Eve Andree Laramee: Apparatus for the Distillation of Vague Intuitions
But Laramee’s poetic fantasy is partly grounded in the logical principles of chemistry. A closed glass bulb with a small burner under it and a tube at the top leading to a lower bulb is apparently a simple distillation mechanism. The wires often suggest a chemical battery–immersed in some solutions, copper wires can produce a tiny voltage. Four udderlike protrusions under a glass bulb lead to tubes that drain into a large evaporation plate full of a deep blue liquid and bright blue crystals–a solution has been reduced to salts. The snout on one flask is perfectly fitted into the long curved neck of another, not only creating a conduit for fluids but also humorously suggesting sexual coupling.
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The words printed or cast on many of the beakers and metal bases also suggest an antiscience position. On one graduated cylinder with a scale numbered one to ten the words “mouth fulls” are cast in relief on the base. Is a system of measure based on what a human mouth can hold supposed to be better than liters and milliliters? Laramee also critiques scientific measurement in another graduated cylinder labeled with words instead of numbers: “faulty,” “incorrect,” “botch,” “misconception,” “boo-boo.” Not far away, another base has cast on it “things fall apart.” Seven transparent shards hanging on a rod are imprinted with words–“misinterpretation,” “inexactness,” “haziness.”
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): Photo/Paul Brenner.
