The prehistory of video mapping

For reasons of expediency, we will separate the prehistory of video mapping into three ages:

- The stone age: 1550-1880

The stone age of video mapping begins around 1500 and lasts until the end of the 19th century. This long period corresponds to the initial developments of the three techniques that form the basis of video mapping: anamorphosis, projection (with the invention of the magic lantern) and image animation (which develops more particularly during the 19th century). According to the artist and teacher from Quebec, Danny Perreault, video mapping is in keeping with historical tradition as regards these techniques, which will be updated through the contribution of digital technology.

- The bronze age: 1880-1970

The year 1895 is familiar to us, since it is considered the birth of cinematography: a technique of recording and projecting animated images. The end of the 19th century also sees significant evolutions in the field of electric lighting, which will enable the illumination of external spaces, and the invention of the light bulb, which will gradually replace other light sources in projection devices. The bronze age of video mapping lasts until the end of the 1960s and includes a certain number of significant events: new artistic schools, CinemaScope and the institutionalisation of ‘son et lumière’…

- The iron age: 1970-2003

Starting from the years 1968-1975, we arrive at the era of ‘large-scale projection’, VJing and site-specific performance, installation and art. Projectors of all kinds start to move away from their initial functions, in all these fields. Moreover (even if this technology is not yet used for projected light shows), the foundations of 3D computer graphics have been laid and computer art begins to really take off. But we need to wait for the dawn of the new millennium, and the general application of digital technology, for video mapping to appear at the intersection of all these practices.