The Sensitive Aesthetics of Jean-Luc Nancy and the Moving Image

Offers a wide cross-section and use of Jean-Luc Nancy's writings that can enrich research on cinema and the visual arts.

This book explores a wide array of approaches to sensual aesthetics by examining moving images as a broad category encompassing both cinema and new media art in their dynamic and emerging forms. The Sensitive Aesthetics of Jean-Luc Nancy and the Moving Image investigates various ways of applying deconstructivist tools and phenomenological perspectives to reinterpret and enrich selected films and artworks, thereby enhancing their depth and expanding their aesthetic significance. The volume brings together both theoretical essays—offering insightful reflections on Jean-Luc Nancy’s contributions to the philosophy of cinema and new media—and analytical studies of specific cinematic installations and VR works. These essays employ Nancy’s thought as a methodological framework that infuses the interpretation of individual works with philosophical resonance. By adopting a contextual perspective, the book aims to situate Nancy’s writings within a multiplicity of visual forms—ranging from classical narrative cinema to experimental works—thus fostering a dialogue between media, aesthetics, and modes of expression.