Slide show

By the late 1700s, showmen were using magic lanterns to thrill audiences with seemingly supernatural apparitions in a popular form of entertainment called a phantasmagoria.

An image on 35 mm film mounted in a 2×2 inch (5×5 cm) metal, card or plastic frame is still by far the most common photographic slide format.

The old adage "A picture is worth a thousand words" holds true, in that a single image can save a presenter from speaking a paragraph of descriptive details.

As with any public speaking or lecturing, a certain amount of talent, experience, and rehearsal is required to make a successful slide show presentation.

[citation needed] Another very important area where it is used is for instructional purposes, usually with the intention of creating a dynamic, audiovisual presentation.

Slide shows have artistic uses as well, such as being used as a screensaver, or to provide dynamic imagery for a museum presentation, for example, or in installation art.

Since the late 1960s, visual artists have used slide shows in museums and galleries as a device, either for presenting specific information about an action or research or as a phenomenological form in itself.

The non-profit organization Slideluck Potshow holds slide show events globally, featuring works by amateur and professional artists, photographers, and gallerists.

Participants in the event bring food, potluck style, and have a social dinner before the slide show begins.

Other known artists who have used slide shows in their work include Bas Jan Ader, Francis Alys, Jan Dibbets, Dan Graham, Rodney Graham, Nan Goldin, Louise Lawler, Ana Mendieta, Jonathan Monk, Dennis Oppenheim, Allan Sekula, Carey Young and Krzysztof Wodiczko.