{"title":"Susanna Berger","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSusanna Berger\u003c\/strong\u003e explores the intersections of art, history, and visual culture with a keen analytical eye. Her works delve into the nuances of artistic expression and the ways in which images shape our understanding of the world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eReaders can expect insightful narratives that combine rigorous research with compelling interpretation, illuminating the evolving dialogues within \u003cem\u003eArts \u0026amp; Culture\u003c\/em\u003e. Her writing invites a deeper appreciation of how art reflects and transforms society.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"the-deformation-by-susanna-berger-9780691201016","title":"The Deformation","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA fascinating account of the use and meaning of visual and spatial distortions in seventeenth-century art and architecture\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDuring the Catholic Reformation, patrons, artists, architects, and viewers, especially in Rome, were strongly drawn to visual and spatial distortions or \"deformations\"—works of art and architecture that were designed to be visually incomprehensible, at least initially. From Borromini's San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane in Rome to the attention-grabbing \u003cem\u003eprospettiva\u003c\/em\u003e in the city's Palazzo Spada and the anamorphoses that define the corridors and walls of Minim and Jesuit buildings, \u003cem\u003eThe Deformation\u003c\/em\u003e explores what this intriguing phenomenon reveals about contemporary religious belief, optics, and the natural sciences, as well as wider questions about attention and discernment.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFailing to conform to an established ideal, deformations required a \"reformation\" to achieve that ideal. Anamorphic deformations, for example, could only be reformed into clarity when viewed from a particular angle or through a special mirror. Susanna Berger examines how deformations were experienced by beholders, and how they were embraced or opposed by critics. The book shows how deformations and related works—whether altar tabernacles, ephemeral religious architecture, churches, monumental sundials, colonnades with accelerated perspective, illusionistic frescoes, turned ivories, or painted anamorphoses—focused observers' attention on theological mysteries and the social power and sophistication of patrons. The book's rich illustrations include two gatefolds and some anamorphic images that can be seen without distortion by using an included reflective insert as a mirror.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eLooking at writings as well as visual works in multiple artistic media not typically considered in relation to each other, \u003cem\u003eThe Deformation\u003c\/em\u003e offers a new interpretation of deformation that highlights the delay between perception and discernment.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47432870494444,"sku":"9780691201016","price":130.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780691201016.jpg?v=1774766249"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/collections\/susanna-berger.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}