Object Acquisition # 77-285.1.3 Magneto-Electric Machine

 Documenting objects from The Hunt Show:

Object Acquisition # 77-285.1.3 Magneto-Electric Machine

Object Interpreted and Statement by Marilyn Joyce

“I am busy just now again on Electro-Magnetism and think I have got hold of a good thing but can't say; it may be a weed instead of a fish that after all my labour I may at last pull up.”         

Michael Faraday (1791-1867) contributor to the fields of electromagnetism and electrochemistry.

Through the turn of a crank, rotating magnets generate an electric current, passing through cloth-covered wire and metal handles. The surge, an electrical force penetrates the skin, then deeper into the tissue, reaching the place of stored pain.  The buzzing sensation professed to be the magical force of the ‘cure’ pulsates through the body of the anxious patient…

This piece references the nervous system that was treated by the Electro Magnetic Machine during the mid 1800’s, my object for The Hunt. I was attracted to the types of disorders that people suffered from and sought treatment for: exhaustion due to overwork, insomnia, melancholia, poor circulation, female and male weaknesses, head pains – echoing what so many people struggle with in our contemporary culture.

The materials selected, thin paper on which a transparent print of my back rests, veils a second paper with marks built in layers, waxed and ink stained - an internal world that lies underneath, felt but hidden from view -  vibrations, agitation, short bursts, pulses, rhythmical beating -  a network of energy as it  flows through our nervous system.

As I marked, I reflected on what people may have experienced prior to treatment: vulnerability, isolation, shame and fear  -  laced with hope for a cure and the freedom of life without pain - which ultimately did not transpire with the use of this machine.

This image was printed from the body 

and had an amazing drawing underneath. 

This drawing illustrated the internal nature.

This photo doesn't capture the 

feeling of this image in person.

Closer detail.

Curators note:

This pieces was thoughtful and provoking into the inner workings of the human body and feelings. Very powerful.

Object Acquisition # 77-96.1.35 Electro Diagnostic Set

Documenting objects from The Hunt Show:

Object Acquisition # 77-96.1.35

Object interpreted and Statement by Beth I. Robinson www.robinpress.com

Transillumination - enlightenment through the process of examination

“Transillumination maybe explained as directing a highly concentrated, penetrating chromatic light through the process of examination. The transmission of this light through the process, by virtue of reflection and selective absorption enables us to actually see what conditions exist. Darkness or Light, which one for you?”

Text from a small brochure enclosed with Dr. J. C. Bartlett, M.D.’s Electro Diagnostic Set from the Medical Archives at Oregon Health and Science University.

In these transillumination drawings, I am shedding chromatic light on these confused, cold and car-wreck like recontextualized anatomy parts. It is my hope, that We, the people, will see what actual conditions exist within our current healthcare system.

Butterfly stitched spine, white Stonehenge pages with Gampi paper cover, watercolor crayons, digital collage, drawing, 

$600 includes box

Curators Note: I was also the curator for this show... My fellow artist twisted my arm to take the last object.  I wrote in my curator notes (which I will post the entirety at the end)...

I have been humbled at the excitement of my fellow artists/hunters to join me in “the hunt.”

Each one of these objects randomly chosen made their way to the right person. My own object is a large flashlight used to bring light in dark places. Much like any curator’s job should be.

Object Acquisition #77- 300.4.18 Facial Casts

Documenting objects from The Hunt Show:

Object Acquisition # 77- 300.4.18

Object interpreted and Statement by Ben Rood

When I first approached my objects at the Oregon Health and Science University I got the feeling that early science often gives me, the creeps. The plaster casts of facial deformities were crudely assembled and displayed. The molds were coated with a pinkish wax and bits of eyebrows were stuck to them, mounted like medical trophies I couldn’t help being semi-repulsed. I was looking at human faces but to me they did not at all feel like they were human. In response to these objects I created a body of work that examined and abstracted natural structures. A series of small mixed media paintings on board mounted in frames. The level of abstraction forces the viewer to closely examine the paintings but never offers any answer as to what or why. The idea is to create both attraction and frustration, much like I felt looking at the original objects.  

 

Object Acquisition #77-148.1.6 Skull

Documenting objects from The Hunt Show:

Object Acquisition # 77-148.1.6 Skull

Object interpreted and Statement by brianna cross

"To Toil"

The combined focus of exploring a material and manipulating its intentioned use to create an object is my main motivating factor for art making. It also is about the ability of this process to drown out the continuous cluttered noise of the modern world. For me the act of making is about creating ones own rules. Following instincts and impulses as well as a believing in the existence of visions and epiphanies. 

Note from the curator:

I just want to point out that Cross created this fabric by continually sewing over a clear material that dissolves in water. She then cut this amazing piece to create her sculpture.

Object Acquisition # 77- 106.1.81 German Field Surgical Kit

Documenting objects from The Hunt Show:

Object Acquisition # 77- 106.1.81 German Field Surgical Kit

Object interpreted and Statement by 

Allie Bentley     http://www.etsy.com/shop/alliebonline

At the time of conception for this project the US was actively fighting war in four countries. The year is 2011.  

When I began “The Hunt” earlier this winter and experienced my object I couldn’t help but become overwhelmed by the sadness of war. My original object being a World War II German Surgical Field Kit had been used in active duty. The box – not much bigger than a shoebox – shone brightly in high-polished steel and held tray after tray of instruments meticulously fit inside one another for known placement upon urgent need.  

I felt a sense of uselessness for this entire object. If it exists only to heal or cure those who do harm, why heal them? Why heal the warmonger if they will only continue to cause death and destruction?

I’ve titled this piece, “…And after all the years we still haven’t learned to love” (from the 1960’s film It Started in Naples) because I feel as though we, the human race, haven’t learned to love.  We haven’t learned from our history of death and destruction; haven’t moved forward from those fighting days in World War II when today, we continue this uselessness.