Jiggling Atoms

Lecture 1 of 5. What do physicists do all day, anyway? Written and delivered by Jennifer Crouch and Malte Oppermann as part of a project organised by Jen, Malte, Natalie Kay-Thatcher, Ben Still and I called Jiggling Atoms, after Richard Feynman, about illustrating particle physics. Can it be done? There's a lot more to say, but not today.

Grixel, Graxel

Get some wind for the sailboat

I said Chris who is Einstein? I don't know. I said Chris who is Einstein? I don't know. I said Chris who is Einstein? I don't know. I said Chris who is Einstein? I don't know. I said Chris who is Einstein?I said Chris who is Einstein? I don't know. I said Chris who is Einstein? Lemmie think.



Tonight at the Barbican.

Quantum Foam

Herbert Bayer via Design History

Quantum Foam via Universe Review

Serenade (1973), by Hockney

Art meets Science and Spirituality in a changing Economy: 
1. From Fragmentation to Wholeness

Quite taken with the first in a series of five videos documenting a conference in Amsterdam in 1990 called 'Art meets Science and Spirituality in a changing Economy' found via the consistently excellent ro/lu blog. Claudette Gacuti does a great job of summing up and overview of each episode, but she's right, the best thing to do is watch - here's the first one.


'What is the nature of reality? Bohr's view is based on an epistomology of saying that all we can discuss is based on our knowledge of reality. And I felt dissatisfied with that finally, because it did not give any clear concept of reality, it only discussed what could be observed and measured.  Now if you've said okay that's all it is, then we can accept it on that basis, but it would raise the question what can we say?  Well, reality would mean something that would have some existence independently of being known.  To say it might be that we would know it, but it does not require that we know it in order to exist.'


'Science is whatever people make of it... there's no intrinsic reason why it may necessarily be measurement. It's a development that's occurred over the past few hundred years.  It's entirely contingent and not absolutely necessary.'


'I feel that creativity is essential not only for science, but for the whole of life. If you get stuck in a mechanical repetitious order then it will degenerate.  I think that's one of the problems that every civilisation has got stuck in, a certain repetition. The creative energy has gradually deied away, and that's why the civilisation has died. Many civilisations vanish not only because of exteral pressure but also because internally, they've decayed.'

- all David Bohm


'Stop thinking about the world as a series of problems.'

- Robert Rauschenberg

Physics, Mathematics, Astronomy

Incidental(?) brilliance. Limitations. By Walter Fendt.
See also, Susan Kare.

In Action

Late updates on the now finished Into the Fold - evidence of which exists here.  Need some time to see it with a retrospective eye.  For now, here's the studio with the Mari furniture in situ.

Into the Fold


In a couple of weeks, Camberwell Press will be hosting Into the Fold at Camberwell Space. While we all work together on projects, each member providing something different to the next, this is the first project in which we've really worked holistically together to produce a bigger product that represents some of the things we stand for.  

So through the push and pull of organising and assigning, I volunteered to design the space of this ideal studio.  It's an interesting task to take on, I am not an interior designer, or have any experience in being one.  But, sometimes out of necessity, it's good to rely on these kinds of base(less) ideas, because what you're judging it on is direct experience - moving house and working in different spaces, or hovering below a table to understand how high you need to make the chair.

I have been thinking about Enzo Mari for a long time, since I sat at his tables in college during first year, but also as an important reference in work, and life.  Made from ubiquitous material, easy to assemble, cheap, the furniture in Autoprogettazione follows on from ideas of making and appreciation of everyday use, generosity, simplicity, that have remained constant since the first discussion about Into the Fold.

While we all consider it important to build together, the exhibition is also about making do, so since we already had the tables to use (thanks!), it followed on that we made the chairs and stools too. This way, when we open up on the Monday morning, we have already built the foundations of the studio together, and with others.

The space consists of three rough elements:

~ Two progression walls: one for working out, documentation, development, and the other showing the final spreads of the book.

~ Library: acts as a changable bibliography depending on what's happening that day.

~ Main working tables + chairs: must work for general studio work, but also for workshops and talks. 



Through figuring out exactly what needs to be done, the practicalities of a piece of furniture having to work for several uses for example, comes a certain satisfaction, which is maybe becoming more important to me.  And throughout the practicalities of use, remains the element of theatre - it is ultimately an exhibition.  So while the tables have to work for us, they also have to act as a guide around the room, open, inviting, which is really what the whole thing is about.



Into the Fold will run from Monday 27th - Friday 9th.
Opening night Friday 24th, closing and publication launch Tuesday 13th.

Schedule coming soon.