Plate Number 62. Running at full speed 1887

Curator: Today we’re observing “Plate Number 62. Running at full speed,” a gelatin-silver print produced in 1887 by Eadweard Muybridge. Editor: It’s immediately striking—the regimented grid imposes a sense of scientific objectivity onto a figure very much in motion. Curator: Exactly. Muybridge dedicated a considerable portion of his career to motion studies, striving to dissect and understand movement with the latest photographic technologies. Notice how he presents this runner in a sequence of discrete images. Editor: And yet, I sense an echo of classical sculpture here too—a persistent ideal of the male form, fragmented across time. It reminds me of serialism in music where themes are fragmented across movements. Curator: It does recall older traditions. In Western culture, running features prominently in iconography from ancient Greek vase painting to contemporary sports imagery; its cultural significance relates to human aspiration and achievement. Editor: Though, the starkness of the grid coupled with the lack of identifying details transforms him into something of an Everyman, stripped of particular identity. Curator: Quite right, the photograph divests him of any distinguishing details. In the 19th century there was increasing anxiety and enthusiasm about industrial advancement—what older practices ought to endure and what had to change. Muybridge offers an image of progress, a literal record of modern technology surpassing the limits of unaided perception. Editor: It feels inherently performative, almost as though this is being offered to a jury—the jury being science itself! It is trying to capture the perfect form in motion. Curator: These photographs revolutionized science, certainly—but their symbolic importance grew through their use in later artistic experimentation, especially in the development of cinematic and performance arts. Editor: True. Examining this image is thought-provoking. Curator: It is. The dialogue between art and science here continues to provide fruitful.