October 2, 1959—An Ordinary Day
And an ordinary evening until Jane and John Doe settled into their favorite chairs to tune in a new television show. Little did they know that with the flick of a knob, they would be entering The Twilight Zone.On that night, Rod Serling's infamous narration, "There is a fifth dimension, beyond that which is known to man," guided viewers to the first Twilight Zone episode—and into the annals of television history. The popular science-fiction show ran until 1964, but continues to live, perhaps forever in "a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity"—cable television reruns.
Here's more about today's featured artwork, Rod Serling-style: Consider Ray Metzker, photographer. His photographs are primarily of urban subjects, but he utilizes abstract composition and juxtapositions to create unique images based on what is often considered banal subject matter. Metzker transforms his subjects, creating unknown territory from familiar places for his audiences to explore. He lives in Philadelphia, but his photographs seemingly depict … The Twilight Zone.
Source: National Museum of American Art (CD-ROM) (New York and Washington D.C.: MacMillan Digital in cooperation with the National Museum of American Art, 1996).
Pictured: Ray K. Metzker, born 1931, Philadelphia, 1963, gelatin silver print, 6 1/16 x 8 13/16 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase.
And an ordinary evening until Jane and John Doe settled into their favorite chairs to tune in a new television show. Little did they know that with the flick of a knob, they would be entering The Twilight Zone.On that night, Rod Serling's infamous narration, "There is a fifth dimension, beyond that which is known to man," guided viewers to the first Twilight Zone episode—and into the annals of television history. The popular science-fiction show ran until 1964, but continues to live, perhaps forever in "a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity"—cable television reruns.