[…] Turning to the substance of the book, it stresses the integration of structure and reception in parody, a vital aspect often missed in academic discussions of humour whether verbal or visual. Contextual and integral signals to the audience clearly impact on whether humour is perceived and hence enjoyed. Here Rose's deep knowledge of the models and contexts for historically remote works such as those of the nineteenth century is especially valuable: painstakingly annotated details reveal a powerfully comic discourse that might otherwise pass unnoticed. Drawing on her earlier studies (including of Heine's poetry), Rose develops convincing schematic outlines of how the world(s) of the picture and the world(s) of the spectator relate in both parody and pastiche. […] The admirable complexity of purpose in this book is reflected in its choice of cover image, Salvatore Fiume's Adunata nell'atelier (1987). This is not a broadly comic pastiche but a subtly ironic and respectful humorous tribute to Fiume's many quoted originals and models. In discussion (102-9), Rose observes that these can be seen as interrelated, allowing for some kind of comic intention to be attributed (they reflect the detail of Rose's diagram for comic pictorial pastiche on 98, rather than that for simple pictorial pastiche on 95). […] Rose proves her point that parody, pastiche, andirony are all techniques at the service of satirical purpose, but that they do not necessarily coincide with it so that we must remain alert to the full range of possibilities, both of artist's intention and of audience reception, in this ambiguous world of art. Her perceptive scholarship illuminates a complex topic and many will turn to it for reliable guidance.
Jessica Milner Davis in „The British Journal of Aesthetics Advance Access“ (November 2012)
|