National Media Museum blog
From Bradford UNESCO City of Film, we write about photography, film and television, and daily life in a national museum.
Staff preview of In the Blink of an Eye: Media and Movement
Today is one of those days I realise how lucky I am to work here. I’ve just attended the staff preview of our new exhibition In the Blink of an Eye: Media and Movement, and it’s beautiful.
What a treat to see some of the gems from our own collection and a fantastic array of other works all illustrating the many attempts by various artists to capture the invisible. Movements so subtle and small, fast or slow, that they cannot be seen by the naked eye on show for all to see – captured through many different types of media.
There is something for everyone in the exhibition which spans our two spaces – Gallery One and Gallery Two. In Gallery One the technology of movement capture is on display with large objects to thrill and delight. Examples of historic photography reveal minute details of how a horse, a cat, a dog, a man, leap, walk and tip their hat. A modern art installation traces and expands the movements of gymnasts as they flip, spin and tumble across the floor. A colourful projection shows the earliest attempts to display the moving image.
Back Dive, 1954 Ⓒ Harold E. Edgerton
Upstairs in a newly shaped Gallery Two, a more contemplative atmosphere is created. Athletes move seemingly in slow motion across a screen, and squirrels and birds are frozen mid-flight. A whole series of attempts to capture the movement of a water droplet create a hypnotic corner in which you could lose hours of your day.
More cats appear in an amazing picture of Salvador Dali and a sorry tale pans out in the vivid colour print by Richard Billingham. What with bullets shot through apples, runners and dancers lost in their traced motion, and clear interpretation of what’s on display for all ages, I’ll say it again, I’m very lucky to work here!
Do come and see for yourself!
About Anna W
