Abstract:

Abstract：By focusing on three key aspects—ghostly media, dialectical images, and the phantasmagoric mechanism—this discussion proposes a“new discourse”on the phantasmagoria of“old media”from the perspectives of media archaeology, image epistemology, and optical mechanism. As a dispositif of“images and bodies”without a specific media form, phantasmagoria has deep roots in media archaeology and numerous contemporary manifestations. In the evolving landscape of new media, the phantasmagoric optical mechanism unique to phantasmagoria has not been given sufficient attention. It is precisely this unconscious optical mechanism that defamiliarizes spatial forms and embodiment issues, thereby disrupting existing media classifications and forms of artistic representation. Moreover, it introduces dialectical inspiration from various aspects, including spiritual metaphors, sensory stimulation and manipulation, image epistemology, and the integration of realism and imagination, thereby enriching the discourse system of image typology and image dispositif.

Key words: phantasmagoria, media archaeology, dialectical image, optical mechanism, image epistemology