- A Science of Language and Humidity —
graph (detail)
A Science of Language and Humidity (excerpt)
- 2003
- hygrographic reading machine,
- book, rag board, and pen on paper
- dimensions variable
A Science of Language and Humidity focuses on the scientific achievements of Férdinand de Saussure and his grandfather, Horace-Bénédict de Saussure. Both men’s work, representing the ‘soft’ and the ‘hard’ sciences, centered on elusive phenomena—language and relative humidity.
The concept of the arbitrary nature of the sign is key to Férdinand de Saussure’s work, and it forms the basis of this project. Saussure proposed that “a given language is a system of arbitrary signs whose signifying properties depend entirely on their place within the system.”[1] 1.Holdcroft, David. Saussure; Signs, System and Arbitrariness. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991
Horace-Bénédict de Saussure was a physicist and geologist. Also known for his meteorological studies, he was the inventor of the hygrograph, an instrument using human hair to measure humidity in the atmosphere.
For this project, Férdinand de Saussure’s Course in General Linguistics was recited into a specifically developed hygrographic reading machine, which registered the spoken text in terms of the humidity of the reader’s breath.
The central component of this reading machine is the type of hygrometer commonly used in museum contexts to ensure optimum storage of historic artifacts. The device creates a graph, similar to those generated in order to monitor vital organ functions of seriously ill patients. This installation is comprised of the hygrographic reading machine as well as an excerpt of the charts generated in the book's recitation.