Remember zoetropes? They may be a bit before your time. The zoetrope, derived from the Greek root words for "life" and "turning," is an optical toy invented before the days of film and cinema. The tool displays a progressive sequence of drawings or photographs, thus creating the illusion of motion. Most often the images are arranged on a cylinder which then spins, setting the pictures spinning.
While zoetropes experienced their heyday before the dawn of motion picture technology, one contemporary artist is bringing the retro medium back in a radical new way. Meet Eric Dyer, the modern master of the zoetrope.