Experimental TV Eye
Experimental TV Eye relates to a photomural commissioned for the lobby of NBC Studios in the RCA Building at Rockefeller Center. Bourke-White enlarged pictures onto canvas covered with a photographic emulsion. While the other panels for NBC celebrate the rise of radio technology through close-ups of microphones and antenna towers, this work imagines television’s mode of vision prior to the emergence of broadcast television. Bourke-White’s dynamic portrait of the "new media" of the 1930s gestures toward her interest in experimental film, which she pursued alongside her work as a journalist and photographer of architectural and industrial subjects.
Artwork Details
- Title: Experimental TV Eye
- Artist: Margaret Bourke-White (American, Bronx, New York 1904–1971 Darien, Connecticut)
- Date: 1934
- Medium: Gelatin silver print
- Dimensions: 34.4 x 24.1 cm (13 9/16 x 9 1/2 in.)
- Classification: Photographs
- Credit Line: Ford Motor Company Collection, Gift of Ford Motor Company and John C. Waddell, 1987
- Object Number: 1987.1100.450
- Curatorial Department: Photographs
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Margaret Bourke-White
1929
Margaret Bourke-White
1936
Margaret Bourke-White
ca. 1927
Margaret Bourke-White
ca. 1927
Margaret Bourke-White
ca. 1927
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.