Vertical Vision. Aerial Photography, Petroleum Prospecting and the City of the Future

Hindelang, Laura (16 March 2019). Vertical Vision. Aerial Photography, Petroleum Prospecting and the City of the Future (Unpublished). In: The Life Worlds of Middle Eastern Oil. New York University, Abu Dhabi. 16.03.2019.

The paper examines the history of aerial photography as pivotal (petroleum-based) technology of oil prospecting and later of urban planning in the Gulf region. In particular, it analyzes the subsequent establishment of a visual regime of viewing the region remotely from above. Taking Kuwait as a case study, I argue that the aerial view stimulated urban visions, disembodied imaginaries of a future city of Kuwait. And disseminated as map-like illustrations in newspaper and journal articles on Kuwait, the abstract vertical vision of Kuwait City became an influential visual representation of the country, and, implicitly, also of petroleum.

Item Type:

Conference or Workshop Item (Speech)

Division/Institute:

06 Faculty of Humanities > Department of Art and Cultural Studies > Institute of Art History
06 Faculty of Humanities > Department of Art and Cultural Studies > Institute of Art History > Architectural History and Preservation

UniBE Contributor:

Hindelang, Laura

Subjects:

700 Arts
700 Arts > 720 Architecture
700 Arts > 770 Photography & computer art
900 History > 950 History of Asia

Language:

English

Submitter:

Laura Katharina Hindelang

Date Deposited:

09 Jan 2020 10:15

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 15:35

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/138264

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