This is for real war!
(Motion studies)

Over time, the scientific currency of late 19th century motion studies has decreased in value, though the photographs of Eadward Muybridge and Étienne-Jules Marey remain visually compelling. The camera and images shown here combine the firsts of both men: Muybridge's bank of 12 cameras used at Leland Stanford's stables in Sacramento to capture the frame-by-frame movements of a galloping horse, and Marey's susbsequent capture of motion sequences within a single frame.

The device, a "handheld" version of Muybridge's setup, fires 12 sequential 6x6cm. images on a full roll of medium format film, all at an agonizingly slow rate of speed. Alternatively, light baffles can be removed to change the format to shoot 4 6x18cm images per roll.

Marey's use of pre-World War French soldiers in his motion studies interested me in terms of my abiding fascination/fear of the military and war. The use of toys-as-subjects introduces an appropriate level of self-awareness, also reflected in the childlike exclamation of the series' title. At the same time, both acknowledge the rather adult notion of play as a form of training.

Series ongoing.