> Interestingly, the book argues that Cubism, although breaking away from photography by breaking the normal conventions of atmosphere and light, parallels the concept of pictures in motion by presenting multiple perspectives silmetaneously. Again, you can't draw a direct comparison - it's not as if "The Great Train Robbery" inspired "Nude Descending a Staircase".
>
> If it did, I'd be scared.
>
> Bourne


But I know what DID inspire "Nude Descending a Staircase". A physiologist whose name I can't remember at the moment was interested in using photography to precisely chart the movements of the human body. This was in the late 1800s, when exposure times lessened enough to actually stop motion... and suddenly photography was useful for scientific purposes, too. It was pretty interesting to realize just how revolutionary the ability to stop motion in photographs was, from not only an artistic perspective but a scientific one as well.

Anyway, this physiologist dressed a model all in black, with a single white stripe running vertically along one side of his legs and arms. The model was photographed in motion, multiple exposures on the same negative, and the result is a mix of incredible motion lines (where only the white lines show up) showing exactly how the limbs move and flex when someone walks.

Anyway, those pictures inspired the creation of "Nude Descending a Staircase". Tada.

Sosi"knower of things"qui