Punctum. International Journal of Semiotics

By: Enzo D’Armenio

ABSTRACT

This paper aims to propose a new line of research on the historical and expressive evolution of visual media, capable of linking the archaeological approaches of media studies and post-structuralist semiotics around the concept of movement. The central idea of my paper is that of image-movement, expressive systems based on the intrinsic fusion of the qualities of the images and the qualities of movement. The history of visual media will be reinterpreted according to three phases: 1) The fixative image-movement: photographic production is based on the deceleration and visual fixation of natural movement on a substrate. I will present the evolution of the expressive effects resulting from this productive movement, particularly concerning the forms of blur (motion blur, panning, bokeh) that have played a key role in stabilizing photographic genres. 2) The representative image-movement: the magic lantern and the cinema of attractions made it possible to visualize movement and animation for the first time. I will discuss how actors, by making a series
of thematically oriented movements, enabled the emergence of the first visual narratives through the autonomization of fictional characters. 3) The diagrammatic image-movements: video games and virtual reality correlate the spectator’s movements on the interface with movements in virtual worlds. Overall, this approach will allow us to identify kinetic anachronisms: how digital media transform the typical forms of visual movement associated with traditional media.

 
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