The Art of the Moving Picture

Vachel Lindsay (1879 - 1931)

"This 1922 book by poet and sometime cultural critic Vachel Lindsay might have been the first to treat the then-new medium of moving pictures as an art form, one that was potentially as rich, complex, mysterious as far older ones, and whose physical and aesthetic properties were only starting to be understood. The highlight of the book might be “The Motion Picture of Fairy Splendor,” which examines the relationship between film storytelling, magic, myths, legends and bedtime stories. It’s discombobulating, in a good way, to read Lindsay’s attempts to grapple with what, precisely, cinema is. Being supposedly sophisticated 21st century people, we all feel as though we know what cinema is, and don’t need to have the basics explained to us, but this is really just vanity and ignorance talking. Bottom line: You haven’t really, seriously thought about movies — what they are, and what they can and cannot do, and become — until you’ve read this book." (Salon.com)

Genre(s): *Non-fiction, Art, Design & Architecture

Language: English

Section Chapter Reader Time
Play 00 DEDICATION AND A WORD FROM THE DIRECTOR OF THE DENVER ART ASSOCIATION Chuck Williamson
00:08:56
Play 01 BOOK I - THE GENERAL PHOTOPLAY SITUATION IN AMERICA, JANUARY 1, 1922 Chuck Williamson
00:42:53
Play 02 BOOK II - THE UNCHALLENGED OUTLINE OF PHOTOPLAY CRITICAL METHOD / CHAPTER I - THE POINT OF VIEW Barbara Clements
00:07:55
Play 03 CHAPTER II - THE PHOTOPLAY OF ACTION Availle
00:13:27
Play 04 CHAPTER III - THE INTIMATE PHOTOPLAY Kristin G.
00:17:48
Play 05 CHAPTER IV - THE MOTION PICTURE OF FAIRY SPLENDOR Kristin G.
00:11:01
Play 06 CHAPTER V - THE PICTURE OF CROWD SPLENDOR John Gonzalez
00:18:51
Play 07 CHAPTER VI - PATRIOTIC SPLENDOR klbonds
00:25:58
Play 08 CHAPTER VII - RELIGIOUS SPLENDOR Shannon EH Sobota
00:14:06
Play 09 CHAPTER VIII - SCULPTURE-IN-MOTION Delmar H Dolbier
00:24:28
Play 10 CHAPTER IX - PAINTING-IN-MOTION Delmar H Dolbier
00:20:36
Play 11 CHAPTER X - FURNITURE, TRAPPINGS, AND INVENTIONS IN MOTION Jacob Paul Starr
00:24:07
Play 12 CHAPTER XI - ARCHITECTURE-IN-MOTION ToddHW
00:18:46
Play 13 CHAPTER XII - THIRTY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE PHOTOPLAYS AND THE STAGE David Nicol
00:23:16
Play 14 CHAPTER XIII - HIEROGLYPHICS Kristin G.
00:23:57
Play 15 BOOK III. MORE PERSONAL SPECULATIONS AND AFTERTHOUGHTS NOT BROUGHT FORWARD SO DOGMATICALLY / CHAPTER XIV - THE ORCHESTRA, CONVERSATION, AND THE CENSORSHIP Robert Hoffman
00:24:07
Play 16 CHAPTER XV - THE SUBSTITUTE FOR THE SALOON Jacob Paul Starr
00:11:48
Play 17 CHAPTER XVI - CALIFORNIA AND AMERICA Joannemmp
00:10:22
Play 18 CHAPTER XVII - PROGRESS AND ENDOWMENT Barbara Miller
00:24:27
Play 19 CHAPTER XVIII - ARCHITECTS AS CRUSADERS ToddHW
00:08:57
Play 20 CHAPTER XIX - ON COMING FORTH BY DAY Jacob Paul Starr
00:10:46
Play 21 CHAPTER XX - THE PROPHET-WIZARD Robert Hoffman
00:21:33
Play 22 CHAPTER XXI - THE ACCEPTABLE YEAR OF THE LORD klbonds
00:18:44