If someone finally figured out how to dig a hole to China, or to London in this case, and you could be seen through a giant underground telescope on the other side, what would you do for your trans-Atlantic audience? Would you have a message to write on a big posterboard? A flag to wave? Would you use sign language? Blow a kiss? Think fast. You only have until June 15 to go to Paul St. George’s Telectroscope on the Fulton Ferry Landing by the Brooklyn Bridge or to the one on the other side by London’s Tower Bridge on the Thames.
I saw an old man in a Sherlock Holmes hat (I assume he was in London) do a little dance in front of the Telectroscope, kicking his legs out and waving his arms. This was on the news, so maybe that’s why he was hamming it up. But it also struck me that it was as if he thought this was a fleeting opportunity to test technology’s latest limits, in which he needed to be as “big” as possible to be understood. Like when people talked way too loud on their newfangled cordless phones and even louder into their poor cell phones. Or a more apt comparison– when film was first invented and silent movie actors had only their bodies to convey plot, emotion, character. The same must be used for our audience of strangers on the other side of the ocean, who can’t hear us but can see us surprisingly clearly.
I won’t spoil the fun if I reveal that the Telectroscope does not actually go through the earth’s core– that instead it uses trans-Atlantic broadband and HD TVs. You could have guessed that. To me, it’s still worth admiring the use of historical fantasy in this artist’s exhibition. A story was invented about his great-grandfather rendering such a device back in the 19th-century– designs only to be uncovered recently in a tightly sealed, old box. The artist stayed true to these plans, constructing the Telectroscopes out of brass and wood, as they might have been back in the Victorian age. And to top it all off, giant drills appeared as if they had come through from the other side of the earth before the construction of the Telectroscope. Such care was taken to engage our imagination! A child on her way past the Brooklyn Bridge, may have found the tunnel more convincing than Santa Claus.
Tags: Telectroscope
Your comment on silent movies reminded me of when I watched an old charlie chaplain movies the other day and I was really getting into the experience.
You pay MUCH more attention to the body language and your attention is not so assaulted by too much dialogue or just the wall of noise that TV punches you with. It was a very unique experience for me as far as entertainment goes.
THere was just an element of innocence and playfulness…and I just felt myself paying alot more attention then I usually do. Twas fun!