Cyclorama

1. a pictorial representation, in perspective, of a landscape, battle, etc., on the inner wall of a cylindrical room, viewed by spectators occupying a position in the center.

2. a curved wall or drop at the back of a stage set, used to create the illusion of space or distance.

Definition from Webster's Universal College Dictionary, 1997

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I first heard the term 'cyclorama' a few years ago from New York artist Sanford Wurmfeld when he showed me a scale model of a 360-degree painting by that name. Wurmfeld completed his full-scale cyclorama, a continuous abstract painting 30 yards in diameter, in 2000, after pursuing the idea for many years. It was realized in conjunction with and exhibited at the Karl Ernst Osthaus-Museum, in Hagen, Germany and has since traveled to various museums and galleries throughout Europe. Wurmfeld's cyclorama is a contemporary example of an historic tradition.

Cyclorama (from the Greek word 'cycl' which means to circle, and 'orama' which means to view) is a conventional way of showing an expansive panoramic landscape painting in a large circular public space. The cyclorama tradition began in Europe, with Irish painter Robert Barker patenting the idea and exhibiting a cycloramic view of Edinburgh in 1787. For the next several decades cycloramas enjoyed popularity in Europe, particularly those of dynamic historical scenes in which the viewer was surrounded by the action on a canvas 50 feet high and 400 feet in circumference. The phenomenon reached a climax with the celebrated exhibition in Paris of The Siege of Paris by Henri Philippoteaux.

Cyloramas created a sensation in the United States in the 1870's following the exhibition of The Siege of Paris in Philadelphia and Boston. Cylindrical buildings were constructed in many cities to house the traveling exhibits of paintings, which would remain at venues for several years at a time. American Cycloramas depicted a myriad of epic, often military, subjects including The Battle of Gettysburg, The Giant Naval Fight, The Battle of Shiloh, The Battle of Little Big Horn, The Battle of Bunker Hill, The Battle of Missionary Ridge, The Hawaiian Volcano Kilauea, Paris by Night, Jerusalem on the Day of the Crucifixion, and the puzzling Napolean in Hell. The most famous of these, The Battle of Gettysburg, was painted twice by Paul Philippoteaux, son of Henri.

The golden age of the American cyclorama was short lived, however, as the 20th century saw few dramatic developments in the field. The advent of new technologies such as photography, radio, and eventually television overshadowed the cycloramas' previously innovative ability to provide a 'virtual reality.' Of the many cyclorama paintings exhibited in the US, few remain. The second version of The Battle of Gettysburg is still on view in Grant Park, Atlanta for a limited time before it undergoes extensive restoration. Most of the structures built to exhibit cycloramas have been demolished or converted for other uses.

As we move beyond the technology explosion and computer age of the last century, the heiracrchy of these various media are beginning to settle, allowing us to re-consider what may have seemed liked outdated traditions. Wurmfeld accomplished this in glorious fashion, reclaiming the energy of the cyclorama through the rich tradition of abstract painting. I am proposing an alternative investigation of the cyclorama which explores the career of an athlete, through the medium of television, in a 360-degree video retrospective: The Favre Era Video Cyclorama. Here, as in the original cycloramas, the viewer is an active participant in the story that unfolds around them.

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Cyclorama

A pictorial view which is extended circularly, so that the spectator is surrounded by the objects represnted as by things in nature. The realistic effect is increased by putting, in the space between the spectator and the picture, things adapted to the scene represented, and in some places only parts of these objects, the completion of them being carried out pictorially.

Definition from Webster's Dictionary, 1913