The Eyes of the War: An Archaeology of WW1 Aerial Appartuses Between Panoramic and Telescopic Vision

Defined by Virilio as “the extreme way to see”, aviation showed a widespread relation with the cinephotographic devices since its earliest uses. The outbreak of WW1 represented a moment of exacerbation of this bond, which however has its roots in earlier scientific and spectacular traditions, e. g. the photogrammetry. The contribution aims to describe the main aerial cinematic apparatuses used in the Great War, contextualizing their technological depth in light of two paradigms of vision: the panoramic and telescopic ones, retracing therefore the military importance assumed by aviation by the search for an all-embracing gaze capable of reaching never-before-experienced distances.