 "Presenting the history of the cosmos through the lens of modernist chandeliers, in a material as delicate and unwieldy as blown glass, requires an odd combination of hubris and masochism."
Interesting article in the New York Times about this piece by Josiah McElheny.
[thanks Marc!]
any thoughts on the accuracy of the model?
Every time I do the math, I keep on getting some loopy shit.
Perhaps I'll just fudge that small equation on the bottom corner of my blackboard. (that's from my fave new Yorker cartoon: "When good mathematicians go bad.")
my impression from the article is that while the Metropolitain Opera's chandeliers (below) may look more like pictures of the universe, this piece is intended as a model, rather than an evocative representation. The reflective singularity is a good detail, and also the fact that the univierse is asymmetrical and therefore hard to hang. I think the original chandeliers are prettier, though. I saw them once, and have been thinking about them ever since.
These images are from a class trip made by Music 371A of
Huntingdon College, Montgomery, Alabama, to NYC in the year 2000. They are very nice pictures indeed.
I prefer McElheny's model to this architectural version of the big bang where you apparently get to insert your own head as the singularity.
And then there is this fun but not so accurate wacky ice sculpture, taken from here.
After all that art, I couldn't resist posting this model of the universe, which is just a totally groovy diagram without fine art status and therefore attempting to be quite accurate indeed, taken from here.
This is the universe that was hanging around the house when I was a little kid, and I'm sticking with it.
(but I do like your last model)
I'm gonna have to chime in for Intelligent Cosmology.
heaven
---------
earth
---------
hell
isnt it a model of modernism with little post-modern explosions at the end of those modern trajectories? an end of modernism model. is it an accurate model of the end of modernism?
I suppose so.
Is modernism over?
When does post-post-modernism start?
i dont think its over.
cosmic firmament
---
god
---
angels
----
giants
---
humans
---
dolphins
---
leprechauns
---
great apes
---
monkeys
---
large cats
---
barnyard animals
---
cats, dogs
---
lizards
---
fish
---
beetles
---
ants
---
oysters
---
paramecia
---
dirt
cosmic firmament
---
god
---
angels
----
giants
---
humans
---
dolphins
---
leprechauns
---
great apes
---
monkeys
---
large cats
---
barnyard animals
---
cats, dogs
---
lizards
---
fish
---
beetles
---
ants
---
oysters
---
paramecia
---
dirt
---
advertising executives
How 'bout doing it to scale?
http://www.efn.org/~jack_v/planetmaps.html
"The outer planets follow the bicycle path north along the Willamette River.
Pluto is a mere 2 mm. (1/10 inch) and nearly 6 km. away from the sun."
Great link on Harry Smith, Bill.
"Smith's broad range of interests resulted in a number of collections. He donated the largest known paper airplane collection in the world to the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum. He was a collector of Seminole textiles and Ukrainian Easter Eggs. He also considered himself the world's leading authority on string figures, having mastered hundreds of forms from around the world."
here, harry speaks.
oooooh. really nice bill. the image really does smack of textiles and easter eggs. it also harkens back to album covers by 'earth, wind and fire'.
Paul Laffoley
THE COSMO-PHONON: PRIOR TO THE BIG BANG
Nodes! Nodes! Nodes!
This bodes well for the Time-Life Book Cover Theory.
MM-hm! I'm diggin that mechanical yin-yang.
more Laffoley
ptolemypictures as growing up
|
[thanks Marc!]
- sally mckay 5-15-2006 6:46 pm
any thoughts on the accuracy of the model?
- bill 5-15-2006 7:19 pm
Every time I do the math, I keep on getting some loopy shit.
Perhaps I'll just fudge that small equation on the bottom corner of my blackboard. (that's from my fave new Yorker cartoon: "When good mathematicians go bad.")
- L.M. 5-15-2006 8:48 pm
my impression from the article is that while the Metropolitain Opera's chandeliers (below) may look more like pictures of the universe, this piece is intended as a model, rather than an evocative representation. The reflective singularity is a good detail, and also the fact that the univierse is asymmetrical and therefore hard to hang. I think the original chandeliers are prettier, though. I saw them once, and have been thinking about them ever since.
These images are from a class trip made by Music 371A of Huntingdon College, Montgomery, Alabama, to NYC in the year 2000. They are very nice pictures indeed.
I prefer McElheny's model to this architectural version of the big bang where you apparently get to insert your own head as the singularity.
And then there is this fun but not so accurate wacky ice sculpture, taken from here.
After all that art, I couldn't resist posting this model of the universe, which is just a totally groovy diagram without fine art status and therefore attempting to be quite accurate indeed, taken from here.
- sally mckay 5-15-2006 11:01 pm
This is the universe that was hanging around the house when I was a little kid, and I'm sticking with it.
(but I do like your last model)
- L.M. 5-16-2006 2:09 am
I'm gonna have to chime in for Intelligent Cosmology.
- mark 5-16-2006 2:31 am
heaven
---------
earth
---------
hell
- bill 5-16-2006 2:36 am
isnt it a model of modernism with little post-modern explosions at the end of those modern trajectories? an end of modernism model. is it an accurate model of the end of modernism?
- bill 5-16-2006 2:38 am
I suppose so.
- L.M. 5-16-2006 2:50 am
Is modernism over?
- sally mckay 5-16-2006 3:28 am
When does post-post-modernism start?
- mark 5-16-2006 3:38 am
i dont think its over.
- bill 5-16-2006 3:48 am
cosmic firmament
---
god
---
angels
----
giants
---
humans
---
dolphins
---
leprechauns
---
great apes
---
monkeys
---
large cats
---
barnyard animals
---
cats, dogs
---
lizards
---
fish
---
beetles
---
ants
---
oysters
---
paramecia
---
dirt
- tom moody 5-16-2006 4:09 am
cosmic firmament
---
god
---
angels
----
giants
---
humans
---
dolphins
---
leprechauns
---
great apes
---
monkeys
---
large cats
---
barnyard animals
---
cats, dogs
---
lizards
---
fish
---
beetles
---
ants
---
oysters
---
paramecia
---
dirt
---
advertising executives
- grunt (guest) 5-16-2006 4:59 am
How 'bout doing it to scale?
http://www.efn.org/~jack_v/planetmaps.html
"The outer planets follow the bicycle path north along the Willamette River.
Pluto is a mere 2 mm. (1/10 inch) and nearly 6 km. away from the sun."
- rob (guest) 5-16-2006 7:11 pm
- bill 5-16-2006 7:45 pm
Great link on Harry Smith, Bill.
"Smith's broad range of interests resulted in a number of collections. He donated the largest known paper airplane collection in the world to the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum. He was a collector of Seminole textiles and Ukrainian Easter Eggs. He also considered himself the world's leading authority on string figures, having mastered hundreds of forms from around the world."
- L.M. 5-16-2006 10:24 pm
here, harry speaks.
- bill 5-17-2006 1:34 am
oooooh. really nice bill. the image really does smack of textiles and easter eggs. it also harkens back to album covers by 'earth, wind and fire'.
- thom (guest) 5-18-2006 6:34 pm
Paul Laffoley
THE COSMO-PHONON: PRIOR TO THE BIG BANG
- jim 5-20-2006 8:16 pm
Nodes! Nodes! Nodes!
This bodes well for the Time-Life Book Cover Theory.
- L.M. 5-20-2006 9:34 pm
MM-hm! I'm diggin that mechanical yin-yang.
- sally mckay 5-22-2006 7:53 am
more Laffoley
- bill 5-22-2006 3:22 pm
ptolemypictures as growing up
- ptolemy pictures as growing up (guest) 12-11-2007 7:59 pm