Museum of Jurassic Tech - Dara Feller

I could not make up the Museum of Jurassic Technology if I tried. Truly. The entire time I was switching between laughing and being confused. At a certain point, I started to regard it as an art museum specializing in institutional critique. One of my personal favorite exhibits was “Letter to Mt. Wilson”. Not only was I excited to tie in our last field trip with this one, but the letters were so...strange, but endearing. Citizens were writing to astronomers asking if they could interact with God, or if they could allow Mr. Einstein to look through the telescope. One letter even went off on a tangent about how Jews will rule the world. Charming. While I first dismissed the letters as crazy, I realized through discussing with Lia that this was truly the exploration of the century. No one knew anything about space. Information was not readily available like it is today, and the prospect of multiple universes must have been horrifying. Up until then, all people had to cling to was religion. So, of course, they’ll ask George Hale if he can pass along a message to God-- what else would they believe is up there? I think the historical value of this exhibit is incredible-- everyone should see it. It marks a turning point in the modern scientific revolution. 
My absolute favorite exhibition was Henry Dalton’s micromosaics-- the tiny pictures were only visible through a microscope and made entirely out of the scales of butterfly wings. I was floored by the attention to detail and the precision displayed by the work (considering there was not a lot of technology at the time that would have made the process easier). Dalton was born in 1829 and made these micromosaics his legacy. It seems that the Museum of Jurassic Technology is the only place that houses any of these pieces. I have focused on butterflies in my past work and how we exploit their beauty to create subsequent beauty (i.e., killing butterflies to encapsulate in resin and sell as coffee table art). Dalton’s work, however, is the most creative way I’ve seen to exploit the natural beauty of a butterfly. He didn’t even keep the iconic shape of the butterfly to embellish his work-- only the unrecognizable scales. His resulting pieces are beautiful, but I can’t help thinking that he is the original Damien Hirst in terms of utilizing butterflies for pretty pictures. 

I was interested and simultaneously freaked out by the section of medieval medicine and superstitions. The process of putting a duck’s bill in the mouth of a child afflicted with fungal disease of the throat was comically replicated in a glass case. Behind it, two entire mice on toast to cure incontinence.  I have always been incredibly interested in superstitions and how they develop over time, so this room was perfect for me. While most of the cases made me recoil in disgust, it was undoubtedly cool to see medicine through the ages. It reminded me of the letters to Mt. Wilson-- just a group of people doing their best to understand the scary new thing that has been uncovered. 
Henry Dalton's Micromosaics
The cold breath of a duck cures fungal infections in the throat?????

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