ArtBreak: The Importance of Stereoscopy

Our current exhibition Ways of Seeing: The Art of Travel, Trade, and Transportation includes many stereoscopic images from Keystone Viewing Company. Stereoscopy was immensely popular in the mid-19th and early 20th centuries and offered viewers an accessible form of armchair travel. In this talk, we consider the importance of stereoscopic photography and its relevance today. Dorothy Ogdon, Head of Emerging Technology and System Development at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, guides us through the history of stereoscopy and how it paved the way for virtual reality.

Register: Visitors who register will receive a reminder email ahead of the event and will have the opportunity to submit a question for the program’s live Q&A.

ArtBreaks are presented in honor of Joyce Benington’s twenty five years as a docent at the Birmingham Museum of Art. These programs, which bring curators, educators, artists, and creatives into conversation with the Museum’s collection and exhibitions, have been generously funded by Joyce’s friends, fellow docents, and members of the Art Focus group, which Joyce has guided through the BMA for nearly two decades.