The Semiotics of Light and Shadows: Modern Visual Arts and Weimar Cinema

Description

Lighting and shadows are used within a range of art forms to create aesthetic effects. Piotr Sadowski's study of light and shadow in Weimar cinema and contemporaneous visual arts is underpinned by the evolutionary semiotic theories of indexicality and iconicity. These theories explain the unique communicative and emotive power of light and shadow when used in contemporary indexical media including the shadow theatre, silhouette portraits, camera obscura, photography and film. In particular, Sadowski highlights the aesthetic and emotional significance of shadows. The 'cast shadow', as an indexical sign, maintains a physical connection with its near-present referent, such as a hidden person, stimulating a viewer's imagination and provoking responses including anxiety or curiosity. The 'cinematic shadow' plays a stylistic role, by enhancing image texture, depth of field, and tonal contrast of cinematic moments. Such enhancements are especially important in monochromatic films, and Sadowski interweaves the book with accounts of seminal Weimar cinema moments. Sadowski's book is distinctive for combining historical materials and theoretical approaches to develop a deeper understanding of Weimar cinema and other contemporary art forms. The Semiotics of Light and Shadows is an ideal resource for both scholars and students working in linguistics, semiotics, film, media, and visual arts.

Piotr Sadowski is a lecturer in humanities in Dublin Business School, Ireland. He is also a Visiting Research Fellow in the School of English at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. Sadowski studied English at the University of Warsaw. Since 1991 he lives in Dublin, currently teaching film and drama in Dublin Business School. He is the author of six academic books on systems theory of literature and communication, medieval literature and Shakespeare.

Offers an illuminating exploration of the cinema's ability to evoke a variety of responses from the depictions of interplay between light and shadows, the interplay that is itself a constituent part of the medium. Throughout the chapters the author proceeds to bring a welcome attention and a wealth of references to bear on an understudied aspect of cinematic history. * Early Popular Visual Culture * This book is an interesting work and an accomplished achievement, especially in allowing a coherent, understandable text to speak for itself. The appropriate visual analysis makes its case succinctly without relying on deliberate mystification that accompanied the early phases of semiotics. * Film International * This carefully crafted and beautifully illustrated book covers the topic comprehensively, culminating in a detailed and informative discussion of the classics of Weimar cinema. Piotr Sadowski's expert knowledge of cinema history - evident on every page - is seamlessly woven into a much broader cultural history of the treatment of the shadow in the visual arts - from Caravaggio to Caligari. -- Michael Kane, Lecturer in Literature and Cultural Theory, Dublin Business School, Ireland A brilliant study of a seminal period in European cinematic history. It combines insightful aesthetic analysis and nuanced discussion of the socio-cultural background of Weimar Germany. After reading the book it is impossible to see cinematic light and shadows in the same way again, not only in viewing the movies of the Weimar period, but those which follow to the present day. -- Rory McEntegart, Academic Dean, American College Dublin, Ireland Who would have guessed there is so much substance in shadows? What makes shadows solid? How do artists manipulate them? These are some of the questions raised in Sadowski's fascinating investigation into 'the kingdom of shadows'. His solid research shows what the (un)intentional presence or absence of shade and shadow can add to how we 'read' Renaissance visual arts, Weimar cinema, Chinese shadow-theatre, the spiritual world and much much more. -- Olga Fischer, Professor Emeritus of English Linguistics, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Sadowski's elegantly written account of the use of light and shadow in German cinema of the Weimar era is a welcome reminder of the enduring artistry of this influential filmmaking era. Detailed and erudite, the author traces the use of the shadow as communication back to the ancient Greeks, through Caravaggio and Rembrandt, to Berlin in the 1920s. Always careful to contextualize, Sadowski interweaves a discussion of key historical events and artistic movements with intricate textual analysis. Thoughtfully argued and beautifully illustrated, this is an important contribution to semiotics as a discipline and to the history of film as art. -- Ruth Barton, Associate Professor in Film Studies, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland