Thursday 29 January 2015

year of the horse


I made this last year for the Year of the Horse. Apologies if you've already seen it: I just can't remember whether I posted it here or not.

Photos of horses in motion all by Eadweard Muybridge. Still photos by Keith Carter.

Muybridge, who did most of his work in the 1870s-80s, was a real pioneer: his documentation of animals & humans in motion is influential to this day. One issue he resolved has to do with the horse's gallop: Muybridge was frustrated with centuries of depictions of galloping horses with their front legs extended out front & up high, and their back legs extended out back & up high. He didn't think that posture ever happens in the gallop, and he proved it. He found that there is indeed a moment in the gallop when all four of the horse's feet are off the ground, but it happens when their legs are gathered underneath them. If you look at the second row from the top, the second photo from the left shows that moment.

4 comments:

  1. I don't remember seeing this one before. Thanks for sharing!

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  2. I like the skeleton horses a lot! And I'm a fan of the work of Muybridge.

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  3. Me too (fan of Muybridge) and excellent collage of images. I love horses and believe I was one in another life!!

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  4. If I remember right I saw some of his photos of horses in motion in a museum once. You made a good homage to the year of the horse, Fi.

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