March 13, 2004
Celebrating Muybridge
Celebrating Muybridge 2004
This year will be the centenary of the death of Eadweard Muybridge. Born in Kingston in 1830, Muybridge was one of the great pioneers of photography and the moving image. To celebrate his extraordinary life and work, preparations are underway to hold a Muybridge Festival.
A programme of events involving a range of organisations and groups will take place throughout the year. Anyone interested in being involved in Muybridge 2004 is invited to find out more by contacting the organisers.
Muybridge was the first person to prove that horses raise all four legs off the ground when trotting ñ a discovery of huge scientific and artistic significance. Kingston museum holds a vast collection of his original lantern slides and his famous zoopraxiscope ñ a moving picture projector which he invented to assist his detailed investigations into horses and humans in motion. In 1887 he published a monumental work of 781 folio-sized plates entitled ëAnimal Locomotioní. It is still the most comprehensive analysis of movement ever undertaken.
Muybridge’s legacy lives on today as an ongoing major source of inspiration for many contemporary artists, photographers and film-makers throughout the world. The Friends of Kingston Museum will be installing a commemorative plaque where Muybridge was born. The climax of Muybridge 2004 will take place in October, with various events and exhibitions being planned, including a giant outdoor projection onto the Guildhall of some of the famous images he created and a Symposium to enable visitors from around the world to pay homage to this extraordinary genius.
Posted by Mark Owen at March 13, 2004 11:58 AM