CACTI by Joel Zimmerman is just one of the photographer’s “anaglyph” 3-D images on display…glasses included…during a Saturday opening reception at McKay Imaging Gallery.   

For a generation raised on such things, the “magic” of 3-D might seem as lumberingly prehistoric as this week’s model monster megaplex release. But when it comes to the world of art photography, the third dimension is a dimension largely left unexplored — until now, that is. When Robert McKay and Elisabeth Koch-MacKay open the door to their best-kept-secret McKay Imaging Gallery for the latest in their too-infrequent (and highly anticipated) events on Saturday night, they’ll be giving the gallery crowd something to truly shake up their wine and cheese — and throwing in a pair of 3-D glasses as a bonus.

The solo show matter-of-factly titled 3-D Images by Joel Zimmerman collects dozens of photos by the Freehold-based painter and art director, a Grammy nominated veteran of major record labels who’s worked on numerous high-profile releases by the Allman Brothers, Pearl Jam, Train and more. For the exhibit that opens with a May 17 reception between the hours of 7 to 10 pm, the McKays and Zimmerman have put together a display of what could be called literal “pop” art — with a retro twist.

We’re talking Anaglyph 3-D, the same old-school red/cyan process that helped thrust the Creature from the Black Lagoon out of the screen and into your grandparents’ nightmares. To the photographer, the process is “less distracting than color, so that the focus becomes the 3-D effect…it seems like the more time you give to viewing a particular 3-D picture, the more you are rewarded with a still greater dimensional effect.”

The artist is expected to be present for the reception that runs between the hours of 7 to 10 pm, in the second-floor space at 12 Monmouth Street. Additional gallery hours are Wednesdays and Thursdays from 1 pm to 7 pm (or by appointment), through June 5. And did we mention 3-D glasses?