In early 2021, NASA’s Perseverance rover began transmitting images from Mars. Although these were not the first photos we’ve seen from the planet, they remain tremendously interesting. One of the first things that struck me about the new photos was their similarity to abstract art. Most of them are directly shot from above, either fromContinue reading “Art and Science: Mars Perseverance Rover Photos”
Author Archives: William
Early Fiction Films: “A Trip to the Moon”
Whereas the work of the Lumiere Brothers was a progenitor of documentary film, another French pioneer, George Méliès, created the first fiction films. His pictures were full of fantasy and wonder; a stage magician in his day job, Méliès seems to have been the first director to cut multiple shots together and to use specialContinue reading “Early Fiction Films: “A Trip to the Moon””
“Arrival of a Train:” The First Film?
Long regarded as the first film ever made, we know now that Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat Station (1896) was screened a few months after the Lumiere Brothers held the world’s first film screening at a cafe in Paris. Despite the fact that it was not the first film ever made, it stillContinue reading ““Arrival of a Train:” The First Film?”
“American Progress” and Manifest Destiny
American Progress (John Gast, 1871) visualizes the 19th century idea of Manifest Destiny. Columbia, symbolic of the United States, is seen traveling west, dressed like a Greek goddess. Ahead of her tramp white hunters and settlers, and behind her railroads appear out of thin air. On the far left an ominous dark cloud recedes, bringingContinue reading ““American Progress” and Manifest Destiny”
The First Photo of a Japanese Emperor
In 1873, pioneering photographer Uchida Kuichi took the first photograph of a Japanese emperor. In his portrait of the Emperor Meiji, seen here, the emperor is staged in a way typical to U.S. and European photographic portraits of the time. The subject is seated diagonally in a chair, with some personal paraphernalia placed on aContinue reading “The First Photo of a Japanese Emperor”
“Abaporu” and a Uniquely Brazilian Art Style
Abaporu is a 1928 painting by Brazilian artist Tarsila do Amaral. Tarsila, as she was known, was a modernist painter who often included elements of indigenous art in her work in order to create a uniquely Brazilian style. In Abaporu, she distorts the proportions of the subject’s body. The subject’s foot is enormous, while theContinue reading ““Abaporu” and a Uniquely Brazilian Art Style”
Representing Sound Through Painting: “Rhythm + Noise + Speed of Car”
Rhythm + Noise + Speed of Car is a 1913 painting by Futurist artist Giacomo Balla. Part of a vibrant pre-WWI experimental art culture, the Italian Futurists were enamored with energy, power, and modern technology. Many of them were pro-war fascists, and although this is likely the case for Balla as well, his work doesContinue reading “Representing Sound Through Painting: “Rhythm + Noise + Speed of Car””
William Kohler 