Telescope Workshop
For Seeing Things Far Away as if they Were Nearby
The first records of a device called the Telescope dates back to 1608 here in the Netherlands. It allowed “for seeing things far away as if they were nearby”, in the words of its maker. Quickly after words spread out around Europe of such device, Galileo built one with a measly 10x magnification that allowed him to discover the Moons of Jupiter. From then on the device was essential to drive a number of scientific revolutions that changed forever our view of the world. From Newton, to the Hubble Space Telescope, the expanding field of knowledge driven by this device has helped to dramatically rethink our place in a vast expanse of space.
Today telescopes are taking multiple shapes and forms, peering into multiple spectrums, from radio to gamma rays, looking at the farthest reaches of the cosmos, as much as the smallest features of planets. They are sent out of the atmosphere, sit atop volcanos or are buried under Antarctica, they listen for infinitesimally quiet signals from outer space and tell us more about the inner workings of the Universe than we have ever known.
As science and technologies move on, they disturb and compress our natural experience of space and time. You will develop a project dealing with notions of distance, scale, time, presence and proximity, observation and observer. It shall enhance or blur, but it can not leave unchanged.
WORKSHOP STRUCTURE
– You will work on your own project.
DAY 1 / RESEARCH
– You will develop a visual and conceptual archive of what means time and space for you, in science, technology, art, design, culture, history and any other relevant field.
– We will meet at 4pm all together and each group will present the outcome of their research.
DAY 2 / ACTION
– Taking your own and everyone else’s research as a starting point, pick something that interests you and develop your own Telescope. This is understood as a metaphorical device, something, that allows the observer to see in a different light your subject.
– The format is open, it can be an object, a text, a performance, song, etc.
DAY 3 / PRESENT
– You will all present your project during a 2h-long group show.