NUDE DESCENDING STAIRS 1913-2013
Eadweard Muybridge was an English photographer important for his pioneering work in photographic studies of motion and in motion-picture projection. His early work with multiple cameras operating in sequence lead to the development of motion pictures, and a new way of seeing and recording motion through time. In 1887, his photos were published as a massive portfolio, with 781 plates comprising 20,000 of the photographs, in a groundbreaking collection titled Animal Locomotion: an Electro-Photographic Investigation of Connective Phases of Animal Movements. This work is widely used as references by artists, animators, and students of animal and human movement from the time it was released until today.
Duchamp's first work to provoke significant controversy was Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 (Nu descendant un escalier n° 2) (1912). The painting depicts the mechanistic motion of a nude, with superimposed facets, similar to motion pictures. It shows elements of both the fragmentation and synthesis of the Cubists, and the movement and dynamism of the Futurists. He submitted the painting to the 1913 "Armory Show" in New York City. The exhibition was officially named the International Exhibition of Modern Art, displayed works of American artists, and was also the first major exhibition of modern trends coming out of Paris. American show-goers, accustomed to realistic art, were scandalized, and the Nude was at the center of much of the controversy.
Sebring’s modern reinterpretation of Muybridges’s classic process builds upon the work of Cubists and Futurists who sought to capture the motion of human figures in action through time. These painters were inspired by Muybridge's groundbreaking work that started our fascination with moving images. Sebring pays homage to the 1913 Armory Show on its 100th Anniversary with a multi media exhibit of massive proportion. He unveiled the work based on these concepts, for the first time, in the 69th Regiment Armory, where the original 1913 show was installed. The work was manifested as large printed photographs, sculpture, interactive kiosks, and an epic 60 foot projection with original music score.
SEBRING ARMORY SHOW 2013
ARMORY SHOW FILM
