Volcanic Inspiration
Pierre-Jacques Volaire, 1777, ncartmuseum.org /Artwork: designslinger]
Alaska's Mount Redoubt volcano has sent a plume of ash 9 miles into the sky and dramatic
pictures are coming online daily.
Of course there was no photography available when the most famous of all volcanic
eruptions happened 2,000 years ago in Naples. However, that didn't stop artist's from capturing
Mt. Vesuvius' explosion in paint on canvas, even if the images were created 1700 years after the event actually occurred.
Though photography existed in the late 19th century, a picture still worth a thousand
words was the lithograph. When Krakatoa, or Krakatau, blew up in 1888, the fastest way to get a picture of the explosion sent round the world was thorugh the lithographic print process. Artist's created illustrations from reports, or even photographs of the destruction, which quickly fed the public appetite for images along with their print news reports.
A Terrible Explosion, Mt. Pelee in Eruption, June, 1902, NYPL Digital Gallery; Mt. St. Helens, 1980, wikimedia.org;
Artwork: designslinger]
We were a little luckier when Mt. Pelee, in Martinique, blew it's stack in 1902. This time
photos were published around the world that captured the volcano in action, in real time. From that point on, we no longer had to relied on an artistic interpretation of such an occurrence, it was there for all of us to see in glorious black and white (or maybe a little sepia).
In recent times, the long awakening of Mt. St. Helens was captured in some amazing still photography, but we also got to see the eventual disintegration of the mountain side by watching it on TV, photographed through the magic of the video camera.
Now we can watch Mount Redoubt do it's thing through the lens of a tiny camcorder, or
iPhone, broadcasting an image to a worldwide audience on to a laptop screen, or to someone else's phone.
From paintings to LCD and plasma screens, the way in which we view these volcanic
moments may change over time, but the planet is still exploding exactly the same way it has for billions of years.
Posted by designslinger at 3/26/2009 4:43 AM 
Categories: Photography, Art
Tags: Mt. Vesuvius J.M.W. Turner Mt. St. Helens Mt.Pelee Mount Redoubt Krakatoa Pierre-Jacques Volaire
Categories: Photography, Art
Tags: Mt. Vesuvius J.M.W. Turner Mt. St. Helens Mt.Pelee Mount Redoubt Krakatoa Pierre-Jacques Volaire
It would be very interesting if a volcano explosion somewhere created a new Pompeii, preserving those LCD and Plasma screens for future generations!
Preserved indeed. What a find that would be. And given the resiliency of our non-destructible plastics, I think they would come through just fine.
We enjoy our visits to Paris through Invisible's eyes so much. We'll actually be there ourselves soon, to take in all the wonders of the city, if only for 8 days.
Readers might like to see a photograph of the eruption of Krakatoa on my website:
http://images.goantiques.com/thumbnails/BYX1371/BYX13713wo616.jpg