“Of Sea and Sky” exhibition at Mount Wilson Observatory
The Of sea and sky Exhibition at the Mount Wilson Observatory, open on Saturday and Sunday from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., is sure to amaze.
By Garrett Rowlan
This sense of wonder is owed first to the enormous telescope at the centre of the dome – the tip of which opened for a group of tourists during my stay, letting in a torrent of celestial light – and is complemented by photographs that suggest the immensity of the universe while still giving the impression that we share, if only peripherally, this vast cosmic place.
The exhibition is curated by Stephen Nowlin, whose Heaven Exhibition at the ArtCenter explored the same nexus of art and science. This thematic reworking seems more comprehensive, encompassing a variety of subjects. About a dozen of his photographs and prints are on one side of the curved interior wall, and when read from the left, suggest an ignorance and fear of the spaces beyond our planet. But as we move past the photographs and text to the right—the print in the swirl design—the idea emerges that over time, ignorance has given way to knowledge, to the realization that our world and other worlds, other planets, share the same rocky DNA. This is the underlying theme This countrya series of photographs that Nowlin manipulates to contrast the topography of Earth’s landscapes with those of other planets, highlighting that, like it or not, we are a distant relative compared to these far-off, cold places.
In fact, the exhibition exudes an air of menace. “Creepy,” I heard one young person say, and indeed the darkness of the observatory (before the dome was opened), the huge telescope in the middle of the room, the droning, almost moaning ambient soundscape that accompanies Rebeca Mendez’s short film Migration 1 — which shows a bird’s flight projected in a circle on the wall opposite Newlin’s paintings — and even the way the outer plank of the vast room rotates at the touch of a button creates a momentary sense of disorientation.
Perhaps a healthy mix-up that raises questions. It is reminiscent of President Bill Clinton’s words when a chunk of rock was found in Antarctica that was determined to be part of the original crust of Mars. “Its implications are as far-reaching and awe-inspiring as one could imagine,” Clinton said of the discovery. “While it promises answers to some of our oldest questions, it raises others that are even more fundamental.”
Some of this awe and some of these questions are captured in Of sea and skywhich is on display at the Mt. Wilson Observatory on weekend afternoons through October.
Of Sea and Sky Until October 20, 2024 Open to the public Saturdays/Sundays 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm (except concert dates: Sept. 8, Oct. 6) Location Mount Wilson Observatory
Exhibition at Mount Wilson Observatory
Opening of the dome (Photo – Garrett Rowlan)
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