Spectrology


Rental Format(s): 16mm film

In 1646, Athanasius Kircher published Ars Magna Lucis et Umbrae, describing an early version of the magic lantern projector. Using this apparatus as a tool to enchant, spellbind and spook, Étienne-Gaspard Robert and other conjurors dazzled spectators with their unique bag of 18th Century tricks, raising up the spirits of recently deceased and reminding the viewer of the "fate that awaits us all". Spectrology calls upon conjurors of the past and their secret repertoire of magical devices to simulate a modern rendition of the phantasmagoria. The medium of cinema is harnessed to entice the viewer and ruminate on the mesmerizing presence of various illusions made anew.

Rental Fees

  Fee  
16mm film $45.00  

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