Tate Britain
8 September 2010 - 16 January 2011
From Tate Britain website: "Muybridge was the man who famously
proved a horse can fly. Adapting the very latest technology to his ends, he
proved his theory by getting a galloping horse to trigger the shutters of a
bank of cameras. This experiment proved indisputably for the first time what no
eye had previously seen - that a horse lifts all four hooves off the ground at
one point in the action of running. Seeking a means of sharing his
ground-breaking work, he invented the zoopraxiscope, a method of projecting
animated versions of his photographs as short moving sequences, which
anticipated subsequent developments in the history of cinema.
British-born Eadweard Muybridge, who emigrated to
the United States in the 1850s, is one of the most influential photographers of
all time. He pushed the limits of the camera's possibilities, creating
world-famous images of animals and humans in motion. Just as impressive are his
vast panoramas of American landscapes, such as the Yosemite valley, and his
documentation of the rapidly growing nation, particularly in San Francisco. His
dramatic life included extensive travels in North and Central America, a career
as a successful lecturer, and the scandal of his trial for the murder of his
wife's lover.
This exhibition brings together the full range of
his art for the first time, and explores the ways in which Muybridge created
and honed his remarkable images, which continue to resonate with artists today.
Highlights include a seventeen foot panorama of San Francisco and recreations
of the zoopraxiscope in action. His influence has forever changed our
understanding and interpretation of the world, and can be found in many diverse
fields, from Marcel Duchamp's painting Nude Descending a Staircase and
countless works by Francis Bacon, to the blockbuster film The Matrix and
Philip Glass's opera The Photographer.
In addition to Muybridge at Tate Britain, his
birthplace Kingston upon Thames celebrates and investigates its unique
Muybridge Collection with special exhibitions at Kingston Museum and at the
Stanley Picker Gallery, Kingston University. Visit the Muybridge in Kingston
website for more information.
Organised by the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington
DC"
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