History of a Shiver

The Sublime Impudence of Modernism

Nonfiction, Art & Architecture, Art History, Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism
Cover of the book History of a Shiver by Jed Rasula, Oxford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Jed Rasula ISBN: 9780199396313
Publisher: Oxford University Press Publication: February 26, 2016
Imprint: Oxford University Press Language: English
Author: Jed Rasula
ISBN: 9780199396313
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication: February 26, 2016
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Language: English

An abrupt break in the prevailing modes of artistic expression, for many, marks the advent of modernism in the early twentieth century, but revisionary attempts to pin down a precise moment of its emergence remain disputed. History of a Shiver proffers a different approach, tracing the first inkling of modernism instead to the nineteenth century's fascination with music. As Jed Rasula deftly shows, melomania--the passion for music--gave rise to concepts like Richard Wagner's "endless melody" and the Gesamtkunstwerk, or total work of art, which in turn infused the arts of the fin de siècle with an aura of expectancy, challenging them to induce musical effects by their own means. With each art aspiring to produce the effects of another artistic medium, a synesthetic yearning ran like a shiver through the body of art that would emerge over the next half century. Rasula traces this pan-arts polyphony from German Romantic theory to early experiments in "visual music," encompassing such diverse phenomena as American fixation on Arcadia, early film theory, and the lure of the fourth dimension. All the while, he keeps focus on the paramount historical consequence in elevating music to a new universal aesthetic standard, arguing that Wagnerism was first among modern "isms." In surveying this momentous interplay among arts, History of a Shiver ranges from literature, music and painting to theatre, cinema, dance, photography, and civic pageantry. It retells the story of modernism by recovering not an idea, but a feeling--the hair-raising potential for each painting, literary text, or musical composition to herald an unprecedented domain of human enterprise.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

An abrupt break in the prevailing modes of artistic expression, for many, marks the advent of modernism in the early twentieth century, but revisionary attempts to pin down a precise moment of its emergence remain disputed. History of a Shiver proffers a different approach, tracing the first inkling of modernism instead to the nineteenth century's fascination with music. As Jed Rasula deftly shows, melomania--the passion for music--gave rise to concepts like Richard Wagner's "endless melody" and the Gesamtkunstwerk, or total work of art, which in turn infused the arts of the fin de siècle with an aura of expectancy, challenging them to induce musical effects by their own means. With each art aspiring to produce the effects of another artistic medium, a synesthetic yearning ran like a shiver through the body of art that would emerge over the next half century. Rasula traces this pan-arts polyphony from German Romantic theory to early experiments in "visual music," encompassing such diverse phenomena as American fixation on Arcadia, early film theory, and the lure of the fourth dimension. All the while, he keeps focus on the paramount historical consequence in elevating music to a new universal aesthetic standard, arguing that Wagnerism was first among modern "isms." In surveying this momentous interplay among arts, History of a Shiver ranges from literature, music and painting to theatre, cinema, dance, photography, and civic pageantry. It retells the story of modernism by recovering not an idea, but a feeling--the hair-raising potential for each painting, literary text, or musical composition to herald an unprecedented domain of human enterprise.

More books from Oxford University Press

Cover of the book The Mormon Menace by Jed Rasula
Cover of the book Washington Square Level 4 Oxford Bookworms Library by Jed Rasula
Cover of the book Zen Skin, Zen Marrow by Jed Rasula
Cover of the book To Your Health by Jed Rasula
Cover of the book Paradiplomacy by Jed Rasula
Cover of the book In War's Wake by Jed Rasula
Cover of the book The Missing Martyrs by Jed Rasula
Cover of the book From Baksheesh to Bribery by Jed Rasula
Cover of the book Juvenal: Oxford Bibliographies Online Research Guide by Jed Rasula
Cover of the book Beyond Engineering by Jed Rasula
Cover of the book Critical Multiculturalism and Intersectionality in a Complex World by Jed Rasula
Cover of the book Theologies of Guadalupe by Jed Rasula
Cover of the book Family Based Treatment for Young Children With OCD by Jed Rasula
Cover of the book Formula One - With Audio Level 3 Factfiles Oxford Bookworms Library by Jed Rasula
Cover of the book Sounds of War by Jed Rasula
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy