Exhibitions: Stroboscopic Photography by Harold E. Edgerton & Gjon Mili

October 14, 1942: An exhibition of stroboscopic photography by Professor Harold E. Edgerton and Gjon Mili goes on view Friday, January 15, in the Brooklyn Museum’s photography gallery, to remain through Sunday, February 14. Thirty-two prints will be shown.

Stroboscopic Photography, the recording of one phase of a rapid motion or of successive stages of a continuous movement on one negative, was made possible through the invention of the stroboscope, a flashing light, by Professor Edgerton of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Whereas Professor Edgerton has made application of his invention primarily for laboratory use, his collaborator, Gjon Mili, of New York, has developed its use in commercial photography. Examples of both research and commercial stroboscopic photography make up the major portion of the show, which is installed by the Museum’s Department of Photography.

In addition, the exhibition contains examples of early efforts to “freeze” motion photographically. Thomas Eakins, the American painter, attempted this in the latter part of the last century by placing before the camera a disk in which a number of concentric holes had been cut, and then rotating this disk before the camera lens to catch a series of movements on one plate. The other pioneer in this field was Eadweard Muybridge, of whose work there is also an example. Muybridge’s system was to direct toward the moving object a series of cameras, the shutters of which were released consecutively at short intervals.

Brooklyn Museum Archives. Records of the Department of Public Information. Press releases, 1942 - 1946. 01-03/1943, 002. View Original

February 11, 1943: The Brooklyn Museum announces that the closing date of its current exhibition Stroboscopic Photography has been postponed from February 14 to February 28.

This extension of the exhibition of photographs by Professor Harold E. Edgerton and Gjon Mili is made in response to requests from the public.

Brooklyn Museum Archives. Records of the Department of Public Information. Press releases, 1942 - 1946. 01-03/1943, 026. View Original