The quest for perfect 3D representation drives innovation, stimulates creative expression, and sparks wonder in generation after generation. 3D: Double Vision is the first American exhibition to survey a full range of artworks, dating from 1838 to the present, that produce the illusion of three dimensions. These artworks function by activating binocular vision—the process by which our brains synthesize the information received by our two eyes into a single, volumetric image.

The history of 3D begins in the 1830s with the invention of the stereoscope. Initially considered a scientific device, the stereoscope soon entered popular culture, as Victorian audiences became fascinated with stereo photographs depicting faraway lands, colossal monuments, current events, and comic scenes. 3D motion picture technology followed in the 20th century, along with consumer products such as View Masters and Stereo Realist cameras. Lenticular printing and holography generate dimensional effects without the aid of glasses. In the digital present, artists have access to all these technologies for generating virtual images.

Drawn from the realms of art, science, mass culture, and entertainment, the artworks in 3D: Double Vision will dazzle the eyes and provoke the imagination. Ultimately, to experience 3D is to engage with questions about the nature of perception, the allure of illusionism, and our relationship with the technologies that create such images.

This exhibition was organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Presented by:

Hyundai Horizontal Logo

Generous support provided by Yvonne Hessler in memory of Gordon Hessler, D.G.A. Additional support provided by RealD, Stereo D, Christie Digital Systems, and the Wallis Annenberg Director's Endowment Fund.

This exhibition is part of The Hyundai Project: Art + Technology at LACMA, a joint initiative exploring the convergence of art and technology.

All exhibitions at LACMA are underwritten by the LACMA Exhibition Fund. Major annual support is provided by Kitzia and Richard Goodman and Meredith and David Kaplan, with generous annual funding from Jerry and Kathleen Grundhofer, the Judy and Bernard Briskin Family Foundation, Louise and Brad Edgerton, Edgerton Foundation, Emily and Teddy Greenspan, Marilyn B. and Calvin B. Gross, Mary and Daniel James, David Lloyd and Kimberly Steward, David Schwartz Foundation, Inc., Lenore and Richard Wayne, and The Kenneth T. and Eileen L. Norris Foundation.

Image: A. Michael Noll, Computer-Animated Movie of a Three-Dimensional Perspective Projection of Rotating Four-Dimensional Hypercube, 1965, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, courtesy of the artist and Bell Telephone Laboratories, Incorporated