Response to “Grace Taking Form: Marey’s Movement Machines”

After a series of classes and research I’ve done, I’ve come to learn about ethnographers, ethnography essays and why they exist. In a strange way of describing them, one could say that the writers – ethnographers – are obsessed with their research. Why else would someone willingly study something – that to normal people would be considered immensely boring – for months on end? This has to be at least a mild case of obsession, maybe even addiction.

In Marey’s case, he was obsessed with movement. Not just physical movement – although technicallyspeaking, all movement is physical. But Marey was obsessed with movement that could not be seen. Movement in air, like that of which in gases and movement in liquid like currents and blood flow. Marey even developed machines to test his hypotheses, what more he even developed machines to react to the outcomes of his hypotheses. Marey was a man obsessed.

In my opinion, the drive Marey had towards his studies is admirable. He completed one study, which in turn would just propel him forward onto another study and so on. This definitely shows what kind of man Marey was and the amount of time and interest he placed in his subjects and his work.

Marey

“‘Science has two obstacles that block its advance, first the defective capacity of our

senses for discovering truths, and then the insufficiency of language for expressing

and transmitting those we have acquire.”

Truly, this statement is one any researcher could agree with. And surely anyone that has strived to prove something, or communicate an idea or thought has had trouble doing so. I believe that this quote can be related not only to scientific endeavors, but the endeavors of every person in any situation.

Throughout his work, Marey stressed that the senses were not capable of identifying his work, as they could only access environments whereas his work was “quasi-virtual transition states of movement.” What this means, I have no idea. But I feel as though this is relatable to everyday life in the sense that one can’t always trust their own senses.

Brad Parkkonen. 9/14/2011