Death Of A Light Bulb
Artist
Harold Edgerton
(American, 1903-1990)
CultureAmerican
Date1936
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsOverall, Image: 12 3/8 × 18 1/2 in. (31.4 × 47 cm)
Overall, Paper: 16 × 19 15/16 in. (40.6 × 50.6 cm)
Overall, Mat: 22 1/4 × 25 1/2 in. (56.5 × 64.8 cm)
Overall, Paper: 16 × 19 15/16 in. (40.6 × 50.6 cm)
Overall, Mat: 22 1/4 × 25 1/2 in. (56.5 × 64.8 cm)
Credit LineGift of the Harold and Esther Edgerton Family Foundation
Object number96.14.21
Not on view
DescriptionThis photographs depicts the effect produced by a bullet piercing a light bulb.Label TextHarold E. Edgerton American (1903-1990) Death of a Light Bulb, 1936 Gelatin-silver print Gift of the Harold and Esther Edgerton Family Foundation 96.14.21 An MIT scientist, Harold E. Edgerton carried motion photography to new realms. In 1931 he developed the stroboscopic light, which allowed him to invent ultra-high-speed or stop-action photography. A stroboscope emits brief bursts of light permitting a viewer to see a rapidly moving object as a frozen image, which Edgerton photographed. Although his photographs could have been mundane scientific studies because of Edgerton's facile handling of the subject, he created elegant images of moments unseen by the unaided human eye. One of his best-known photographs of a milk drop splashing on a surface to form a shape resembling a coronet was included in the Museum of Modern Art's, (New York) first photography exhibition in 1937. An inveterate inventor, Edgerton is also known for developing techniques to analyze and profile the sea floor, frequently collaborating with famed explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau (1910-1997). Using specialized sonar devices, Edgerton was responsible for locating in 1968, the Mary Rose, an English warship sunk during the reign of Henry VIII and in 1973 the ironclad Civil War battleship USS Monitor lost since 1862 off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Edited By: DS Edited Date: 2006 Approved By: DS Approval Date: 01/31/2007Exhibition History"Revealing the Unseen: The Split-Second Photography of Harold Edgerton," The Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, Prints and Drawings Gallery, December 1, 1996 through February 16, 1997.
