PRESS RELEASE
THE BRIAN MAY ARCHIVE OF STEREOSCOPY, WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE LONDON STEREOSCOPIC COMPANY AND MANY OTHERS, TO CELEBRATE THE FIRST STEREOSCOPY DAY ON 21st June 2022
Stereoscopy Day is set to be a NEW international celebration of the birth of stereoscopic 3-D.
In 2008, Brian May, with a lifelong passion for stereoscopy, recreated a Victorian phenomenon, the London Stereoscopic Company, on a mission to inspire the modern world to think in three dimensions . Fourteen years, later the LSC is a thriving 3-D dedicated publishing company, and enthusiasts from across the globe can be seen sharing captivating stereoscopic images on social media. This June, for the first time, the Brian May Archive of Stereoscopy (BMAS) is leading STEREOSCOPY DAY as a world-wide iniative to raise the profile of 3-D imaging. Denis Pellerin and Rebecca Sharpe, curators of the Archive, are working with sterescopic enthusiasts all around the world to engage new talent in this cutting edge photographic medium.
Denis Pellerin says,
“Stereoscopy was invented nearly 200 years ago and yet most people still do not know about its creator, its history, its past or its present, and have no idea of the magic it holds. We have two eyes for a reason and we generally take it for granted that we see the world in its three dimensions. It is high time we paused to marvel at the miracle of 3-D vision and to (re-)discover how it can be replicated thanks to stereoscopic 3-D. At a time when travelling was fairly dangerous and reserved to the wealthy few, the Victorians yearned to discover the world as it really was, in its full roundness. Thanks to Wheatstone’s work on binocular vision and to his stereoscope it became possible for nearly everyone to become an armchair traveller and see the wonders of our planet as if they were there, yet without leaving their fireside. In the 21st century, Stereoscopy can still take you to wonderful places and enable you escape into parallel realities or even fantasies. It literally opens a window into different worlds, and with the passing of decades stereo images have become a wonderful time machine. This is why Stereoscopy should be celebrated over and over again.”
Brian May says,
“This is an exciting new step for Stereoscopy, and I’m grateful to Denis Pellerin and Rebecca Sharpe, curators of the BMAS, for not only coming up with the idea, but putting it into action at such a high level. Stereoscopy Day will be a celebration everyone can share of the unique position 3-D imaging occupies in the world today, embracing Art and Science, and extending Humankind’s vision and understanding of the world around us.”
Stereoscopy Day will celebrate the inventor of stereoscopy, British genius and polymath Sir Charles Wheatstone, its early pioneers, and their successors up to the present day. The day will highlight 3-D’s long history from its first Golden Age, through its subsequent periods of popularity, right up to the present day. We hope to bring attention to Stereoscopy’s rich diversity and multiple uses in various fields, as well as the sheer immersive magic it brings to photography and other applications.
The long-term aim is for Stereoscopy Day to be celebrated across the world every year on June 21st, which is the anniversary of the day in 1838 when Sir Charles Wheatstone officially presented his revolutionary Reflecting Stereoscope to the Royal Society of London and demonstrated his theory of binocular vision. A more portable version of the stereoscope was later popularised by Sir David Brewster.
Upon this day, the organisers of Stereoscopy Day invite the world to flood social media with creative stereoscopic images:
– share stereoscopic 3-D related posts on social media, such as stereo photos taken by yourself
or highlighting stereoscopic treasures within collections
– include #StereoscopyDay in your posts
– tag @BrianMayArchiveOfStereoscopy, @londonstereo and @brianmayforreal in your posts
– if new to the mission, you will need:
to download a 3-D camera app. We are partial to 3DSteroid for Android phones and i3DSteroid for iphones, but there are other 3-D apps online.
to invest in the LSC’s special offer of 21% off an OWL Stereoscopic Viewer, designed by Brian May in order to view the stereo images in the magic of 3D https://shop.londonstereo.com/search/for/owl/
– AND to further celebrate, until 24th June, all the wonderful LSC treasures from books to gadgets can be purchased with a discount of 21% https://shop.londonstereo.com
Participants will also have the chance to join online compelling talks, presentations, meetings, interactive displays, workshops, exhibitions or special discounts. For listings of events and activities click on the events page.
No matter where you are in the world, you’re invited to join in and celebrate #StereoscopyDay