The Panorama: History of a Mass Medium by Stephan Oettermann (review)

© 1999 ISAST LEONARDO REVIEWS LEONARDO, Vol. 32, No. 2, pp. 143–148, 1999 143 Leonardo Digital Reviews Editor-in-Chief: Michael Punt Coordinating Editor: Kasey Rios Asberry Reviews Panel includes Rudolf Arnheim, Wilfred Arnold, Kasey Rios Asberry, Marc Battier, Robert Coburn, Mary Cure, Shawn Decker, Tim Druckrey, Jose Elguero, Michele Emmer, Josh Firebaugh, Eva Belik Firebaugh, Geoff Gaines, Bulat M. Galeyev, George Gessert, Thom Gillespie, Francesco Giomi, Tony Green, István Hargittai, Gerald Hartnett, Paul Hertz, Curtis Karnow, P. Klutchevskaya, Patrick Lambelet, Richard Land, Barbara Lee, Roger Malina, Diana Meckley, Axel Mulder, Kevin Murray, Youri Nazaroff, Simon Penny, Clifford Pickover, Sonya Rapoport, Henry See, Jason Vantomme, Misha Vaughn, Rainer Voltz, Christopher Willard, Stephen Wilson. BOOKS THE PANORAMA: HISTORY OF A MASS MEDIUM by Stephan Oettermann. Zone Books, New York, N.Y., U.S.A., 1998. 497 pp. $37.50. ISBN: 0-942299-83-3. Reviewed by Oliver Grau, Gneisenaustrasse 43, 10961 Berlin, Germany. E-mail: . It is no accident that the current eruption of virtual reality and the dominance of visual media coincide with the discovery of the prehistory of these media. The panorama, that media dinosaur— the “tele-visual” device of the nineteenth century—provides the primary clues needed to uncover that prehistory. Installed in rotundas, panoramas, sometimes larger than 6,000 sq ft, were gigantic photorealistic paintings that hermetically surrounded the observer. From a darkened central platform, the observer found himself or herself completely enveloped in visual illusions illuminated by concealed lighting. Almost 100 million visitors may have flocked into these specially designed rotundas before the age of tourism. The visitors surrendered their eyes to simulations of distant lands, familiar cities and spectacular natural catastrophes produced by these “image machines.” Consequently , panoramas contributed considerably to public images of otherness and foreignness; the more exotic, distant and unreachable the projected landscape was, the greater the profit for the proprietors of the panoramas. In The Panorama: History of a Mass Medium , Stephan Oettermann introduces a detailed and entertaining history of the 300–400 oval images that were shown in Europe and North America in the nineteenth century. His presentation is enriched with many anecdotes. The basic method of panoramic perspective presentation was patented by Robert Barker in 1787 and hastily marketed , producing a mass medium that oscillated among the intersections between art, entertainment and political propaganda. Initially created by individual artisans over years of painstaking work, the manufacture of panoramas was quickly rationalized according to strict economic principles. In the large cities of England and France, panoramas were produced in an assembly-line fashion, their production taking on an almost industrial quality. As early as 1800, an individual panorama could be produced in a matter of months. The companies producing panoramas financed their ventures with foreign capital and therefore operated on the principle of maximizing profits. In this sense, the panorama mirrors the age of burgeoning capitalism. As soon as the presentation was no longer viable at its place of origin, the canvasses were rolled up and sent out on far-reaching tours through regions with wealthy populations. The paintings were often transported over thousands of kilometers and shown at as many locations as possible until they were practically shredded from the wear. This early modernization, which anticipated the devices of the film industry , really set in with the standardization of the rotundas around 1830. The subject matter presented in the panoramas primarily adhered to market demands and reflected the interests of the upper classes, initially the only ones who could afford the exorbitant entrance fees. However, alongside the current battle reports displayed in the panoramas, burgeoning imperialism also found its way into this new mass medium, whose potential for propaganda had already been recognized by the likes of Napoleon and Lord Nelson. The spectacular events, landscapes and battles provided by colonial conquests were presented to the subjects of the given hegemonic power depicted in the panoramas. The opulent documentation of The Panorama provides the most eye-pleasing asset of the book. The vivid illustrations and well-researched and informative text offer a detailed and clear presentation of a century in the history of this medium, which alone makes the book worth buying. If, however, one wants to understand the...