From a distinct military styling to something akin to a Power Rangers costume, the IU Marching Hundred uniforms have taken many forms over the years (including one with a cape!). Now, uniforms from the 1940s to the present day are available for viewing online, thanks to the efforts of the Advanced Visualization Lab, part of the Research Technologies division of UITS at IU.
The team used the Advanced Visualization Lab’s (AVL) human-scale digitization system, which has also been used to digitize several of Glenn Close’s costumes in the Sage Collection at the Eskenazi Museum of Art, to capture the character of each uniform before they degrade further with age. The AVL is hoping to locate more uniforms to digitize and make available online.
“We wanted to make the uniforms viewable online for alumni and potential new members to see and read about, and we wanted to document the uniforms’ appearance before they age further,“ said Chris Eller, a systems engineer and one of the AVL team members who helped digitize the uniforms. ”The AVL is hoping to locate more uniforms to digitize and make available online.”
Know the dates of the uniforms? Let the IU Department of Bands know at iubands@indiana.edu.
Founded in 1896 as a 22-piece band, IU’s Marching Hundred is now more than 300 strong. It includes among its alumni longtime IU President Herman B Wells, who played the baritone, and musician Booker T. Jones of Green Onions fame, who played trombone.
You’ll notice the uniforms don’t have dates. That’s something the AVL team and the Department of Bands would like to fix. If you know the dates of any of the costumes, please let the IU Department of Bands know at iubands@indiana.edu.
See more of what the AVL has digitized for posterity, plus additional projects that show the breadth of what they can do.
