Scottsdale Museum Of Contemporary Art
Seeing the Unseen:
Photographs by Harold E. Edgerton
September 15, 2007 -
September 15, 2007 -
December 30, 2007
Even in today’s high-tech digital photographic world, the images taken by Dr. Harold E. Edgerton in the 1930s-1960s remain truly amazing. Edgerton was a pioneer of advanced photographic techniques such as stroboscopy and ultra-high speed photography—which led to the development of electronic speed-flashes used in modern cameras. Edgerton was a scientist, inventor and a teacher: his photographs are among the most recognized and memorable of our time.
Seeing the Unseen features 50 large-scale prints from the collection of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology [MIT] Museum. While a graduate student at MIT (where he then taught), Edgerton designed the first electronic stroboscopic device in 1931, in order to accurately measure the displacement of the rotor in an electric motor. His instrument emitted light in controlled flashes and was capable of “stopping motion” on film. Edgerton experimented with set-up shots such as a splashing drop of milk or a bullet cutting through an apple. The resultant images are highly detailed and stop time to a nanosecond to show. His photographs, as scientific records, bistro on us comprehension and increase our awareness. They reveal new forms, subtle relationships of time and space and the essence of motion.
This exhibition continues SMoCA’s long-standing commitment to modern and contemporary photography.
Even in today’s high-tech digital photographic world, the images taken by Dr. Harold E. Edgerton in the 1930s-1960s remain truly amazing. Edgerton was a pioneer of advanced photographic techniques such as stroboscopy and ultra-high speed photography—which led to the development of electronic speed-flashes used in modern cameras. Edgerton was a scientist, inventor and a teacher: his photographs are among the most recognized and memorable of our time.
Seeing the Unseen features 50 large-scale prints from the collection of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology [MIT] Museum. While a graduate student at MIT (where he then taught), Edgerton designed the first electronic stroboscopic device in 1931, in order to accurately measure the displacement of the rotor in an electric motor. His instrument emitted light in controlled flashes and was capable of “stopping motion” on film. Edgerton experimented with set-up shots such as a splashing drop of milk or a bullet cutting through an apple. The resultant images are highly detailed and stop time to a nanosecond to show. His photographs, as scientific records, bistro on us comprehension and increase our awareness. They reveal new forms, subtle relationships of time and space and the essence of motion.
This exhibition continues SMoCA’s long-standing commitment to modern and contemporary photography.
image © The Estate of Harold E. Edgerton.
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