Main page

Exhibits

Programs

Calendar

Museum News

Museum Collection

Education

Information

seeing the unseen

Photographs by Harold Edgerton

April 7 - June 12, 2002

Harold E. Edgerton, Fanning the Cards, 1940, gelatin silver print, 36 x 48 in., Copyright the estate of Harold E. Edgerton, Courtesy of Palm Press, Inc. higher-resolution image

We are surrounded by a world of activity and events that we cannot see. The intricate forms and patterns produced by actions such as the splash of a milk drop occur too quickly for our eyes to catch. Dr. Harold E. Edgerton (1903-1990) devoted his entire career to representing this invisible world in order to reveal the laws of nature. Through his important inventions in the field of stroboscopic photography and ultra-high speed photography, Edgerton was able to "see" the unseen and present his vision to audiences around the world.

Edgerton first used strobe as a graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Interested in the way motors functioned, he discovered that by flashing a light at the same speed a motor rotated, the motor would appear in still images.

This pioneering research became the foundation for the development of modern electronic speed flash, a technique important to science and industry as well as photography. Edgerton’s other innovations, such as stop-action sports photography and underwater deep-sea photography, are also still in use today.

Harold E. Edgerton, Gussie Moran, 1949, gelatin silver print, 20 x 24 in., Copyright the estate of Harold E. Edgerton, Courtesy of Palm Press, Inc.] higher-resolution image

Edgerton’s dramatic images have become an important element of our cultural landscape. Images such as Milk Drop are instantly recognizable, illustrated in countless photography and science textbooks. This reflects Edgerton’s lifelong role as an educator—he taught at MIT for many years, ultimately receiving the rare title of "Institute Professor." At the same time, the careful compositions and dramatic impact of his pieces have often elevated his works to the status of high art. But Edgerton asserted that he was a scientist, not an artist: "Don’t make me out to be an artist. I am after the facts. Only the facts." However, Edgerton’s photographs prove that the factual can also be beautiful. In the end, Edgerton’s compelling images provide us with a brilliant example of the ways that art and science often intersect.

Organized by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Museum, Seeing the Unseen features 50 large-scale photographic studies of drops and splashes, bullets and blasts, athletics, and humans and animals in motion. This exhibition surveys Edgerton’s stunning stroboscopic effects—revealing the beauty of a split-second slice of our fast-paced world.