Alena Williams
"The Astronomer’s Milieu: Mount Hamilton and the Experimental Cinema of Charles and Ray Eames"
Tuesday March 15, 4:45
Visual Culture Colloquium
Zoom Lecture
In 1968, Charles and Ray Eames completed Lick Observatory, a short film of 35mm slides, asynchronous sound, musical soundtrack, and voice-over narration about the University of California’s influential institution for modern observational astronomy and research. This lecture considers the constellation of experimental media at the observatory on Mount Hamilton and its role in this film, addressing scientific milieu, environmental politics, and astronomical site.
Alena J. Williams is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Visual Arts at the University of California, San Diego. Her research focuses on the epistemology of the image with a long-range view across the twentieth century and the interrelation of environmental humanities and media. Her forthcoming book examines astronomy and experimental cinema’s intertwined aesthetic imaginary. In 2019-2020, she was a Society Fellow at the Cornell Society for the Humanities.
Image: Celestial Objects: Unidentified Celestial View. Courtesy Special Collections, University Library, University of California Santa Cruz. Lick Observatory Records
https://cornell.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIpcOGhrTgrH9U9kwR5msG2wW9IFC8f5Jv_
