In the late 1800s Welsh singer and philanthropist Margaret Watts-Hughes invented a device called an Eidophone that combined the auditory with optical phenomena. It consisted of a mouthpiece leading to a receiving chamber, over which was stretched a rubber membrane, or diaphragm. Her experiments with this device involved sprinkling a variety of powders onto its surface, then singing into it to see how far these powders would leap. Beautiful images were produced by placing the Eidophone's diaphragm face up: the figure would then be sung into existence, and the glass plate then placed on top to capture it. She called the images "Impression Figures".
 |
Single pitch Impression Figure by Margaret Watts-Hughes, pigment on glass, date unknown.
Courtesy of Cyfarthfa Castle Museum and Art Gallery. |
 |
Plant forms, an Impression Figure by Margaret Watts-Hughes, pigment on glass, date unknown.
Courtesy of Cyfarthfa Castle Museum and Art Gallery. |
 |
Plant forms, an Impression Figure by Margaret Watts-Hughes, pigment on glass, date unknown.
Courtesy of Cyfarthfa Castle Museum and Art Gallery. |
No comments:
Post a Comment