Light beams over Paris: a logarithmically-distorted map of the sites of the various mid-19th century speed-of-light experiments. At the time Paris was a walled, fortified city58, which during the 1850s and 1860s underwent extensive demolition, modernization and re construction under Napoleon III and his prefect Haussmann. Erection of the white marble basilica which is now synonymous with Montmartre was not begun until some 25 years after Fizeau's 1849 experiment.
Adapted from "Toothed wheels and rotating mirrors: Parisian astronomy and mid-nineteenth century experimental measurements of the speed of light," by W. Tobin. Vistas in Astronomy, vol. 36, 1993, pp. 253–294., doi:10.1016/0083-6656(93)90132-4.
Speed of Light Expedition
Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019 and Sunday, Sept. 15, 2019, Paris, France
The Speed of Light (SOL) Expedition is a temporary public art project. It began as an invitation extended by contemporary french physicist and artist Jean-Marc Chomaz to artists Tim Hyde and Jiayi Young to view the original 1849 experimental device used by Fizeau to measure the speed of light. The device - on display at the Mus'X - Le Musée de l'École Polytechnique in France - was part of a wave of technical and perceptual breakthroughs gave birth to Einstein’s theory of relativity, a chain reaction of paradigm shifts in art and in science that define the modern world.
Harnessing the momentum of this historical wave of collective genius, the SOL Expedition invites the public to travel the same eight kilometers of distance between Mont-Valérien in Suresnes and Montmartre defined by Fizeau in his 1849 Speed of Light experiment in Paris. The project brings together artists, designers, scientists, and the public to produce work individually and collectively to stimulate inquiry and create exchanges as cultural production that inspires agency. The project invites cultural and arts institutions as collaborators to respond to this challenge by conducting research, producing artwork, and designing interventions for public participation. Each response involves an expedition, an exhibition and a publication.
As a first response to SOL, Galerie HUS in Montmartre is pleased to announce their participation of “The Speed of Light Expedition”, an exhibition of new artworks and a public participatory art project opening Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019 in and around the Galerie Hus location in Montmartre, Paris. The exhibition is a manifestation of a collaborative exchange between artists and scientists in Paris and California that evolved over two years. The public participatory art project is titled SOL / SOS and it is timed precisely with three stages of twilight: the civil twilight, the nautical twilight, and the astronomical Twilight.
// Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019
SOL / SOS Expedition
Speed of Light / Speed of Shadow
On the occasion of the "Useful Fictions" symposium and the 170th anniversary of Fizeau’s experiment, the Chaire Arts & Sciences is partnering with the HUS Gallery and the "Chambre d'embarquement" in Montmartre to offer a participatory performance entitled "Speed of Shadows Expedition", linked with the three phases of twilight. Proposal by the economist and researcher Laurent Derobert and the artistic association “Effets désirables.”
>> Laurent Derobert : www.mathematiques-existentielles.com/laurent-derobert
>> Chloé Laumonier : www.effets-desirables.org
Event Sequence:
Exhibition at Galerie HUS | 2 PM - 7 PM
Procession | 8:02 PM - 9:51 PM | Begins at Chambre d’embarquement : 27 rue Véron, 75018 Paris
- Civil Twilight (8:02 p.m. - 8:34 p.m.) - in the “Chambre d’embarquement”: Performance “Speed of Shadow” by Laurent Derobert, inspired by André Breton’s Nadja.
- Nautical Twilight (8:34 pm- 9:12 pm) - From the Gallery HUS, 3D expedition and Convocation of Shadows: the public is invited to bring a 3D torch especially made for the event, and will start the ascent to the cave Gaston Leroux which they will cross to the sounds of reading texts and poems about shadows, led by Laurent Derobert or Marie-Luce Nadal.
- Astronomical Twilight (9:12 pm- 9:51pm) - The ascend continues to a Belvedere apartment on the hill with a magical view of Montmartre. A reception and performance “Ombrothérapie” by Jean-Marc Ferrari.
>> Registration Required.
// Sunday, Sept. 15, 2019
11 AM : Open invitation and self-guided walk: Begins atop the vista platform at Mont-Valérien in Suresnes.