Elephant in the Keyhole

Media archeological approaches to the history of the screen

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WORK DATA

Lecturer:
Category:
EVENT
Type:
presentation
Keywords:
art history / cultural studies / history of technology / literature / media archaeology / science fiction / technique / television
Creation Date:
1997-03-17
Language:
English
Description:
Screens with moving figures surround us - facing a television set or sitting in front of a computer display is a banal everyday activity. This has not always been so - indeed, the very idea of the picture screen is a cultural artefact which has its own complex and often paradoxical history. How, and under what historical, cultural and technological conditions did we come to spend such a great part of our lives in front of all kinds of screens? This lecture looks at the ideas of the screen and the screen practice from a media archeological point of view. The aim is to excavate different antecedents and presuppositions for the 20th century "cultures of the screen". Both actual historical artefacts and purely discursive manifestations of the screen (in science fiction, scientific innovation...) will be discussed. This discussion will be related to the pre- and early history of the television set. (E.H.)

More Information

Original Title (English):
Elephant in the Keyholexxx
Original Subtitle:
Media archeological approaches to the history of the screen
Location:
Budapest, Műcsarnok, Törley-terem / Kunsthalle, Törley Hall