Re-Centering Geometer
Artist
Mark Bain
MediumAluminium, stainless steel, bronze, copper wire, magnets, mercury, hardened glass, electrical components
Dimensionssensing unit: 32 x 19 x 16 1/2 in., 79.95 lb. (81.3 x 48.3 x 41.9 cm, 36.3 kg)
receiver: 11 x 11 x 4 in. (27.9 x 27.9 x 10.2 cm)
ClassificationsSculpture
Credit LineSeattle City Light 1% for Art Portable Works Collection
My work relates directly to the highly technical, science driven culture that we find ourselves in. For me, it is an acute love/hate relationship; anxiety prone and based on speed. The materials I work with come from this environment, where the quest for the latest marvels produce an outpouring of discarded technical junk that I then acquire and reinterpret for my own utility.
The Re-Centering Geometer is a passive vibration and motion sensor designed to detect subtle motion in tall buildings such as wind-induced sway, seismic activity and mechanical vibrations. The heart of this unique design is a magnetic loop floating on liquid mercury within a large copper coil. This arrangement allows for external action that affects the gimbaled chamber to also act on the suspended magnet and thus cause a fluctuating electric field within the coil. This action provides an electric current along a connecting cable to activate the receiving box that registers the motion on a sensitive galvanometric needle. –Artist statement
The Re-Centering Geometer is a passive vibration and motion sensor designed to detect subtle motion in tall buildings such as wind-induced sway, seismic activity and mechanical vibrations. The heart of this unique design is a magnetic loop floating on liquid mercury within a large copper coil. This arrangement allows for external action that affects the gimbaled chamber to also act on the suspended magnet and thus cause a fluctuating electric field within the coil. This action provides an electric current along a connecting cable to activate the receiving box that registers the motion on a sensitive galvanometric needle. –Artist statement
