“We live in a world made by science. But we – the millions of laymen – do not understand or appreciate the knowledge which thus controls daily life."
Known for her seminal project Changing New York, documenting the devastating economic crisis of the 1930s, the American photographer Berenice Abbott’s groundbreaking scientific photography is oftentimes overlooked. As one of the great photographers of the twentieth century, Abbott turned her attention to scientific subject matter, convinced of the potential of the medium to make the seemingly mysterious accessible.
It was not until the late 1950s - as the Cold War’s emphasis on scientific research in the United States increased - when the Massachusetts Institute of Technology hired Abbott to create new photographic images in support of the teaching of physics. Thanks to the launch of Sputnik and the ensuing Space Race, federal interest in physics was suddenly met with a certain urgency. Abbott’s breakthrough came in 1958, when she told MIT’s Physical Science Study Committee (PSSC) “that scientists were the worst photographers in the world. They need the best – and I was the one.” During her two years at MIT, Abbott created photographs documenting the principles of physical science such as mechanisms, electromagnetism, and waves.