Brought to Light

Brought to Light: Photography and the Invisible, 1840-1900.

I saw this exhibit at SFMOMA and loved it. I don't know if it is for everyone but I found it absolutely fascinating. I love science and the natural world and this exhibition combines the two. It shows how scientific minds did numerous studies of the subjects that they were studying and through the then new use of photography could map out their theories and philosophies within their fields. There was the study that one man did of thousands of different shapes and delicacies of snowflakes. Another studied human and animal movement from different perspectives. Yet another was the group of dedicated astronomers who were able to "see" with a camera the millions if not billions of stars that the naked eye could and can hardly make out. These individuals literally mapped for us the constellations and galaxies that we now study and are familiar with that would have been impossible if not for the camera lens. One of the most shocking to see, not now but in the 1890s, was the x-ray image that showed the bones in the hand of the photographer/inventor's wife, along with her jewelry. It must have been bizarre for the viewer but also exciting once they recovered from the shock of seeing something that although commonplace for us would be mystifying to the uninitiated. It is up until January 4th, 2009.