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122 Recent Books
need Jamesian insights in order to argue that the issue of God’s reality is
not exhausted by the narrowly intellectual (evidentialist) considerations
one might advance in favour of either theism or atheism’ (p.191).
This tension between the intellectual and experiential is also evident in
the chapter by Joel Rasmussen on the old ‘quarrel between philosophy and
poetry’. James acknowledges that life in many ways ‘exceeds conceptual
logic and often obliges us to proceed with hypotheses rather than strictly
logical syllogisms’ (p.161). The line between philosophy and poetry is thin
under his gaze: ‘Philosophers are after all like poets’ (James, cited p.166).
In sum, James—whose prose is poetic and whose philosophy permits
percepts—is a fascinating thinker, and any reader wishing to be better
acquainted with him would be well advised to consult this book.
Kate Kirkpatrick
Felix Burda-Stengel, Andrea Pozzo and Video Art (Philadelphia: Saint
Joseph's UP, 2013). 978 0 9161 0178 7, pp.177, $70.00.
This work was first published in German in 2001; the author, Felix Burda-
Stengel, did not live to see the publication of this translation. This was
championed by John O’Malley, editor of the Early Modern Catholicism
and the Visual Arts series produced by St Joseph’s University Press. It richly
deserves the wider audience which, it is hoped, will arise from the English
version.
The book provides a unique perspective on a remarkable man and his
largely overlooked work, simultaneously bringing him out of the shadows
and placing him in an entirely contemporary and unexpected context.
I must admit that my immediate reaction on being asked to review the
title was mixed. I am an admirer of Andrea Pozzo’s work, and have taken
many groups of students to S. Ignazio and the Rooms of St Ignatius, and
enjoyed their unfailing surprise and wonder at his technical ability and
vision. I am not a great fan of contemporary video installations, on the
whole finding them to be, perhaps, more flash than substance. It is challenging
to suspend pre-existing judgements, but I find myself acknowledging the
power and validity of Burda-Stengel’s argument—namely that the need for
illusion is a timeless phenomenon, and that the moving observer of Pozzo’s
day was faced with the same questions as to the nature of art and reality
that the present day gallery visitor encounters.
The early chapters of the book place Pozzo firmly in his historic and
cultural milieu, examining the optical, perspectival and scientific work of