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| The Memoirs
of the Royal Meterological Society
an installation for
rusted photographs and sound
2004
The Memoirs of the Royal Meteorological Society
was on display at Varnish Fine Art
in San Francisco, Calfornia.
click on images for details |
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installation view at
Varnish Fine Art |
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Within The Memoirs of the Royal
Meteorological Society, I continues my investigations
of the corrosive process contextualized within a geometric
visual display and an immersive sound field. As in previous
works such as the Magnetic
North installation, the foundation to this installation
is the slow-motion chemical process that occurs when a
solution of water, cupric sulfate, aluminum chloride,
and rust is applied to a black and white photograph. While
that aforementioned work explored the metaphors intrinsic
to the process, The Memoirs of the Royal Meteorological
Society extends into the realm of allegory through
a recontexualization of physical oceanography, nephology,
and weather phenomena in general within this chemistry.
Throughout the gallery space, I broadcast a cyclical soundtrack
of pristine feedback drones and somatic flutter through
dismantled speaker cones to provide a subtle acoustic
accompaniment to the primarily visual presentation.
For those not familiar with the Society, please allow
me an indulgence in the form of a history lesson. On 3
April 1850, ten gentlemen and one lady assembled in the
library of Hartwell House, near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.
According to the minutes of the meeting, they gathered
"to form a society the objects of which should be
the advancement and extension of meteorological science
by determining the laws of climate and of meteorological
phenomena in general". They called the society the
British Meteorological Society and appointed as its president
Samuel Charles Whitbread, a grandson of the founder of
the famous brewing firm. The society they formed still
exists and flourishes. It became The Meteorological Society
in 1866, when it was incorporated by Royal Charter, and
the Royal Meteorological Society in 1883, when Her Majesty
Queen Victoria granted the privilege of adding 'Royal'
to the title.
On January 6, 2004 the day before the commencement of
this exhibition, the Royal Meteorological Society has
reported the following conditions at Yeovilton in the
United Kingdom: wind from the SW (230 degrees) at 5 MPH
(4 KT); visibility of 4 miles; mostly cloudy skies; a
high temperature of 42 degrees; a dew point of 41 digress;
and a relative humidity of 93%.
Clearly, the Society is doing good work and should be
commended.
- Jim Haynes, 2004 |
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