William Ensign Lincoln invented the definitive zoetrope in 1865. This patented invention was a painted cylinder with viewing slits on a level above the images. However, this technique of pre-film animation existed long before patented Western civilization. A 5,000 year old bowl found in Iran displays the same technique that produces the illusion of an animated image. An illusion achieved through spinning a sequence of drawings or photographs placed onto a moving cylinder to show progressive and chronologic visuals that produce a moving image.
During the mid 19th century, inventors such as Simon Stampfer and William Horner revisited this age old animation invention by creating the phenakistoscope animation disc. The phenakistoscope was a precursor to the zoetrope, and functioned by spinning a 2D animation on a disk. The inventors concluded that an adaptation this technique could be used either on a cylinder, or looped strip of paper or canvas stretched between two rolls-and thus the Zoetrope was born. In 1868, an inventor named James Clerk Maxwell improved on the patented zoetrope and used concave lenses with a diameter equalling the focal length of cylinder instead of slits to produce a clearer image.
Today, countless visual artists, toy makers, and even city planners have used this technique to animate produced images or the world itself. For example, in the early 1990s, linear versions of the zoetrope method were used as an advertising technique in Japan’s metro system, taking advantage of natural architectural slits to make an installation. Similarly, in the early 1980s, filmmaker Bill Brand installed a zoetrope inside of New York City’s subway system to create a motion picture featuring the movement of the real world.
Besides modern architectural zoetropes, this technique can be found anywhere in the art world. From contemporary fine artists to Cartoon Network bumpers, the zoetrope method is fast, effective, and tangibly organized. Fine artist Eric Dyer explains what he creates as “spin art.” To Dryer, he views the zoetrope as a combination of moving sculpture and animated film. Dryer believes the objects he creates are precious and have a unique quality of captivating and interacting with viewers as “sculpture come to life.”
It seems as though the true beauty of the zoetrope is it’s simplicity. Any series of images on a cylinder can create a moving optical illusion, putting an emphasis on the intelligence of a design or the potency of a particular drawing. The rudimentary concept allows this medium to be co-opted, recreated, and shared. More importantly, it allows for artists to create complex, layered, and detailed works of art based on a simple idea and structure.
