Phantasmagoria - Phantasmagoria in Modern Times

Phantasmagoria in Modern Times

A few modern theatrical troupes in the United States and United Kingdom stage phantasmagoria projection shows, especially at Halloween.

Walter Benjamin was fascinated by the phantasmagoria and used it as a term to describe the experience of the Arcades in Paris. In his essays, he associated phantasmagoria with commodity culture and its experience of material and intellectual products. In this way, Benjamin expanded upon Marx's statement on the phantasmagorical powers of the commodity.

Phantasmagoria's influence on Disney live shows can be seen in the practical and projection effects in the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, as well as Fantasmic, the closing show at Disney's Hollywood Studios, which features film clips projected onto smoke and water spray.

From February 15 to May 1, 2006, the Tate Britain staged "The Phantasmagoria" as a component of its show "Gothic Nightmares: Fuseli, Blake and the Romantic Imagination." It recreated the content of the 18th and 19th century presentations, and successfully evoked their tastes for horror and fantasy.

French painters of the time, including Ingres and Girodet, derived ideas for paintings from the phantasmagoria, and its influence spread as far as J.M.W. Turner.

A series of photographs taken from 1977 to 1987 by photographer and model Cindy Sherman are described as portraying the phantasmagoria of the female body. Her photographs include herself as the model, and the progression of the series as a whole presents the phantasmagoric space projected both onto and into the female body.