Part of the fascination with all photography is that the medium is firmly grounded in the documentary tradition. It has been used as a record of crime scenes, zoological specimens, lunar and space exploration, phrenology, fashion and importantly, art and science. It has been used as ‘proof’ of simple things such as family holidays and equally of atrocities taking place on the global stage. Any contemporary artist using photography has to accept the evidential language embedded in the…

Photography has illuminated so many areas of the 20th century, but none more so than the remarkable work by one of photography’s true pioneers, Dr. Harold Edgerton. As an Institute Professor at MIT and the inventor of the ‘strobe’ flash in the early 1930s, the ‘Doc.’ as he was affectionately known, stopped time in its tracks. His influence is still felt today, as we still use his invention in contemporary flash cameras, although their size has somewhat changed.…

How do you describe colour? Even the dictionary definition of it is poetic: That aspect of things that is caused by differing qualities of the light reflected or emitted by them, definable interms of the observer or of the light. And; a substance, such as a dye, pigment, or paint,that imparts a hue. And; a reddening of the face; a blush. The scientific words to objectify it are beautiful too: hyperchromatism, wavelength, luminance, iridescence and purity. Since 1861 and the first perman…

Dr. Harold Edgerton 02. Juli 07 - 04. August 07