Untitled (bullet through balloons) 1959

Editor: Here we have Harold Edgerton’s “Untitled (bullet through balloons),” a photograph currently housed at the Harvard Art Museums. It's a black and white image of balloons being popped by a bullet, frozen in time. The composition is striking, the contrast so stark! What do you see in this piece? Curator: The image arrests the dynamism of a fleeting interaction, rendering it permanent. Note the spherical form of the balloons contrasting with the irregular, almost violent, dispersal of the shattered balloon on the left. Consider, too, the significance of light and shadow. Editor: The way the shadows play across the backdrop definitely adds to the drama. Curator: Indeed. And what meaning might we derive from this stark juxtaposition of stillness and motion, order and chaos? Editor: It highlights the beauty of a destructive moment. I never thought I could find that in something like this. Curator: Precisely. A testament to the power of form to transform our perception.