Plate Number 337. Boxing, open hand 1887

Editor: So, this is Eadweard Muybridge’s “Plate Number 337. Boxing, open hand,” made in 1887. It’s a gelatin silver print, and seeing all these individual frames, it makes me think about early motion studies. What kind of symbolism do you see in this work, beyond just documenting movement? Curator: Think about what the act of boxing itself represents: conflict, yes, but also discipline, control, and the performance of masculinity. Muybridge chose this specific act. The repetitive, staccato quality created by the grid of images becomes almost ritualistic, suggesting a deeper, ingrained behavior. Editor: A ritual, like some kind of… test? Or initiation? Curator: Perhaps. What else does the figure itself bring to mind? Look at the historical context: the late 19th century saw a rise in scientific and pseudo-scientific theories about race, athleticism, and the male body. Consider the male nude: in classical art it symbolized ideal forms. Are we meant to see that connection here, or something different? Editor: It’s like Muybridge is presenting this very raw, exposed, almost scientific look at the body. But by presenting it as ‘art’, it has these other connotations layered on it? I see what you mean about the ritual, the inherent aggression being almost timeless. Curator: Precisely. And how the act is dissected. Aren't all these individual movements almost reminiscent of the stations of the cross or other narrative series in religious painting? Each moment given its own significance. Editor: So it goes from science to performance and then to morality tale almost? Curator: It’s a potent image. Editor: It certainly gives a new punch to photographic symbolism. I won't look at Muybridge the same way again.