Entre campagne publicitaire et films d’auteur : douze paysages urbains italiens au cinéma

12 Registi per 12 città (1989) est un film de commande promotionnel composé de douze portraits de villes, réalisés par douze cinéastes italiens de renom avant la 14e Coupe du monde de football (Italia ’90). Il offre un corpus exemplaire pour étudier le rapport entre la représentation du paysage urbain et l’imagerie publicitaire. Comment sont représentées les villes ? Que montrent ces mises en scène qui suivent une logique commerciale, touristique et patrimoniale ? L’article examine les places respectives que les films accordent aux vues paysagères et aériennes, aux monuments historiques ou aux caractéristiques des sites (le relief, l’eau) ; mais aussi l’attention variable que les différents cinéastes accordent aux lieux publics, aux environnements sonores, aux activités ordinaires et aux habitants de ces villes. Ces films publicitaires d’une grande maîtrise technique procèdent de choix esthétiques qui les distinguent parfois de la logique spectaculaire et marchande du tourisme de masse, alors même qu’ils y participent. Leur analyse permet d’affiner notre appréciation de la production d’images des paysages urbains et, au-delà, de l’expérience touristique.12 Registi per 12 città (1989) is a commissioned promotional film comprising twelve portraits of cities, produced by twelve famous Italian filmmakers before the 14th World Cup (Italia’90). It is an exemplary body of works which can be used to study the relationship between the representation of the urban landscape and the advertising image. How are cities represented in these films? What do these portrayals, which follow a logic based on the market, tourism and the heritage, demonstrate? The article examines the respective roles given in these films to landscapes, aerial views, historical monuments, and specific elements within the sites (relief, water); it also takes a look at variations in the attention focused by the filmmakers on the public places, the sonic environments, the inhabitants and the day-to-day activities in these cities. These technically sophisticated commercial films are the result of aesthetic choices that sometimes distinguish them from the spectacular and commercial rationale of mass tourism which they nevertheless are a part of. Analysing them makes it possible to fully appreciate the production of urban images and the tourist experience

Penser le paysage par le milieu. Recension de : Jean-Marc Besse, 2018, La nécessité du paysage. Marseille : Parenthèses

Dans les domaines de la théorie du paysage et de l’épistémologie de la géographie, les ouvrages de Jean-Marc Besse font référence. La nécessité du paysage, court essai rédigé dans un style accessible, déploie un précieux effort de synthèse et de partage interdisciplinaire. Il tâche d’intégrer des perspectives que la différence des traditions universitaires tient souvent éloignées, sans éluder la complexité de son objet qui, précisément, « n’est pas complètement une chose que l’on peut poser f..

Les villes visibles

Des villes, des films. De Cités-cinés (Grenier, 1987) à Regards sur la ville (Althabe, Comolli, Colleyn, 1994) et à La ville au cinéma (Paquot, Jousse, 2005), mais aussi en langue anglaise (Shiel, Fitzmaurice, 2001 ; Mennel, 2008 ; Koeck, Roberts, 2010 ; Koeck, 2012), le sujet a donné lieu à d’importantes publications depuis une vingtaine d’années. Toutes ont mis « en regard » des œuvres spécifiques, fictions ou documentaires, avec des situations urbaines aux coordonnées géographiques et aux ..

Les villes visibles

Des villes, des films. De Cités-cinés (Grenier, 1987) à Regards sur la ville (Althabe, Comolli, Colleyn, 1994) et à La ville au cinéma (Paquot, Jousse, 2005), mais aussi en langue anglaise (Shiel, Fitzmaurice, 2001 ; Mennel, 2008 ; Koeck, Roberts, 2010 ; Koeck, 2012), le sujet a donné lieu à d’importantes publications depuis une vingtaine d’années. Toutes ont mis « en regard » des œuvres spécifiques, fictions ou documentaires, avec des situations urbaines aux coordonnées géographiques et aux ..

An Interview with Joseph O’Neill

This interview took place in New York in February 2013. We would like to thank Michael Confais for his contribution. Joseph O'Neill's Netherland was published in 2008. It was awarded the 2009 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. Melancholy Nathalie Cochoy: In Netherland, a sense of loss and a reminiscence of the ethereal dreams at the origin of the country seem to coalesce. In this respect, Netherland seems to me to be a melancholic novel. As in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, a sense of mourning,..

Ultrafast magnetization switching by spin-orbit torques

Spin-orbit torques induced by spin Hall and interfacial effects in heavy metal/ferromagnetic bilayers allow for a switching geometry based on in-plane current injection. Using this geometry, we demonstrate deterministic magnetization reversal by current pulses ranging from 180~ps to ms in Pt/Co/AlOx dots with lateral dimensions of 90~nm. We characterize the switching probability and critical current $I_c$ as function of pulse length, amplitude, and external field. Our data evidence two distinct regimes: a short-time intrinsic regime, where $I_c$ scales linearly with the inverse of the pulse length, and a long-time thermally assisted regime where $I_c$ varies weakly. Both regimes are consistent with magnetization reversal proceeding by nucleation and fast propagation of domains. We find that $I_c$ is a factor 3-4 smaller compared to a single domain model and that the incubation time is negligibly small, which is a hallmark feature of spin-orbit torques

Depicting Berlin’s Atmospheres: Phenomenographic Sketches

This article proposes an ethno-phenomenographic record combining writing and drawing. It examines a few contemporary atmospheres of the city of Berlin. We describe a selection of specific situations from the angle of sensorial experience and contextualize them with sociological, geographical and historical elements. Tackling some atmospheres characteristic of a city at a certain period of its history is not the same as trying to grasp the ways of living in it; therefore, our approach is neither sociological nor geographical per se. Elaborating on four specific cases and reflecting from our own perspectives, we will examine the hypothesis of a fragmentation of Berlin’s atmospheres, exploring the ambivalent meanings of such assessment. The method is ethnographic: we base our descriptions on direct observation and we confront our respective experiences in places physically circumscribed by architecture and urban forms, interspersed with multiple presences and interactions during the observed time sequences. The overall objective is also cooperative and interdisciplinary: the sharing of our own points of view and perceptions through drawing, speaking and writing as processes of building an account of urban phenomena, without erasing differences in perspective. Through this very partial selection of seemingly representative atmospheres over one Berlin summer, we sketch a nuanced portrait of the city that does not exclude criticism.Cet article, en combinant l’écriture et le dessin, s’intéresse aux atmosphères contemporaines de la ville de Berlin. Sans prétendre les saisir toutes, nous décrivons une sélection de situations sous l’angle de l’expérience sensorielle en les contextualisant avec des éléments sociologiques, géographiques et historiques. Aborder des atmosphères caractéristiques d’une ville à une certaine période de son histoire, ce n’est pas essayer d’en saisir les modes de vie : notre approche n’est donc ni sociologique ni géographique à proprement parler. À partir de quatre exemples concrets et limités, nous examinons plutôt l’hypothèse d’une fragmentation des atmosphères berlinoises, en explorant les significations ambivalentes d’une telle évaluation. La méthode est ethnographique : nos descriptions sont fondées sur l’observation directe et la confrontation de nos expériences respectives dans des lieux physiquement circonscrits par l’architecture et les formes urbaines, entrecoupés de multiples présences et interactions au cours des séquences observées. L’objectif est aussi coopératif et interdisciplinaire : le partage de nos points de vue et de nos perceptions, sans effacer les différences de perspective, enrichit mutuellement nos regards sur cette ville. Avec cette sélection très partielle d’atmosphères représentatives au cours d’un été berlinois, nous esquissons un portrait nuancé de la ville, qui n’exclut pas la critique

Symmetry and magnitude of spin-orbit torques in ferromagnetic heterostructures

Current-induced spin torques are of great interest to manipulate the orientation of nanomagnets without applying external magnetic fields. They find direct application in non-volatile data storage and logic devices, and provide insight into fundamental processes related to the interdependence between charge and spin transport. Recent demonstrations of magnetization switching induced by in-plane current injection in ferromagnetic heterostructures have drawn attention to a class of spin torques based on orbital-to-spin momentum transfer, which is alternative to pure spin transfer torque (STT) between noncollinear magnetic layers and amenable to more diversified device functions. Due to the limited number of studies, however, there is still no consensus on the symmetry, magnitude, and origin of spin-orbit torques (SOTs). Here we report on the quantitative vector measurement of SOTs in Pt/Co/AlO trilayers using harmonic analysis of the anomalous and planar Hall effects as a function of the applied current and magnetization direction. We provide an all-purpose scheme to measure the amplitude and direction of SOTs for any arbitrary orientation of the magnetization, including corrections due to the interplay of Hall and thermoelectric effects. Based on general space and time inversion symmetry arguments, we show that asymmetric heterostructures allow for two different SOTs having odd and even behavior with respect to magnetization reversal. Our results reveal a scenario that goes beyond established models of the Rashba and spin Hall contributions to SOTs. The even SOT is STT-like but stronger than expected from the spin Hall effect in Pt. The odd SOT is composed of a constant field-like term and an additional component, which is strongly anisotropic and does not correspond to a simple Rashba field.Comment: Supplementary Informations follows Paper in the .pdf fil

Chirality-induced asymmetric magnetic nucleation in Pt/Co/AlOx ultrathin microstructures

The nucleation of reversed magnetic domains in Pt/Co/AlO$_{x}$ microstructures with perpendicular anisotropy was studied experimentally in the presence of an in-plane magnetic field. For large enough in-plane field, nucleation was observed preferentially at an edge of the sample normal to this field. The position at which nucleation takes place was observed to depend in a chiral way on the initial magnetization and applied field directions. An explanation of these results is proposed, based on the existence of a sizable Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction in this sample. Another consequence of this interaction is that the energy of domain walls can become negative for in-plane fields smaller than the effective anisotropy field.Comment: Published version, Physical Review Letters 113, 047203 (2014

Direct Observation of Massless Domain Wall Dynamics in Nanostripes with Perpendicular Magnetic Anisotropy

Domain wall motion induced by nanosecond current pulses in nanostripes with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (Pt/Co/AlO$_x$) is shown to exhibit negligible inertia. Time-resolved magnetic microscopy during current pulses reveals that the domain walls start moving, with a constant speed, as soon as the current reaches a constant amplitude, and no or little motion takes place after the end of the pulse. The very low 'mass' of these domain walls is attributed to the combination of their narrow width and high damping parameter $\alpha$. Such a small inertia should allow accurate control of domain wall motion, by tuning the duration and amplitude of the current pulses