THREE DIMENSIONAL CHALLENGES

Stereoscopy at MOMus – Thessaloniki Museum of Photography features works from the photography collection of the Municipal Photography Museum of Kalamaria

“Christos Kalemkeris.” Curated by Kalliopi Valtopoulou, the exhibition gives the audience an opportunity to explore original stereographs and stereoscopes, reviving a once-forgotten photographic technique.

KEIMENO/ΤΕΧΤ

Papaioannou, curator, MOMus – Thessaloniki Museum of Photography.

Stereoscopy, one of the earliest technological innovations in 19th-century photography, remains relatively unfamiliar to the general public. Introduced in 1850 by British scientist Sir David Brewster, following the unsuccessful attempts of Charles Wheatstone in 1832, the technique uses pairs of photographs taken 6–7 cm apart – the approximate distance between human eyes. When viewed through a stereoscope, a device designed to ensure the left eye sees only the left image and the right eye only the right, these paired images combined produce the illusion of three-dimensional depth.

Stereoscopy was a revolutionary innovation in the rapidly industrializing 19th century where photography would become a technical medium of modern culture. The exhibition Stereoscopy, featuring works from the Municipal Photography Museum of Kalamaria “Christos Kalemkeris” and curated by Kalliopi Valtopoulou, will be on view at MOMus – Thessaloniki Museum of Photography from October 2024 to February 2025. It offers visitors a rare chance to discover original stereographs and stereoscopes, with the aim to trigger interest in this now-forgotten technique. The exhibition also examines how stereoscopy was practiced in Greece between 1850 and 1920, as revealed through numerous examples. Stereoscopy had reached Greece via foreign photographers and travellers, who initially set out to captured important monuments and landmarks. These photographs were intended for so-called “armchair tourists” to experience the world at a distance through photography. This period also coincided with the height of co - lonialism, during which photography became a tool for documenting, categorizing, and ultimately exerting control over the world. It also catered to a growing Proto Tourism movement and played a key role in the rise of the visual encyclopedism. This trend gradually led to the exhaustive consumption of the world through images, a process both spectacular and deceptively painless.

It would be a mistake to assume that stereography was confined solely to the landscapes of distant lands. In reality its scope was much broader, including subjects such as architecture, astronomy, advertising, industry, medicine, archeology, geology, zoology, wars, prisons, technological advancements, celebrities, theater, and sports, just to name of a few of its many conventional and imaginative themes. Meanwhile, erotic and pornographic imagery would also carve out a niche in the latter half of the 19th century. In the age of Victorian austerity, an age marked by high collars and long skirts a clandestine trade in pornographic images quietly thrived on the side, where the illusion of three-dimensionality seemed to heighten the allure of forbidden nudity.

The popularity of stereoscopy was so immense that the London Stereoscopic Company, founded in 1854 by George Swan Nottage, adopted the motto: “No home without a stereoscope.” True to this claim, the company amassed half a million customers within its first two years of operation. Stereoscopy consequently emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as one of the earliest forms of mass media. However, its prominence waned during the interwar period as public attention shifted to illustrated newspapers, magazines, and the captivating allure of cinema.

The widespread interest in stereoscopy nonetheless gave way to the establishment of companies dedicated to producing, processing, and marketing these captivating images. Among the most renowned was the American firm Under- wood & Underwood, which, by the 1890s, was already producing and distributing millions of stereoscopic images.

Exhibition view: Stereoscopy. From the Photography Collection of the Municipal Photography Museum of Kalamaria “Christos Kalemkeris” currently at MOMus – Thessaloniki Museum of Photography (Warehouse A, Pier A, Port of Thessaloniki).

The 19th century brought many surprises to the large book of the history of photography. With the exception of holography and select 3D films, it wasn’t until much later that the fascination with three-dimensional imagery would reemerge. At the dawn of the 21st century, amidst the rise of the digital era, this fascination is reignited. In an age of panspermia and successive technological revolutions, three-dimensional imagery would once again take center stage in applications like virtual and augmented reality.

The quest to shift from two-dimensional representation and venture into immersive three-dimensional and virtual experiences remains a open. As technology evolves at an unprecedented pace, the future of imagery is unpredictable, with the possibilities of digital exploration continuing to expand and redefine the visual landscape. n