The Optical Vacuum
Spectatorship and Modernized American Theater Architecture
Jocelyn Szczepaniak-Gillece
Reviews and Awards
"Szczepaniak-Gillece's book on exhibition history tells an utterly captivating and theoretically complex story of the architectonics of theatrical space and its impact on spectatorial attention and absorption. The Optical Vacuum makes a stunning contribution to the vibrant field of Screen Studies, arguing that design can never be divorced from the viewing experiences imagined by cinephiles as well as the doyens of modernism."--Alison Griffiths, The City University of New York
"Movie theaters are not just places to see a film. They are sites in which to experience new technologies, explore immersive environments and to innovate new modes of seeing and hearing. This fascinating book shows us that movie theaters have long been irretrievably shaped by dynamic debates across fields such as modernism, architecture, design, and commercial entertainment, inviting us to look beyond the screen and at the spaces in which movies have long been embedded. This book is essential reading for those interested in the history of theaters and cinema, as well as those interested in modernity, entertainment, and the persistent transformation of the human senses by technological design."--Haidee Wasson, Concordia University