Art in the Cinematic Imagination
Susan Felleman
University of Texas Press
Bringing an art historical perspective to the realm of American and European film, "Art in the Cinematic Imagination" examines the ways in which films have used works of art and artists themselves as cinematic and narrative motifs. From the use of portraits in Vertigo to the cinematic depiction of women artists in Artemisia and Camille Claudel, Susan Felleman incorporates feminist and psychoanalytic criticism to reveal individual and collective perspectives on sex, gender, identity, commerce, and class.Probing more than twenty films from the post-war era through contemporary times, "Art in the Cinematic Imagination" considers a range of structurally significant art objects, artist characters, and art-world settings to explore how the medium of film can amplify, reinvent, or re-contextualize the other visual arts. Fluently speaking across disciplines, Felleman's study brings a broad array of methodologies to bear on questions such as the evolution of the "Hollywood Love Goddess" and the pairing of the feminine with death on screen.  A persuasive approach to an engaging body of films, "Art in the Cinematic Imagination" illuminates a compelling and significant facet of the cinematic experience.