Granite of the Grounds -- Clark Art Institute
This project was developed in collaboration with Bud Wobus, Professor Emeritus of Geology at Williams College, using granite samples from buildings at the Clark Art Institute.
The work supported a public lecture that traced granite across scales - from global geological distribution, to specific rock types, to the quarry source of the Clark stone, and finally to the physical samples themselves.
My contribution extended this progression into a perceptual and physical limit. Presented as large-scale physical works, the images carried the material beyond conventional visual scale, approaching the boundaries imposed by reflected and diffracted light. Rather than illustrating geological concepts, the work functioned as a continuation of the lecture's scale narrative, culminating in direct visual engagement with the smallest structures that can be optically resolved.
The collaboration was completed successfully and the images were presented during the lecture at the Clark, where they formed the final scale transition in the sequence. Their inclusion expanded the experience for attendees, reinforcing the continuity between geological structure, material history, and perceptual limits.
Granite - Study I
Low-magnification observations establishing surface structure and mineral variation. Early lighting tests reveal strong specular behavior even under diffuse illumination.
Granite - Study II
Refinement of illumination strategies to manage high-contrast highlights across heterogeneous mineral structures. The work remains exploratory, with attention directed toward identifying regions suitable for higher magnification study.
Granite - Study III
Transition to higher magnification and expanded spatial coverage. Structural relationships begin to emerge more clearly at this scale. Features believed to be rutile are visible at dimensions on the order of visible light wavelengths.
Granite - Study IV
Continued increase in magnification reveals dense internal features within quartz-rich regions. At this scale, the material exhibits spatial complexity that begins to approach abstract visual behavior.
Granite - Study V
High-magnification study at the limit of reflected-light microscopy. Optical artifacts result from quantum interactions of visible light and material rather than reflection or post-processing effects. The lilnear features are likely smaller than visible light wavelengths. The full field width of this image is approximately 0.423 mm.