GMU:Introduction to Microscopy/Sascha Mirtschin

A Expedition Through Microscopy Sascha Mirtschin

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[01] 02.11.20 20:20

It has begun. Today i've met the whole expeditioncrew. Some have ideas, plans. A clue of what they wanne do. Others, like myself, plunging into it without knowing.And oh boy ,my english is bad. Especially when it comes to talking infront of the webcam. Looking for words often leads to the point, on which i forget what the f**k i wanted to say. But:Hold your horses!

In the morning i started to listen to podcasts about biology. A whole lot of information. Apes,fruits,fermantation,alcohol,human,disease. My head, the shaken snow globe. I have to remind myself. Its not a race. Strolling allowed, curiosity desired. The most smartest thing to do probably is to start with the basics. Whats the history of microscopy. Examples and applications.

What to do with all that? As much or as good as possible?

Big Biology Podcast : https://open.spotify.com/show/6uYED5YUqfN30QjYwlRucx

[02] 03.11.20 12:12

There is no good documentation about the history of microscopy to be found on youtube. Like a madman i've collected facts and figures. Noted names to forget them immediately. I was still amazed. So early and so brilliant the people played around with optics. And i am damn sure. A simple waterdrop triggered the wave. A lot of the developments happened simultaneously. The Microscope versus the telescope, which was the most favorable and demanded one. Due to the desire of ruling the battlegrounds. Humans.Ever striving for expansion. It was not uncommon that explorers had to face antipathy or worse. Galilei was sent to prison for defending the heliocentric worldview. Some things never change.

Curiosity. The cognitive microscope.

It is good that the implementation of our research is entirely up to us. A open frame. I was thinking about sculptures made out of soapstone. A cubistic painting of a microscope. Photo series. I am getting restless.

https://bit.ly/32FGFvk : History of glasses https://bit.ly/36qTL0o : History of the microscope

[03] 04.11.20 19:23

I've went to the labratory today. The hallways seem abandoned and dreary. Like the opening scene of some horror movie. It echoes through the corridors and stairwells. Somehow beautiful. Corona. It turns us to strangers and increases the desire to approach the person opposite. To converge. Like penguins. There are notes on the walls and the cabinets. Figures and measurements. Pictures of tinkering scientists in white gowns come to my mind. The first look through the microscope evokes the expected sounds. With the right music as a soundtrack one can spend hours and hours in this landscapes. I was looking at a dried, mouldy specimen of a "physarum polycepharums". The Blob itself. If Julian hasn't told me, i would've been sure it had to be that way, and that it were a special species. My favorite one, a "lichen" ( a mixture of algae and mushrooms) was under the compounds. Glued to a piece of wood. Just beautiful. Julian gave me some tips how to wear and preperate my mask to prevent the ocular from misting. Then i left and went to get my key. I wonder how i will look at the world after i spent some qualitiy time in the lab. Head over heels floating in the microcosm.

[04] 05.11.20 20:13

I have troubles finding an idea. Something to work on. I am looking for coherences and points of contact. Something that addresses and encourages me. Philosophy and biology. Roaming the world wide web i stumbled upon Josef M. Gaßner. So much joy and passion for the unknown is contagious. His knowledge inspiring. I guess it need some more research.

Urknall, Weltall und das Leben: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClDnGiwSyTyu7gxO8X5U18g

[05] 06.11.20 15:56

It took some willpower to go outside, the camera in the luggage. As if the defeat was lurking in the grove. Hesitant in the beginning, close to be embarrassed i've started to take the first pictures. Step by step, thought after thought the lights in the upper roam got ignited. I've been hooked. Motion in space, in time. Without moving. The body almost rigid. Like going by train. Dormant change.

[06] 09.11.20

Its hard not to lose faith, if the first thoughts put in practice are not turning out like you've imagined. When they dismantle the whole picture bit by bit. On the other hand. Its good to realize that one can adapt quickly. Yet i have some solutions or at least basic approaches how to solve things. I am glad about what is functioning and the developments i am stumbling upon. Who should start with the details?. Microscopy. A slowly unfolding map.

[07] 10.11.20

The first series is finished. A few more photomontage and i will change to the drawings. Working in front a screen gives me headaches. And somehow one can get the feeling he has done nothing at all. The series is called "The Bigger Picture". Some kind of an cubistic artefact. A graphic error in the landscape. The attempt to show the concurrency of an object from different views and at different times. Whereby time has a minor part. David Hockney says hello. More or less.

Cubism David Hockney : https://dangerousminds.net/comments/david_hockneys_cubist_photography