The perfect finish to a long day. Experience a century-old immersive virtual reality — a moving panorama, the new media performance of its time — in this highly unusual “illustrated lecture” by Erkki Huhtamo.

Maréorama Resurrected: An Illustrated Lecture by Erkki Huhtamo from STUDIO for Creative Inquiry on Vimeo.

Performed throughout the 1800s, moving panoramas were among the most popular entertainment of the 19th century. In this poetic lecture-demonstration, scholar and media archeologist Erkki Huhtamo draws on his research into moving panoramas and dioramas to discuss various historical apparata that laid the groundwork for 20th and 21st century immersive applications—including those created now by game designers and media artists. The particular focus of this presentation will be on the Maréorama, a huge multi-sensory spectacle created by Hugo d’Alesi and his team for the Universal Exposition of 1900 in Paris. Drawing from high-resolution scans and the original piano music composed for the Maréorama by Henri Kowalski, Huhtamo reconstructs several sequences from this simulated sea voyage on the Mediterranean. The performance features live piano accompaniment by Stephen L. I. Murphy.

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