Expanded Cinema
(1970)by Gene Youngblood is the first book to consider video as an art form and was influential in establishing the field of media arts. In the book he argues that a new, expanded cinema is required for a new consciousness.
"Today when one speaks of cinema, one implies a metamorphosis in human perception," writes the author of this extraordinary book. "Just as the term man is coming to mean man / plant / machine, so the definition of cinema must be expanded to include videotronics, computer science, and atomic light."
In a brilliant and far-ranging study, Gene Youngblood traces the evolution of cinematic language to the end of fiction, drama, and realism. New technological extensions of the medium have become necessary. Thus he concentrates on the advanced image-making technologies of computer films, television experiments, laser movies, and multiple-projection environments. Outstanding works in each field are analyzed in detail. Methods of production are meticulously described, including interviews with artists and technologists. Expanded Cinema is filled with provocative post-McLuhan philosophical probes into: the "Paleocybernetic Age," "the videosphere," and "the new nostalgia," all in the context of what the author calls "the global intermedia network." In "Image-Exchange and the Post-Mass Audience Age," Mr. Youngblood discusses the revolutionary implications of videotape cassettes and cable television as educational tools. His observations are placed in a comprehensive perspective by an inspiring introduction written by R. Buckmister Fuller. Vast in scope, both philosophical and technical, Expanded Cinema will be invaluable to all who are concerned with the audio-visual extensions of man, the technologies that are reshaping the nature of human communication.
This prescient out-of-print volume from 1970 is available as a free PDF download here. Also at the essential ubu.com.
Source: John Coulthart
ISBN-10: 0525472630
ISBN-13: 978-0525472636