phenomenology - The branch of philosophy that studies all possible appearances in human experience (phenomena), during which considerations of objective reality and of purely subjective response are left out of account.
Also see empiricism, epistemology, interdisciplinary, metaphysics, ontology, science and art, and teleology.
phenomenon - An occurrence, a circumstance, or a fact that is perceptible by the senses. The plural form is phenomena.
Also see light, moiré, and sight.
phiale - In ancient Greece, and other ancient Mediterranean cultures, a bowl or wide cup without a handle, traditionally used for libations: ritual offerings of wine or olive oil to the gods — ceremonies in which the liquid would be spilled over an altar or a burial site to satisfy the souls of the deceased. At their center, a phiale is likely to have an omphalos, the mythic navel of the universe. Phiales are typically metal, although they were sometimes produced in clay or glass.
Hellenistic, Phiale, c. 300 BCE, repoussé gold, diameter 23 cm, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY. A radial pattern of acorns and bees, each symbolizing the earth's "victual in plenty," as described by Hesiod. In the center is a large boss representing the omphalos. See Hellenistic art.
philluminist - One who collects matchbooks or matchbox tops.
American, Coca-Cola matchbooks, c. 1940-1995.
Art about matchbooks:
Molly Springfield (American, 1977-), Matchbooks, 2001, oil on paper, 29 x 5.5 inches, collection of the artist. Many painters of trompe l'oeil have chosen ephemera as their subject matter. Molly Springfield is a contemporary example.Her web site may present other such works.
Also see deltiologist, ephemera, exonumia, numismatics, philately, printing, and scripophily.
philtrum - In the anatomy of the human face, the area below the septum of the nose down to the upper lip. The philtrum is comprised of a pair of vertical ridges (also called the philtral columns) separated by a vertical groove (also called the philtral dimple).
Also see ala and alar groove, bust, portrait, and self-portrait.
phosphene - A sensation of light caused by excitation of the retina by mechanical or electric means rather than by light, as when the eyeballs are rubbed through closed lids.
photoCD - A storage method for digital images. In the basic Kodak PhotoCD configuration, five different levels of image quality are stored for each image in an Imagepac (a file-storage format.)
photocopy - To make a photographic reproduction of printed or graphic material, especially by xerography. This is the most common contemporary method of making inexpensive photo images on paper. Photocopy machines are commonly sited in schools, libraries, businesses, etc. Also, a piece of such photographic or xerographic reproduction. Other photographic means of reproduction include blueprinting, facsimile, microfilming, and photostats. We are S H O C K E D . S H O C K E D : a Teddy Bear caught in the act of mooning a photocopier.
photogene - See afterimage.
photogram - A photographic print made by placing an arrangement of objects on photosensitive paper exposed to light to yield an image of ghostly silhouettes floating in a void of darkened space. The first photogram was probably made around 1802.
Anna Atkins (English, 1799-1871) and Anne Dixon (English, 19th century), Equisetum sylvaticum, 1853, cyanotype photogram,10 x 7 7/8 inches, J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, CA. Anna Atkins produced the first photographically illustrated book, British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions, in 1843. She included this photo in her second book, Cyanotypes of British and Foreign Ferns, c. 1860.
William Henry Fox Talbot (British, 1800-1877), Wrack, 1839, salted paper print, 22 x 17.5 cm (8 11/16 x 6 7/8 inches), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.
Hippolyte Bayard (French, 1801-1887), Arrangement of Specimens, Paris, about 1842, direct positive print (cyanotype photogram), 10 15/16 x 8 1/2 inches (27.7 x 21.6 cm), J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, CA.
Man Ray (born Emmanuel Rudnitzky) (American, 1890-1976)
László Moholy-Nagy (born Hungary, active in G