roswell
artist-in-residence program
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I build devices which function either actually, or metaphorically. The collaboration between user and tool results in an experience/experiment; the duo act as a machine. The object may be seen without its user; it’s obfuscated intention existing as mere possibilities. Is it different than viewing historical devices, with inventions and innovations far removed from our digital world in the 21st century? Upon examination they may reveal information which is certainly obscure and perhaps esoteric.
The work is a “collection,”
classified, ordered, and displayed as a museum: Instruments of
Calibration and Ascertainment. Its
construction reveals the speculative and subjective nature of ontology,
undermining the authority of ‘science’.
What can one truly ascertain about reality?
As modern museums dispense with outmoded taxonomic disciplines
and “can mount displays which turn artifact into art objects, to be
savoured more than studied,”* I turn art objects into artifacts, their
function apparently expired, their curious intentions to be studied. The ‘present moment’ has always evinced a fascinating, modern world at the height of technology. It is an uncanny thing viewed with the benefit of hindsight. Christy Georg * |
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Nips mahogany, aluminum, brass, steel, 8" x 4.5" x .75" , 2005 |
Duet Suites |
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| Eartrumpet aluminum, copper, ebony, basswood, cotton, 15" x 6" x 6", 2005 This instrument functions as an analogue amplifier. It harnesses the physics of a particular shape and volume to funnel sound into a concentrated area. A previously popular accoutrement of the aged and wealthy, this device has fallen from fashion with culture’s desire to suppress the visibility of an imperfect physiognomy. |
Three of a Kind
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| Doser copper and maple, 7" x 4.5"x 2.5" This instrument measures out single doses of liquid. It expresses an offering, when held in the hands of the administrator, to an open mouth. Its dispensation results in an intimate exchange between the administrator and receiver of the dose, while suggesting some alchemical transformation in the exchange. It exists more for theoretical than actual use. |
Triple Doser, maple and butternut woods, lead, cotton, 34" x 30"x 44", 2005 This instrument measures out three simultaneous doses upon collaboration with a dosing administrator. The kneeler, which accommodates three supplicants, suggests a ceremonial ritual whose privilege is belied by the potentially poisonous lead lining of the dosing apparatus. |
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Monitor Shirt and carrying case
from Monitoring the Dunes |
Stethoscopic
Crutches from Monitoring the Dunes aluminum, brass, painted steel, plastic |
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Monitoring the Dunes mixed mediums, 2005 Used in an endurance performance in White Sands National Monument, September 2005. The “monitor” and her instrument case are in white, blending in to the environs. The instrument is unpacked and assembled on site in the dunes. It consists of two large stethoscopes, which press against the sand and connect to the monitor’s earphones via tubing. This device is housed in tall forearm crutches, so that when in use, the monitor pulls her body off the earth, and only her ears (via their extensions) are connected to the earth. The monitor’s endurance determines her ability to sonically monitor the dunes. |
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| Embroidered
Cloak from Serenade for Bob Goddard cotton, embroidery |
Cobbled
Phonograph #1 (for Serenade) Victrola parts, wood, and steel, 30" x 20" x 40 |
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Serenade for Bob Goddard "This instrument was used in a brief performance during the opening reception of this exhibition in the Roswell Museum. The artist, clad in the embroidered cloak, traveled with the phonograph from here through the Robert Goddard wing, and back in serenade/elegy for the innovative rocketeer. The selected song was “Fly Me to the Moon” by Bart Howard, performed by Frank Sinatra and the Count Basie Orchestra, the same version played during the landing sequence of the Apollo mission in 1969. This was the first music to play in space. Goddard was an early pioneer of rocketry, intent on reaching “extreme altitudes,” sending a rocket to the moon and possibly to mars. He died in 1945, when the probability of such missions was still viewed with skepticism."
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 The artist's studio at the Roswell Artist-in-Residence Program |
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