Football Kick
Date1938, printed 1985
Artist
Harold Eugene Edgerton
(American scientist and photographer, 1903–1990)
MediumDye transfer print
Dimensionsimage: 16 3/4 x 14 1/8 in. (42.5 x 35.9 cm)
sheet: 20 1/4 × 16 1/8 in. (51.4 × 41 cm)
sheet: 20 1/4 × 16 1/8 in. (51.4 × 41 cm)
Credit LineGift of the Harold and Esther Edgerton Foundation, 1996
Object number1996-33
On View
Not on viewClassificationsPHOTOGRAPH
Label TextThis is one of the first color strobe pictures ever taken. It was made in Edgerton's studio, in total darkness. In this work, a brilliantly clad athlete smashes his boot into what would normally be perceived as a solid, air-filled football. As a result of the impact, the ball rhythmically took its own photograph. At the exact moment that it was kicked, the ball pushed together two wired that completed a circuit that triggered the stroboscopic flash and camera. As a result of this photograph, athletes in other sports were eager to collaborate with Edgerton to explore the unseen movements of their own activities.
