating - through the reading and commentary of some key passages taken from canonical texts (Foucault, Goethe, Herder, Nietzsche, Wittgenstein) - the construction of the "imaginative dimension", in all its potential and in its most internal contradictions. On this basis we can examine some typical examples of images: from ornamental figures (Bloch) to Nordic mythology of eternal youth (Herder); from Goethe's Leonardo to Nietzsche's Raphael or Bernhard's Tintoretto; from Anders and Simmel's reflections on Rodin's sculpture to research on photographic images (Sontag and Bachmann), from war photographs to the question of the re-elaboration of memory (Sebald). In the exploration of Didi-Huberman's images (in spite of everything) one encounters the question of the Shoah, in all its dramatic scope. Thus, in front of a vast repertoire of images, one discovers unexpected "elective affinities" between apparently distant environments. The reason for this is already contained in a lapidary proposition by Wittgenstein, in which the Austrian philosopher distinguishes between the image as a genre painting and the image as a portrait. In the mutual interweaving of seeing and looking, then, the images gain their own important field of action, assuming a key role in communication strategies.
Prof. ssa Micaela Latini
Teaching of Languages and theories of the images.
Title: What images (do not) tell us
Training objectives
The aim of the course is to explore the interweaving of languages and theories of the image in a very broad perspective, starting from the declinations of the representation of the myth according to classical authors such as Herder, through the questions of the artistic image in Goethe, to examine some significant examples of “èkphrasis”, i.e. how the words "say", "evoke" images in modern times. The term "images" therefore includes pictorial references as well as plastic models and even photographic films. Texts here mean both exemplary essays and literary works. On the contrary, it is precisely the interweaving that, from this point of view, is privileged, in the awareness that in order to access the fortress of the image it is necessary to follow different paths, sometimes even roads that are not very well travelled. Knowing the power of images, investigating it in its various meanings (also examining the images of power), means in fact entering the "workshop" of today's mass culture. For this reason, the lessons of the course intend to range in different directions, from the aesthetic-philosophical to the socio-anthropological, from the psychoanalytical to the historical-political, from the theological to the artistic, from the literary to the visual. It is within the network traced by these paths (and others to be discovered) that the mass media question of the "icons of the twentieth century" finds - as we shall see - its main road.
Prerequisites
Strong interest in the humanities (in particular philosophical-literary), consolidated during high school; attention to the world of communication and consideration of the field of visual culture (figurative art, cinema, photography).
Contents
The lessons will be aimed at investigating - through the reading and commentary of some key passages taken from canonical texts (Foucault, Goethe, Herder, Nietzsche, Wittgenstein) - the construction of the "imaginative dimension", in all its potential and in its most internal contradictions. On this basis we can examine some typical examples of images: from ornamental figures (Bloch) to Nordic mythology of eternal youth (Herder); from Goethe's Leonardo to Nietzsche's Raphael or Bernhard's Tintoretto; from Anders and Simmel's reflections on Rodin's sculpture to research on photographic images (Sontag and Bachmann), from war photographs to the question of the re-elaboration of memory (Sebald). In the exploration of Didi-Huberman's images (in spite of everything) one encounters the question of the Shoah, in all its dramatic scope. Thus, in front of a vast repertoire of images, one discovers unexpected "elective affinities" between apparently distant environments. The reason for this is already contained in a lapidary proposition by Wittgenstein, in which the Austrian philosopher distinguishes between the image as a genre painting and the image as a portrait. In the mutual interweaving of seeing and looking, then, the images gain their own important field of action, assuming a key role in communication strategies.
Teaching methods
The course, articulated on 8 cfu, foresees a temporal arc of 64 hours of frontal lessons. Each lesson includes moments of discussion and confrontation. It is also intended to use slides and films as teaching material.
Verification of learning
The examination will take place in oral form on the contents of the course and will focus on the study of the texts in the program. In addition to knowledge of the course content, the ability to place the works in their appropriate historical and cultural context (10 points), the ability to deepen a theme (5 points), and to argue critically (5 points), the ability to link different aspects and to trace affinity / divergence between the different authors (5 points), as well as the correctness of the exhibition (5 points) will be evaluated. Non-
At the student's choice 3 (three) texts (or groups of texts) among those listed below:
1) A. Kiefer, L’arte sopravvivrà alle sue rovine, Feltrinelli, Milano (PERCORSO ART.)
2) A. Warburg, Botticelli, SE (PERCORSO ARTISTICO).
3) A. Warburg, Il rituale del serpente, Adelphi (PERCORSO ANTROPOLOGICO).
4) AA.VV., Filosofia e pittura nel Novecento, a cura di A. Pinotti, Guerini, Milano 1998 (ANTOLOGIA FILOSOFICA).
5) C. Einstein, Scultura negra, Abscondita (PERC. ART.)
6) Didi-Huberman, Immagini, malgrado tutto, Raffaello Cortina, Milano (PERCORSO FIL.)
7) E. Bloch, Ornamenti, Armando, Roma 2012 (PERC. FIL.)
8) Fr. Kafka, Il processo, ed. a scelta (PERCORSO LETTERARIO)
9) Fr. Nietzsche, Così parlò Zarathustra, Adelphi (PERCORSO LETTERARIO-FILOSOFICO).
10) G. Anders, Scritti dall’esilio americano, Palomar, Bari (IN FOTOCOPIE), (PERC. FIL.)
11) G. Anders, Uomo senza mondo, Spazio libri editore, Ferrara (IN FOTOCOPIE), (PERC. FIL.)
12) G. Perec, Storia di un quadro, Skira (PERCORSO LETT.)
13) G. Simmel, Michelangelo, SE (PERCORSO FILOSOFICO-SOCIOLOGICO) + Id., Rodin, in fotocopie
14) Goethe, Scritti sull’arte e sulla letteratura, Bollati Boringhieri (PERCORSO LETTERARIO) or Goethe, Il carnevale romano, Salerno ed. + Goethe, Il cenacolo di Leonardo, Abscondita (PERCORSO LETTERARIO).
15) J.G. Herder, Iduna o il pomo del ringiovanimento, ETS (PERCORSO LETTERARIO-FILOSOFICO).
16) J.L. Nancy, Il ritratto e il suo sguardo, Raffaello Cortina, Milano (PERCORSO FIL.)
17) L. Wittgenstein, Pensieri diversi, Adelphi (PERC. FIL.)
18) M. Foucault, Le parole e le cose, Rizzoli, cap. I (pp. 17-30 ovvero “La damigella d’onore”) + Id., Questo non è una pipa, SE (PERC. FIL.)
19) P. Handke, Nei colori del giorno, Garzanti (PERCORSO LETT.)
20) R. Musil, Pagine postume pubblicate in vita, Feltrinelli, in fotocopie (PERC. LETT.)
21) R. Musil, Sulla stupidità, SE (PERCORSO LETT.)
22) Th. Bernhard, Antichi Maestri, Adelphi (PERCORSO LETTERARIO).
23) W. Benjamin, L’opera d’arte nell’epoca della sua riproducibilità tecnica, Einaudi (PERC. FIL.)
24) W. G. Sebald, Gli anelli di Saturno, Adelphi (PERCORSO LETT.)
25) S. Sontag, Sulla fotografia, Einaudi (PERCORSO FIL.)
26) J.P. Sartre, Tintoretto o il sequestrato di Venezia, Marinotti
For those who do not attend, and as an aid in understanding the theoretical background, we require the integration of a volume of your choice between:
1) A. Pinotti, Estetica della pittura, Il Mulino
2) M. Cometa, La scrittura delle immagini, Raffaello Cortina edizioni
The teacher reserves the right to indicate any additional material during the lessons, or to modify any text if the editorial circumstances require it (or if it is out of print).
The course, articulated on 8 cfu, foresees a temporal arc of 64 hours of frontal lessons. Each lesson includes moments of discussion and confrontation. It is also intended to use slides and films as teaching material.
The teacher receives the students at the end of the lessons or by appointment, and can be contacted, also for further information, by e-mail: micaela.latini@uninsubria.it Social media dedicated to the course will be used, such as the setting up of a facebook page and the use of the academia.edu platform.