A Stich in Time

When Tommy asked us to design a time capsule I thought: "Oh, cool. That should be easy." Then I went and sketched a few ideas and thought I was ready to start construction. What a silly silly girl I am! I did some research, I focused on the purpose of a time capsule. I came up with some very different ideas regarding the form.


First I wanted to build a round shape to fit into a wall where a light would back light artifacts to hint at their shapes, but not reveal them or their true meaning. I rejected this idea because while it was interesting and did involve the class, I didn't feel that it related much to time. Around this time I began to think more about the parameters and goals of my project.

I wanted to restrict the project to the first year students and their first year experience. The capsule should involve everyone in our class, but it should also remain relevant. Relevance became my mantra. I didn't want to include anything that wasn't going to hold meaning in 20 years.




Next I came up with a similar idea involving reflections rather than shadows. The idea being that tiny fragments of mirror would reflect tiny bits of the artifacts inside, but never the whole.







My forms were feeling too similar so I started exploring physics and diagrams of time. I came across a tesseract model online and was inspired to use a similar form. A 3-D model of a tesseract is impossible to build as it violates several other laws of physics, so this is really an interpretation. In the center of the tesseract I wanted to house the actual time capsule. This ended up becoming a better idea for a sculpture than for a time capsule.


I thought I was done when I came up with my idea for a chandelier. It was to hang from the ceiling in the lobby and offer a different view from anywhere on the 2nd floor balcony. I thought it would be dramatic and interesting to be forced to view an artifact through 4 inch windows from 15 feet away. The more I played with the idea though, the more I began to dislike it. I quickly got bored with it. I felt that I could hand 53 cubes to anyone and they would build something similar. The whole thing was uninspired.

Finally, at the 11th hour I went back to an idea I'd had in the early stages and discounted as too simple.
The idea is very literal and simple, but that is where its beauty comes from. There is a dichotomy between the static and the dynamic. The front is burned copper embedded in the wall. Before the copper is burned markers are placed at specific intervals by running a finger where the mark will be. The oils left behind are burned onto the copper and over time will develop a different patina. In 20 years the copper will not look anything like it looks upon installation. The copper will age and people will touch it thereby changing the way it ages. The only maintenance it will require is that it never be cleaned with chemicals that would remove the patina. Behind the copper, built into the studs behind the wall will be 13 static boxes of archival quality. There are 13 boxes to represent the 13 groups in our class. Every two groups will be assigned a project that we did this year. That project will be the theme for their box. Sketches and photos of their IARC experiences are welcome too, as long as the actual project assigned is addressed and everything remains relevant. Each box will be placed behind one of the finger marks on the copper to mark its location and then sealed into the wall. In 20 years there will be a reception and we will return to bash in the wall and see all the things we worked on in our first year. We'll start with the first box containing our egg project ideas and work our way in chronological order down to the final project of the year pausing to see what themes were recurring (platonic forms, anyone?) and how we evolved together over the course of the first year. In 20 years I wonder what we will think of ourselves now.