Statue of Eadweard Muybridge at Letterman Digital Arts

Wow, I can not tell you how pleased I was with what I found. I had no idea this statue existed in San Francisco, nor did I even know who this guy was..until now. At the Letterman Digital Arts center in the Presidio area of SF resides our friend Eadweard Muybridge. I was interested in his statue at first because I am in a photo class right now, and he is most famous for his locomotive studies in photography. The following is a compilation of several photographs arranged and shown in a way to make it seem as if the image is moving in a single photo, probably one of Muybridge's most famous works:



The inspiration for this new genre of photography came from a former governor of California, Leland Stanford. At what would become Stanford University, Muybridge was hired by Stanford to determine whether all four of a horse's hooves left the ground during transit. There is a legend that says Stanford offered up to 25,000 dollars to prove that at least one hoof was on the ground at all times. It is interesting to me that out of Leland Stanford's curiosity eventually arose motion pictures. Even more interesting that crazy artistic evolution (pictures to motion pictures) like that is only possible with lots of funding (photography was not as accessible or affordable in that time). Stanford apparently ended their relationship by publishing drawings of the photos for the public, instead of Muybridge's actual proofs. "The lack of photographs was likely simply due to the printing constraints of the time but Muybridge took it as a slap in the face and filed an unsuccessful law suit against Stanford".

I loved finding out about Leland Stanford, but it was even more bizarre and exciting when I learned that, in the 1860-70s, Muybridge photographed many of the Native American tribes in California, particularly Yosemite. I wish Native Americans still filled up Yosemite instead of tourists!! Although even here, these Indians in 1871 look very modern American:



In conclusion, I am going to visit this statue as soon as I can. I could not find much about how it got there, only that it is a part of the Letterman Digital Arts Center (affiliated with LucasFilms). I am interested to know how Muybridge felt about the American conquest of the Indians. He was originally from England, and was hired to photograph the Native Americans by the US Army and government. Do you think he supported the US' "manifest destiny", or did he sympathize with his native subjects?

check out this site for more pictures Muybridge took of Native Americans in California.