what is a cyclorama and where used?

[drhess]

just as it says in the subject line. these used for plays only?

[Chairman_Pow]

Not necessarily. As you may guess, it’s the backdrop that hides the rear wall of a stage. Check this out for some other interesting non-backdrop information.

[Saltire]

The television studio at the station I work at has a cyclorama that can almost encircle the entire very-large room. It is made in a special color known as CBS gray, which allows light projected upon it to be interpreted true by TV cameras. Thus, using different gels on the lights allows it to pretend to be whatever color of curtain needed. It also works as a projection screen when the backdrop is formed by pointing a slide projector at the cyc.

So they are used for TV, as well as plays.

[Exapno_Mapcase]

Back in the 19th century, and possibly later in some places, extremely long scenes that comprised hundreds of feet were an attraction in themselves. They would be transported rolled up and then unrolled gradually so that the audience would get the feeling of taking a trip to some exotic place.

Smaller versions of these are still used on stages to give the illusion of motion. One place you may have seen one is in R.E.M.'s “Shiny Happy People” video.

[HMS_Irruncible]

I am surprised to learn that a cyclorama is more than what I thought it was, which is to say a very large cylindrical 360° painting intended to depict a panoramic scene, usually historical in nature.

In my beloved home town of Atlanta, we have a cyclorama depicting the Battle of Atlanta from the Civil War. It’s a cherished local landmark. In addition to being a painting, physical props have been arranged as a diorama such that they appear to have continuity with the painting. Visitors to the Atlanta cyclorama sit in a tier of benches which rotate slowly as a recorded narration describes the events depicted in the painting.

There are several other famous cycloramas like this in existence, notably depicting historical events in Gettysburg, Jerusalem, and Waterloo. Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about these and other cycloramas.

[spingears]

Chattanooga Tn also had a cyclorama painting, completed in 1886 which was destroyed by a toranado at Nashville Tn in 1892.

Chattanooga does still have The Battles for Chatanooga and Electric Map & museum

[kniz]

@NattoGuy

In my beloved home town of Atlanta, we have a cyclorama depicting the Battle of Atlanta from the Civil War. It’s a cherished local landmark. In addition to being a painting, physical props have been arranged as a diorama such that they appear to have continuity with the painting. Visitors to the Atlanta cyclorama sit in a tier of benches which rotate slowly as a recorded narration describes the events depicted in the painting.

We used to kid about how nobody in Atlanta went to the Cyclorama. It was where you took house guests. Tell me, where is the Cyclorama now? It used to be in Grant Park. It is interesting that the visitors sit on bleachers that rotate. There used to be a catwalk and they turned the lights on and off to the different sections. The visitors simply followed it around. Of course, this was back in the days that you just drove up to Stone Mountain and walked to the top.

[Meeko]

@kniz

We used to kid about how nobody in Atlanta went to the Cyclorama. It was where you took house guests. Tell me, where is the Cyclorama now? It used to be in Grant Park. It is interesting that the visitors sit on bleachers that rotate. There used to be a catwalk and they turned the lights on and off to the different sections. The visitors simply followed it around. Of course, this was back in the days that you just drove up to Stone Mountain and walked to the top.

I can tell you in Atlanta its next to the Zoo. But don’t ask me where the Zoo is. It’s been a while since I’ve been, and I wasn’t paying attention.

[kniz]

still there

[HMS_Irruncible]

@kniz

We used to kid about how nobody in Atlanta went to the Cyclorama. It was where you took house guests. Tell me, where is the Cyclorama now? It used to be in Grant Park. It is interesting that the visitors sit on bleachers that rotate.

To my knowledge, it is still housed in Grant Park. The Atlanta Zoo is also located there.

[Meurglys]

An art gallery here in Scotland recently had an ‘modern art’ one installed as an exhibition. You climbed up inside it and found yourself in a 360 degree spectrum of colour… stuff about that, and it’s invention and some early history, here :
Talbot Rice Gallery

[ElvisL1ves]

The Cyclorama in Boston’s South End was built in the 19th century to house a giant in-the-round painting of the Battle of Gettysburg. The painting was long ago moved to Gettysburg, but the building remains. After a period as the Champion Spark Plug factory, it’s now used as a local cultural center.

[ElvisL1ves]

The original purpose of Boston’s:

Cycloramas were a popular form of entertainment during the latter part of the nineteenth century. Most major cities in both Europe and North America had at least one. They frequently depicted battle scenes, evoking a sense of national pride while presenting graphic depictions of historical events. The original painting in the Cyclorama depicted “The Battle of Gettysburg,” a turning point in the Civil War when the Union defeated the Confederacy and established the North’s ascendancy in the armed struggle. The facade of the Cyclorama, a fortress-like display of towers and battlements, was appropriate for its use as a home to this battle scene.

Parisian artist Paul Dominique Philippoteaux, the leading panoramic painter of the time, painted “The Battle of Gettysburg” in 1884. This massive canvas measured 50’ x 400’ and weighed 2.9 tons. Before painting it, Philippoteaux visited the actual battle site, taking numerous photographs and talking to many of the soldiers who fought in the battle.

Viewers entered the Cyclorama through a long, narrow hallway, ascended a circular underground stairway, and found themselves in the midst of the battle field. One contemporary viewer wrote:

[The viewer] suddenly finds himself upon a high hill, with a stretch of 40 miles of country all around him and everywhere within range of vision, on the hills, in the valleys, in the woods, on the open fields, in ditches and behind stone walls, and in shot-shattered shanties he beholds the soldiers of the blue and gray engaged in an awful struggle for supremacy. (Sunday Herald, December 21, 1884)

A railing kept viewers from getting too close. Objects such as artillery, terrain and replicas of soldiers were placed between art and reality. A backlit painted canvas sky enriched the sense of immediacy and enhanced the illusion of a battlefield.

[Ignatz]

I’ve seen it at Gettysburg. Quite impressive. Any idea when it was moved from Boston?

There is one in Bayeux, France, in the form of a tapestry, called the Bayeux Tapestry (duh). It’s several hundred years old and depicts a medieval battle (Normandy, I think).

[tomndebb]

(Normandy, I think).

Well, there are lots of swords and some gold, but no Juno, Omaha, or Utah. The only “Normandy” in the Bayeux Tapestry is the army of Normandy attacking the Saxons at the Battle of Hastings on the English side of the Channel in 1066.

Strictly speaking, the Bayeux Tapestry is not a cyclorama as it is not intended to be displayed from the center of a cyclindrical theatre. It is also not a realistic presentation, although its creation probably was prompted by some of the same impulses that later led to the cycloramas.

[CBCD]

I’ve been to the Cyclorama in Atlanta. It was really cool. I thought it was a unique, interesting thing to see.

[ElvisL1ves]

The Bayeux Tapestry is now matched by the Overlord Embroidery in the UK’s D-Day Museum.

Ignatz, the NPS site says the painting was moved to Gettysburg 1910-1913. It is now off display while being restored.

[Kozmik]

The Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre is one of a few theaters in the United States that has a cyclorama which is a curved wall at the back of the stage that improves sound in the theater and can be used for creative lighting effects.