Muybridge: Science as Art and Art as Scientific Study
April 5, 2012
Try going a week without movies or television.
Or, maybe try a day.
Now to take it a step further, imagine this: your exposure to moving images is basically zero.
Getting your mind cast in that frame will make the iconic photographic work of Eadweard Muybridge look like magic.
That’s how it seemed at the time.
In the 1870s, Muybridge was hired to use his photographic skills and ingenuity to settle an old argument. Without the aid of cameras, no one could tell if all four of a galloping horse’s hooves were ever off the ground all at once. Using numerous cameras placed along a pre-determined path, each lens was tripped to open as the animal ran past.
Moving pictures had not been invented. The ability to create a dynamic movement through still images allowed a whole new level of vision, understanding and insight; people could now see things that they otherwise could not.
The final verdict? Horses’ hooves do all leave the ground at one point in their gallop.
These photographs and the possible applications this technique held were a boon to science. Today, these images are regarded as a fantastic combination of science and art.
After the initial horse-galloping photographs, Muybridge worked with the University of Pennsylvania on his influential work, Animal Locomotion. This book includes over 700 images; less than 200 are of animals. The vast majority are of humans performing various tasks, their movements recorded from different angles.
– Teresa Gregorio, Museum Monitor / Information Officer, McMaster Museum of Art
M(M)A Education Staff Teresa Gregorio Shortlisted in City of Hamilton’s Arts Champion Awards
June 23, 2026
Please join us in congratulating M(M)A’s Educator for Campus & Community Engagement, Teresa Gregorio, for being shortlisted in the Arts Champion Awards in City of Hamilton’s Arts Award 2026. The Arts Champion Awards may be conferred annually to living individuals who are outstanding supporters of the arts in Hamilton as volunteers, advocates, or board members. […]
New Acquisitions from Open Studio
June 19, 2026
McMaster Museum of Art M(M)A and Open Studio are pleased to announce that M(M)A has acquired three works by Carl Beam, Janet Cardiff, and Rita Letendre from Open Studio’s historic archive collection through its Print Sales program. These works now enter M(M)A’s Permanent Collection. About Open Studio: Open Studio was founded in 1970 and is […]
M(M)A Education Staff Nicole Knibb Receive President’s Awards for Outstanding Service in 2025
June 8, 2026
Please join us in congratulating M(M)A’s Senior Educator (Academic and Professional Engagement) and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Family Medicine, Nicole Knibb, for receiving the President’s Awards for Outstanding Service in 2025. Nicole Knibb has made a profound and lasting contribution to interdisciplinary education, community engagement, and inclusive pedagogy at McMaster University. Through her leadership at the McMaster […]
