A luminary in more ways than one, celebrated dancer Loïe Fuller studied radium and its potential uses in performance

The luminous and radical dance performances of Loïe Fuller (1862–1928) at the turn of the 20th century were unlike anything that had ever been staged before. In her Serpentine Dance, she wore a large, diaphanous gown she manipulated with her arms to form undulating waves, while colored lights projected onto the fabric gave the illusion of birds, animals or flowers. While her profound influence on writers and artists such as Mallarmé and Rodin is well documented, less well known is Fuller’s passion for technology and her involvement with the leading scientists of the time.

Lecture on Radium spotlights Fuller’s scientific forays in her own words alongside an array of archival documents and photographs of the dancer in action. The centerpiece of the book is her 1907 lecture on the invention of radium, her notes on meeting Marie and Pierre Curie and Thomas Alva Edison, and her literally explosive efforts to create a glow-in-the-dark dance performance. Featuring an introduction by renowned cinema scholar Tom Gunning, this book presents Fuller’s eccentric passions and pioneering pursuits in a fresh light.