Monthly Archives: November 2015

Catalogue Entry – Wardian Case – Final

Wardian Case

In 1829, when Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward was working on a separate study on his insects, an unexpected revelation occurred. A fern and some blades of grass was growing from the bottom of the bottle where the hawk-moth was in. This inspired Dr. Ward to conduct more research on this unexpected plant growth.

Being credited as the inventor of the Wardian Case, Dr. Ward never expected the outcome of the closed glass bottle study of the moth’s metamorphosis would came out another unintended result. Living in Whitechapel during the Industrial Revolution in the 1820s, the air was very unhealthy and poisonous. During this period, not only humans were affected with the dirty atmosphere, the horticulture was also badly troubled by this. He was unable to grow any plants despites many years of trying due to the bad environment in the place where he stayed.

Right after the serendipity discovery, Dr. Ward did numerous experiments by putting different variety of plants in closed bottles and with each case, they survived with no negative effects at all. The science is this, the glass bottle was closed with a tight fitting lid and this enclosure create a better environment, free from the dangerous degrading air by the nearby factories. Thus, the Wardian Case was born, to protect plants from the air outside, having its own little world, its own weather; a miniature greenhouse with its own sustaining cycle of life. Growing a garden is now possible.

As the Wardian Case is made of glass, the evaporation and the condensation of water is in an infinite cycle as if creating its own natural system. In the day, the sunlight evaporates the moistures and in the evening, the moistures drops back into the soil through the condensation. This way, the plant will always be watered.

At one point of time, the Wardian Case and the growing of these ferns became a craze and a minor cult for about a decade. However, in the early 1850s, 3 advancements took place that caused it to burst into a big mania. Firstly, an illustration book on ferns was published and this excites people to go in search of them and bringing them home in their wardian cases. Secondly, glass became cheaper after duties on them was lifted. Thirdly, people’s taste in design was shifted towards being contemporary with the wardian cases as a ornate objects. The fern obssession led to the mass production of the wardian cases.

Meanwhile, plant explorers, their sponsors and ship captains found Dr. Ward invention an opportunity to move plants from one part of the world to the other. This commercial transportation of plants, were the first discover uses for Dr. Ward’s invention. During the voyage, these Wardian Case were placed on the deck for natural light and as long as the cases were left alone untouched, they arrived in perfect condition. Being in cases also means that they are free from the salt and dirt accumulated during many months at sea. In 1848, the first tea plants from China was transferred to India by Robert Fortune with the help of the Wardian Case.

This shipment of seeds across continents to the British colony brings vast profits and also created opportunities for employment. Other than pure industrial prosperity, another motivation that spur the development of economic plants came from encounters with other colonizers such as the Dutch and the French. This proves that the Wardian Case was the ultimate weapon in Britain’s imperial interests.

Transportation of seeds and plants also means that exchanging of knowledge and learning was taking place. The Kew Garden, home to the research centre and an institution in economic botany, sent out seeds and commandments to ‘satellite gardens’ all over the world. The Wardian Case plays an instrumental role in leading such worldly exchanging of ideas and knowledge.

However, despite being mass-produced, the Wardian case has its own share of criticism. Keeping plants in a close lid bottle did not go well with the ideology of the botanical principles; where plants should be kept in an open garden. Furthermore, the moving of mass seeds across the world have the British playing ‘God’ in a sense. It is ironic how the Wardian Case was invented to find solution for the industrial pollution when in the first place, these pollution was made by the industrial technologies that created the mess.

Bibliography:

1. Unnatural History: Ward’s Glass Cases
Author(s): Margaret Flanders Darby
Source: Victorian Literature and Culture, Vol 35, No. (2007), pp. 635-647
Published by: Cambridge University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40347179
Accesssed: 02-11-15 15:56 UTC

2. Dr Ward’s Case
Author(s): D. E. Allen
Source: The British Medical Journal, Vol 2, No. 5966 (May 10, 1975), pp. 324- 326
Published By: BMJ
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20472995
Accessed: 02-11-2015 15:52 UTC

3. Review
Author(s): Susan Sheets-Pyenson
Review by: Susan Sheets-Pyenson
Source: Isis, Vol. 72, No. 3 (Sep, 1981), pp. 495-496
Published by: University of Chicago Press on behalf of History of Science Society
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/230271
Accessed: 02-11-2015 16:09 UTC

4. The Rubber Industry: A Study in Competition and Monopoly. By P. T. Bauer. [Publications of the London School of Economics.] Cambridge: Harvard University Press

5. Chapter Title: GARDENS UNDER GLASS
Book Title: The Indoor Gardener
Book Author(s): DAISY T. ABBOTT
Published by: University of Minnesota Press . (1939)
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5749/j.cttttjx1.5

Object Label – Wardian Case – Final

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Wardian Case
Dr. Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward
1829

This ordinary looking glass case plays an important historical role in the British Empire’s plan to get new crops to different parts of the empire. This method of having a hermetically sealed glass case was simulated by Dr. N.B. Ward through serendipity when he observed a tiny fern emerging at the bottom of the glass bottle while doing a separate research on moths in 1829.

Plants and seeds were able to survive in this glass case due to the controlled environment where each element of a plant’s need is trapped inside and the glass case becomes its own eco-system. Once the Wardian Case is shut, it needs little to no attention at all. This proved to be useful when plant explorers used the Wardian Cases to transport different seeds such as the Rubber Tree plant from Brazil back to Kew in 1876. The plant can be kept contained in the portable glasshouse free from dirt and salt accumulated during months at sea.

This mass movement of seeds illustrate the botanical imperialism by the British to recognize the prosperity it has on the Empire’s economy and towards colonial expansion. These cases however was not fully embraced by all as the working class gardeners argued that these mass moving of life across continents has the British playing ‘God’.

Wall Text – Rubber Tree – Final

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The Rubber industry in Singapore can be traced all the way back to 1876 when the first group of rubber seeds stepped ashore from Kew in poor condition. It was not until September 1877 when the rubber plants managed to be planted successfully in Singapore. These rubber seeds was planted in the Singapore Botanic Garden. In this exhibition, we explore the journey and the significance it has on our economy and the region.

Contrary to the story that these seeds were smuggled out from Brazil to the rest of the world, an official statement in 1913 reported that these exports were made in goodwill and co-operation of the Brazilian government. The early years of the rubber trees in Singapore was not welcoming by the people and the authority . It was only when Mr. Ridley took over as Director of the Botanic Gardens that the rubber trees began to see the light again.
At first, the rubber trees in the Gardens was used for experimentation and research to discover the rubber tree’s fullest potential as a commercial plantation crop. The results and techniques found in 1904 are still relevant and currently still being employed today. Keeping in mind that over in Malaya, there was also a parallel timeline where rubber seeds were being planted along the Straits Settlements more specifically in Kuala Kangsar. All the various botanic gardens in Malaya were then under the direction and leadership of the Singapore Botanic Gardens.
By the late 19th century, the demand for rubber increased because tyres and motoring companies were establishing out in London and the United States. Automobile companies like Ford and Goodyear began manufacturing more automobiles which make it affordable to more people. Rubber was now needed in greater and ever increasing demand. Entrepreneurs and investors started coming in, in a form of large rubber plantings in the Malay Peninsula and Singapore. From large corporations to small local farmers, practicing the growing of the Rubber tree, rubber was suddenly in abundance and prices fell from over-supply.
Despite being one of the earliest and important game players in the rubber industry of the region, Singapore’s limited land area sees Singapore serves as a rubber milling centre to serve the plantations in Malaya and Indonesia. Furthermore, Singapore’s strategic location and port facilities makes it an essential part of the economic chain in the importing and exporting of rubber to different parts of the world.As a result, Chinese rubber exporters blossomed and became rubber tycoons overnight. Right after the Japanese Occupation in 1946, these tycoons were on the forefront of resolving post-war industry issues. The government saw the importance of the rubber industry’s continued contribution to Singapore’s economy and the nation’s infrastructure. This lead to the conversion of the Rubber Association of Singapore (RAS) into a government Statutory Body by an Act of Parliament.

Bibliography

Books

Singapore Rubber Tree – an Economic Heritage by Peter W.C. Tan
The Rubber Industry, A Study in Competition & Monopoly by P. T. Bauer
Rubber In Malay 1876 – 1922, The Genesis of The Industry by John Drabble

Articles

The Singapore Botanic Gardens and Rubber in Malaya by P.R. Wycherley

A Rubber Tree Reflection

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A rubber tree does not have a reflection, unless there is a mirror right in front of it. I have to say that I am really glad that it is all over. There was a point of time where my group mates and I have trouble deciding what area to focus on during our final assignment. We know that we are doing on the topic of Singapore Botanic Gardens, but the possibilities are endless! From looking at sculptures in the gardens to Heritage Tree, we just couldn’t choose one.

The reason why our team decides to do on Singapore Botanic Gardens because I was the one suggested it to my team mates because I feel the topic was different than the rest. The other topic involved some kind of artwork or objects but I thought we can do something different than just choosing artworks in a specific style and era. I admit that it was hard to choose the core for the assignment but after some weeks of discussion, we thought of using the Rubber Tree as the main highlight. After a generic read on Rubber Tree, there was a lot of insights that we learned and from there, we brainstorm on how we can approach this topic.

I was actually thinking backwards in a sense that I am planning the layout of the exhibition first before deciding what kind of information should we exhibit in the gallery. Below in one of our group meeting, I drew some models and sketches to visualise how to approach this topic. You can see on the Right, we have different options to give our project a title. There is also a sketch on the layout of our exhibition in a circular layout that mimic a tree trunk. I also feel that sketching out ideas is much more inspirational in our thinking and brainstorming.

Process

In selecting objects for our exhibit, we used normal daily items that is available easily. Showing object chronologically also help visitors to learn in an orderly manner. We also have minimalism on mind on how to showcase our objects as well.

Initially, I wanted to include an interactive timeline through projection mapping and photographs but there was a lack of time on my side. If possible, I would project it onto the pedestal itself maybe from the top or at the side.

Our team also wanted to create an experiential space for the final exhibit as the assignment did not restrict us to just build a model.

Our wall text explained the whole journey of the rubber tree in a very concise summary. That was important because we wanted them to know what happened through out the years in Singapore and then walk down the exhibition to learn more about each object. Some wall text in museum were too abstract and we tried to avoid that with simple basic storytelling.

Getting the pedestal was not hard as I have planned this a week before the day we need to exhibit them. I picture each pedestal as a different section of our exhibition floor plan. It was also good that the day before was the end of the semester show and there are students showing their works on a pedestal. So before the end of the day, I took 4 pedestal with me and used it the next day for the exhibition.

This module is really interesting because we learnt through each other’s presentations in class. Moreover, the freedom to choose our own focus on what to present, it allow us to open our mind and be critical as well in our options. It make me realise that human being can never be in one place, the need to explore unknown and new territories is rooted deep in us. It is all about reactions. How the east and west react on each other’s influences really is the talking point in this module. Colonialism is not necessarily a bad thing, sometimes, that’s all they need to prosper and oh yeah, lose their soul in the process.

Wardian Case: Object Text

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Wardian Case

Wardian Case
Dr. Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward (1791–1868)
1829

This Wardian Case plays an important historical role in the British’s plan to get new crops to different parts of the empire. This hermetically sealed glass box was invented by Dr. Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward through serendipity when he observed a tiny fern emerged in a closed glass bottle while he waited to observe an insect’s metamorphosis back in 1829.

Plants and seeds were able to survive in this glass case due to the controlled environment where each element of a plant’s need is trap inside and the glass case becomes its own eco-system. Once the Wardian Case is shut, it needs little to no attention at all. This prove to be useful when ship captains uses the Wardian Cases to transport the Rubber Tree plant from Brazil back to Kew in 1876. The plant can be kept contained in the portable glasshouse free from dirt and salt accumulated during months are sea.

This mass movement of seeds illustrate the botanical imperialism by the British from organized plant raids to the diffusion of information among scientific and technical elites. These cases however was not fully embraced by all as it is argued that these mass moving of life across continents has the British playing ‘God’.

Escaping, Technical Realisation

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The title post actually fits the whole idea of my project, somehow. I wish to portray the sense of escape from all point of view in my final broadcast. Randall even suggest that this whole process is an escape itself, so here I am, getting away with the technical realisation, escaping all the technical aspect and letting the ‘feel’ of an artist finish the job for me. Not quite? Yeah I figure.

Firstly, looking back at my previous hyperessay post,I want to mix videos together like a VJ and I want to do this process live. I also want to include that my final broadcast will be a kind of performance as I am mixing everything live and improvising my every move. Improvisation. I think that is actually a big word here in terms of the idea of a live broadcast. You see, whenever there is a live show, the host will follow the script but when unexpected things happen, the host is force to improvise but at the same time, maintain the programme and transition the next segment fluidly without jeopardising the audience’s attention. That’s the whole point of live broadcasting and in our final project, I feel this is no different. Having to mix videos live, there could be many different combination that I can make at each moment but there will never be the same combination for each time I rehearse it.

I would also like to add that improvisation of my performance will be visible as viewers are also able to see it live. Like how Nam June Paik did Good Morning Mr. Orwell, I do feel a sense of improvisation when he mix the clips from different part of the world despite it looking flawlessly. Taking the seat of a producer is never easy but I will attempt to create a performance which will be easy for the eye and also for the heart.

I also have decide to add another video element in my project. These flashing lights depicts a sense of rupture into the audience which may symbolises an escape into a dream light state or into reality. The flashing of lights almost as blinking, has the ability to disturb the eye and thus has hypnotising capability that enable the audience to be immerse with the screen.

In order to mix videos and layering it on top of each other, like the video above, I used max/msp. I use this application because it allows me to control the amount of effect that I need at a particular moment of time. I am also able to add effects such as zooming in and out, putting noise, changing the hue and to top it all off, I am able to alpha blend the different videos together. I am planning to use the Arturia Beatstep sequencer as my main controller. I would able to programme the buttons and knob on my machine to control the effects and also to play the videos.

Arturia Beatstep

Now on to the broadcast side of things. After last week’s Broadcast Workshop With Prof. Randall, after giving some thoughts, I actually have multiple options to do my final broadcast. Firstly, using Desktop Presenter. As Desktop Presenter is able to hook my desktop directly to Randall’s Wirecast Pro, it is no problem that I will able to edit anything on my screen and show the window that I have chosen onto Wirecast. I am able to choose the Application and the Window. Randall suggested that I make a jit.window on max msp so that I am able to show only that particular screen onto Wirecast. However, Desktop Pro have some difficulty in detecting the max window sometimes. Overall, this is definitely a good option for my final broadcast.

Desktop Presenter

Secondly, I can also consider using Randall’s laptop and open max/msp. This way, I can cut down any lagging comparing to using Desktop Presenter as my laptop is an old macbook with only one graphic card. In my Max Msp Patch, I have different element in it. This is also relevant to the above, in using desktop presenter. I have a live camera, jweb(where I stream live youtube pages onto max msp), pre-recoded videos and lastly, jit.desktop, where the window will show wherever my cursor move. Combining them together in one patch seems very messy and complicated. I will also need to sequence them in perfect order in order to know which part I am going to play first.

Updated max patch

Lastly, I may not even need to use max/msp for my final broadcast as Wirecast Pro has all the features that I need to layers all my videos and play them at different interval. However, it is more difficult as it needs planning onto Wirecast Pro itself.

Right after my meeting with Randall yesterday, it makes me think on how I want to broadcast my final broadcast. I agree with Randall when he suggest that I have different parts to my broadcast. Breaking it to different act like a 3 act play will make my broadcast more systematic and organised. For now, I have ideas on how to package my final broadcast however, I need to get more materials in order to make it as a whole broadcast that gel together.

Equipments needed:
1. Laptop
2. Extra Screen
3. Logitech Camera
4. Tripod
5. Max/MSP Software
6. Desktop Presenter

Wall Text – Draft Number 2

3 Replies

The Rubber industry in Singapore can be traced back all the way to 1876; where the first group of rubber seeds step ashore from Kew in poor condition but it is only in September 1877 where the rubber plants managed to be planted successfully in Singapore. These rubber seeds were planted in the Singapore Botanic Garden.

Contrary to the story that these seeds were smuggled out from Brazil to the rest of the world, an official statement reported that these exports were made on the goodwill and co-operation of the Brazilian government. The early years of the rubber trees in Singapore were not as glamorize as many would thought. It was only when Mr. Ridley took over as Director of the Botanic Gardens that the rubber trees begin to see the light again.

At first, the rubber trees in the Gardens were used as an experimentation and research to discover the rubber tree’s fullest potential as a commercial plantation crop. These results and techniques found in 1904 is still relevant and currently still being employed today. Keeping in mind that over in Malaya, there was also a parallel timeline where rubber seeds are also planted along the Straits Settlements. All these various botanic gardens in Malaya were then all under the direction and leadership of Singapore.

By the late 19th century, the demand for rubber increase in welcoming tyre and motoring companies that were starting out in London and the United States. With companies like Ford and Goodyear which specialise in tyres begin to increase manufacturing in automobiles which were affordable to more people, rubber was needed in greater and ever increasing demand. Entrepreneurs and investments start coming in, in a form of large rubber planting on the Malay Peninsula and Singapore. From large corporation to small local farmers, Rubber was suddenly in abundant and prices fell from over-supply.

Despite being one of the early and important game player in the rubber industry in the region, Singapore’s limited land area sees Singapore serve as a rubber milling centre to serve the plantations in Malaya and Indonesia. Furthermore, Singapore’s strategic location and port facilities makes Singapore an essential part of the economic chain in import and exporting of rubber to different parts of the world.

As a result, Chinese rubber exporters blossom and they became rubber tycoons overnight. Right after the Japanese Occupation, these tycoons were on the forefront of resolving post-war industry issues. The government saw the importance of the rubber industry’s continued contribution to Singapore’s economy and the nation’s infrastructure. This lead to the Rubber Association of Singapore(RAS) converted into a government Statutory Body by an Act of Parliament.

Exhibition Design Ideas

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As we are doing rubber tree in a chronological order, I was thinking of showing timeline of what happen through the years in Singapore on the rubber industry. Below are some exhibition design that does on the theme of chronological order.

It is not new and many exhibition shows timeline of events and actions that happen. Significant events are important to take note and how it affect the later dates.

While it is not difficult to do, it may be time consuming to create a beautiful visual aesthetic timeline.

Something simpler with black and white images might actually do the trick.

We might also have to think about the space and how we are able to print it and display it on the wall.

We need to discuss soon.

The Anatomy Of Life & Death

you know what? Bang Me

Monthly Archives: November 2015

Catalogue Entry – Wardian Case – Final

Object Label – Wardian Case – Final

Wall Text – Rubber Tree – Final

A Rubber Tree Reflection

Wardian Case: Object Text

Escaping, Technical Realisation

Wall Text – Draft Number 2

Exhibition Design Ideas