New mobile experiences of vision and modern subjectivities in Late Victorian Britain
This article looks at the relationship between two very popular middle-class activities in Late Victorian Britain, photographing and cycling, and explores the influence that the new technology of physical mobility had on visual experiences and related photographic practices. It focuses, in particula...
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Science Museum, London
2019-11-01
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Online Access: | http://journal.sciencemuseum.org.uk/browse/issue-12/new-mobile-experiences-of-vision/ |
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doaj-2639cb0ef10f4fd1affd8b23253e69212020-11-25T02:53:57ZengScience Museum, LondonScience Museum Group Journal2054-57702019-11-011210.15180/191204New mobile experiences of vision and modern subjectivities in Late Victorian BritainSara Dominici0University of WestminsterThis article looks at the relationship between two very popular middle-class activities in Late Victorian Britain, photographing and cycling, and explores the influence that the new technology of physical mobility had on visual experiences and related photographic practices. It focuses, in particular, on the significance that new practices of mobility and visuality had for a growing body of amateur photographers as they negotiated these experiences as a temporality of late nineteenth century modernity. Drawing on the everyday historical experiences of cycle and photography users as these were articulated at the time, the article offers new insight into the role that such body-machine interactions had on the development of what was, effectively, a modern, moving, gaze. My argument is that the sense of control over the new ways of moving and seeing enabled by cycling contributed to shape a new visual self and that, in turn, this fuelled the desire for a new visual language and means of representation that could challenge dominant photographic practices, in a manner that foresees the emergence of snapshot photography.http://journal.sciencemuseum.org.uk/browse/issue-12/new-mobile-experiences-of-vision/camera technologycyclingcycle technologyinstantaneous photographymobilitypictorialismsnapshot photographyvisual modernity |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Sara Dominici |
spellingShingle |
Sara Dominici New mobile experiences of vision and modern subjectivities in Late Victorian Britain Science Museum Group Journal camera technology cycling cycle technology instantaneous photography mobility pictorialism snapshot photography visual modernity |
author_facet |
Sara Dominici |
author_sort |
Sara Dominici |
title |
New mobile experiences of vision and modern subjectivities in Late Victorian Britain |
title_short |
New mobile experiences of vision and modern subjectivities in Late Victorian Britain |
title_full |
New mobile experiences of vision and modern subjectivities in Late Victorian Britain |
title_fullStr |
New mobile experiences of vision and modern subjectivities in Late Victorian Britain |
title_full_unstemmed |
New mobile experiences of vision and modern subjectivities in Late Victorian Britain |
title_sort |
new mobile experiences of vision and modern subjectivities in late victorian britain |
publisher |
Science Museum, London |
series |
Science Museum Group Journal |
issn |
2054-5770 |
publishDate |
2019-11-01 |
description |
This article looks at the relationship between two very popular middle-class activities in Late Victorian Britain, photographing and cycling, and explores the influence that the new technology of physical mobility had on visual experiences and related photographic practices. It focuses, in particular, on the significance that new practices of mobility and visuality had for a growing body of amateur photographers as they negotiated these experiences as a temporality of late nineteenth century modernity. Drawing on the everyday historical experiences of cycle and photography users as these were articulated at the time, the article offers new insight into the role that such body-machine interactions had on the development of what was, effectively, a modern, moving, gaze. My argument is that the sense of control over the new ways of moving and seeing enabled by cycling contributed to shape a new visual self and that, in turn, this fuelled the desire for a new visual language and means of representation that could challenge dominant photographic practices, in a manner that foresees the emergence of snapshot photography. |
topic |
camera technology cycling cycle technology instantaneous photography mobility pictorialism snapshot photography visual modernity |
url |
http://journal.sciencemuseum.org.uk/browse/issue-12/new-mobile-experiences-of-vision/ |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT saradominici newmobileexperiencesofvisionandmodernsubjectivitiesinlatevictorianbritain |
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