Great Halls of Science
March 22, 2007- April 28, 2007
Reception: March 22, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
317 10th Ave
Magnan Projects is pleased to present the first viewing of works by Susan Gamble &
Michael Wenyon in New York since their holograms were first shown at the Whitney
Museum in 1991. The exhibition will be on view from March 22nd - April 28th, 2007.
Wenyon & Gamble have worked together for 25 years exploring photo technologies
such as holography and digital photography. In 1992 they were awarded a UNESCO prize for
working in technology. Great Halls of Science explores objects and architecture from the
mid-twentieth-century using twentieth-century media. Wenyon & Gamble have a history of
working as artists in astronomical observatories and other scientific institutions, reflected in
the imagery in this show.
The holograms on display, Radio Waves from Space, depict magnetic discs of
astronomical data. The images of discs from the 1960s and 70s have titles such as Venus or
Mars; the original discs contain radio maps. Each hologram moves in color through the
spectrum going into the infrared and ultra-violet, which appears soft to the eyes – a play on
the fact that the holograms are pure light not pigment.
In their digital photographs the artists have documented ‘sites of science’, places of
scientific production or cultural representation. The Great Hall: The New York Hall of
Science, is a large panorama (92 inches long) that scans over this blue glass building that
represented ‘space’ for the 1964 World’s Fair in Queens. The Auditorium explores the
aesthetic scale and form of the 1970s hall at the National Academies of Science,
Washington, designed to house possibly the most important scientific meetings of the nation.
In the Haystack Radome Mapped with its own Telescope, the dome of a radio telescope is
digitally flattened like a medieval representation of the heavens. Buckminster Fuller designed
this dome in the 1960s and the telescope mapped the moon for the first Apollo moon
landing. In these images, Wenyon & Gamble reveal underlying aesthetic and abstract patterns
of construction.
Susan Gamble was born in London and Michael Wenyon in Dayton, Ohio. The artists
bring together differing backgrounds: Gamble has a BA in Fine Art from Goldsmiths’ College,
London and a PhD in the History of Science from Cambridge University, UK. Wenyon
studied for a BSc in Physics at Bristol University, UK and an Msc in Optics. Their works are
in prominent collections such as The Victoria & Albert Museum, London, the M.I.T.
Collection, and the National Portrait Gallery, Washington. The artists live in New York
City.
Books and DVDs related to artists in this show| Location | | | Gallery | Magnan Projects | | Address | 317 10th Ave New York (Chelsea) NY, 10001 United States | | Phone | 212-244-2344 | | Fax | 212-244-7544 | | Hours | Tue-Sat 10-6 | |
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