Medialab Prado

"In the late 18th century, Belgian optician Etienne Gaspard Robertson created a show with projections by magic lanterns that he called “Phantasmagory”, and thus the modern viewer was born. The fascination of those early viewers is still present in contemporary subjects; with technological advances and powerful video projectors, phantasmagories seem to have escaped from the darkness of the theatre to take over the city. We find images projected onto façades, sidewalks, and large illuminated advertisements, which daze or surprise us. It is essential to place this urban dimension of the world of projections in its historical context so as to better understand the social and cultural consequences of contemporary phantasmagories".

Image: Daniel Canogar - Clandestinos at the Puerta de Alcalá (Madrid)