The Real Thing Imitation and Authenticity in American Culture, 1880-1940

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Orvell, Miles.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Photography.

Material culture.

Intellectual life.

Imitation.

Civilization.

Authenticity (Philosophy).

American literature.

Photography--United States--History.

American literature--History and criticism.

Material culture--United States.

United States.

United States--Intellectual life--20th century.

United States--Intellectual life--1865-1918.

United States--Civilization--1918-1945.

United States--Civilization--1865-1918.

Genre:

History.

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (665 p.)

Edition:

Twenty-fifth Anniversary edition.

Place of Publication:

Chapel Hill : The University of North Carolina Press, [2014]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In this classic study of the relationship between technology and culture, Miles Orvell demonstrates that the roots of contemporary popular culture reach back to the Victorian era, when mechanical replications of familiar objects reigned supreme and realism dominated artistic representation. Reacting against this genteel culture of imitation, a number of artists and intellectuals at the turn of the century were inspired by the machine to create more authentic works of art that were themselves ""real things."" The resulting tension between a culture of imitation and a culture of authenticity, a

Contents:

""Cover Page""; ""The Real Thing""; ""Copyright Page""; ""Dedication""; ""Contents""; ""Preface to the Twenty-fifth Anniversary Edition""; ""Acknowledgments""; ""Introduction""; ""Part One: The Condition of Future Development""; ""One: Whitman�s Transformed Eye""; ""Part Two: A Culture of Imitation""; ""Introduction""; ""Two: A Hieroglyphic World""; ""Three: Photography and the Artifice of Realism""; ""Four: The Romance of the Real""; ""Part Three: Inventing Authenticity""; ""Introduction""; ""Five: The Real Thing and the Machine-made World""

""Six: The Camera and the Verification of Fact""""Seven: Not “Realism� but Reality Itself""; ""Epilogue: The Dump Is Full of Images""; ""Notes""; ""Bibliography""; ""Index""

Notes:

This edition has new preface by author.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 341-374) and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

979-88-908479-5-9

1-4696-1538-X

1-4696-1537-1

OCLC:

890530891