A critical survey of artistic practices that involve the use of 3-D, which is emerging as a scholarly field in its own right.
Though we see in three dimensions, we tend to notice 3-D when it is artificially created, as with a stereoscope. Rather than tell the history of 3-D through technique and technology, Rebecca Hackemann brings a conceptual, artistic, and critical view to her topic, unpacking its use in conceptual art, sculpture, and other mediums. Bringing together artists who were inspired by three-dimensional imagery and their theories, Hackemann surveys sixty years of 3-D in contemporary art for indicators of a turn in visual culture, foregrounding meaning and content. Her analysis spotlights 3-D as it comes into its own as a scholarly and artistic field that borders on new media, photography, and film.