Solid Pictures

Before 3D printing, there was photosculpture. Curated by Patrick R. Crowley, Associate Curator of European Art, Solid Pictures is the first major exhibition to explore these largely overlooked objects first conceived in 1859 by the twenty-nine-year-old French artist and inventor François Willème. Employing projection technologies and mechanical instruments, Willème and his team of operators translated photographic negatives into solid figures across a variety of media, aiming to create affordable portrait sculpture for the burgeoning middle class of Second Empire France. Though commercially unsuccessful, these experiments laid the groundwork for the scanning, machining, and printing technologies ubiquitous today. Bringing together these rare artifacts, the exhibition opens up a little-known chapter of history to reveal the roots and richness of our contemporary world. An accompanying catalogue features four newly commissioned essays accompanied by previously unpublished documentation, deepening our understanding of this overlooked chapter in the history of art and technology.