05 MATHILDE: LOW ALBEDO
2013
Museum of Contemporary Art,
Los Angeles, California
Project team:
Jason Payne
Mathilde: Low Albedo
There is no dark side of the moon really. Matter of
fact it’s all dark.
-Pink Floyd 1973
Asteroids are profoundly closed objects, their observation possible only from
without and from afar. In this way their relation to us is one of constant recession,
a turning away, a deep ambivalence to our ever knowing them. But what
if one were to let us in, to let us see it from the inside? This project imagines
asteroid 253 Mathilde turned outside-in, making space of the object. An impulse
to construct a very strange and dark form, Mathilde: Low Albedo initiates a
new foray into the old problem of the subject-object relationship. In the context
of MOCA’s Contemporary Architecture From Southern California exhibition this seems
wholly reasonable; after all, the impulse to create unorthodox form surely must
be the deepest link that ties the otherwise heterogeneous cohort that is this
show’s cast of characters.
Asteroid 253 Mathilde1: Some Strange Object
Of all the curious objects moving through our solar system, the asteroid 253
Mathilde really is strange. Estranged, too, as will become clear in due course.
First, though, its description in five points, each bearing some relevance to
architectural form:
1. Mathilde is black. Specifically, its albedo2 measures as low as virtually any
known object or material, reflecting only three percent of the Sun’s light. Twice
as dark as charcoal, Mathilde’s elevational aspect is nearly that of space itself,
making it extraordinarily difficult to see and photograph. Ambivalent, it would
seem, to the traditional and dichotomous relationships of object to field, mass
to volume, body to context. As it slowly rotates it presents a continually changing
figure as its outer profile appears to slip away into the dark of space, making
edges difficult to discern. A study in black, Mathilde presents real problems
of representation for astrophysicists and architects alike since each is more accustomed
to objects with more pronounced optics. The definition of an object
indifferent to legibility suggests that standard, disciplinary means of representation
be questioned and may very well require the development of new methods
of visualization.3 For our purposes it is a good thing Pantone provides seven
shades of black because we’ll likely be needing them!
2. Mathilde is monolithic. Most objects of study in the world are material composites
and this is true of astrophysical bodies as well. Planets, stars, comets, and
even most other asteroids are made up of differentiated material organizations,
but Mathilde is thought to be only carbon through and through. Evidence of
this comes from the fact that Mathilde is not only black, but uniformly black even
across the slopes of large craters. The mixing and melting so common to our
perception of geophysical objects has not occurred here despite this asteroid’s
very old age.4 Thus it is thought that Mathilde represents a “pristine sample
of the primitive building blocks of the larger planets.”5 A primitive hut, so to
speak, in terms of our own discipline, suggestive of formal and topological
complexity without material complication.
3. Mathilde is compositionally and structurally loose. This discovery of low
density, subsequent to the one described above, came as a surprise to the NEAR
scientists since a solid carbon asteroid of this size should have over twice the
measured density. This qualifies Mathilde inclusion in a special class of asteroid
known as a “rubble pile,” which is how it sounds: a very loosely packed bunch
of smaller objects held tenuously together through gravity as well as a certain
measure of luck, since the slightest bump could disperse the entire organization.
Current measurements give Mathilde a fifty-fifty ratio of solid to void, meaning
that despite outward appearances it is as open as it is closed, that there is indeed
space within an asteroid! Here again we see an object rather ambivalent to
conventional readings, hiding a voluminous interior beneath the thinnest cloak
of dust and debris, feature and figure. Like an Egyptian pyramid, perhaps, or a
Dogon mosque.
4. Mathilde’s rate of rotation about its axis is exceedingly slow. So slow as to
(once again) defy convention.6 Typical asteroids are energetic little worlds with
rotations to match their diminutive size. Like small creatures, they tend to move
quickly in all respects. Not Mathilde. Actual motion, however, is not of interest
here. Rather, counterintuitive though it may seem this slowness of rotation
creates the illusion of high rate of figural change due to this object’s irregular
surface. Were it to rotate quickly, the slipping profile created by deep blacks and
reflected sunlight described above would be lost to the averaging-effect of fast
spin. In other words, the irregular object would appear more regular and more
spherical in the same way that an apple, spun fast, looks more like a ball. Translated
to architectural application in a world where architecture does not (yet)
move, the responsibility for motion shifts from the object to the viewer. A slowly
rotating architecture would likely be one without fixed references - cartesian
planes and edges - which is to say, it would be more or less round. Without fixed
reference the subject searches, by physically moving, for locational cues. In this
case the irregular, round object tends to keep moving as visual features shift and
slip away, continually.
5. Mathilde is geometrically ambivalent. This is to say, it is neither spherical nor is
it not spherical. The most famous bodies in the solar system are spherical, while
many lesser objects are highly irregular. Mathilde is neither. From afar it looks
generally round but upon close reading is found to have a surface so tortured
by impact craters as to push it toward irregularity. Moreover, the size and
number of craters for an asteroid of this size and composition shocked NEAR
observers: “[a]t first glance there are more huge craters than there is asteroid”
said one.7 Again a reference to Mathilde’s ambivalence toward solid and void,
inside and outside. For our purposes all of this implies an anexact geometry of
sorts, neither exact nor inexact, capable of defining a thing that hovers between
Platonic ideal and more prosaic organizations of real matter, something nearly
spherical but not really. This, after all, is the essence of ambivalence - the desire
to have it both ways at once.
The Project: Like A Black Igloo
Principles, then, are as follows: a study in black, a return to monolithicity, tight
face/loose fit, rotational form, ambivalent geometrical affect. This project
begins with an attempt to capture the reluctant Mathilde through a reduction
of the formal complexity of the original object just shy of losing its compelling
strangeness. This is done digitally, taking a model fit tightly to measurements
taken from the NEAR mission and reducing the number of points, lines,
and planes. Stopping short of the moment where fundamental distinguishing
features of Mathilda are lost, we then rationalize the object for material fabrication.
Working backward from principals five to one: the shape of the installation
is roughly spherical but not exactly, with more refined features milled into
its inner and outer surfaces. Part of the sphere is removed such that it rests on
the floor and is stable, like a crumpled, black igloo. Unlike a regular igloo, all
aspects of this object cannot be derived from a single station point, requiring
the viewer to move about the perimeter even prior to going inside. The surfaces,
inside and out, are precisely figured and tight, while the structural logic itself
is rather loose: blocks laid one beside the other rotating slowly upward (again,
loosely in the manner of igloo construction, see Figures 1 and 2) similar to
traditional dome composition despite irregular appearances. The ratio of mass
to internal volume is near to fifty-fifty such that the impression is one of neither
object nor space exclusively but both, ambivalently. Monolithicity is achieved
through the use of a single material, high density, milled foam in the form of
stacked blocks. It should be clear that the outer surface of the foam is no different
from the mass within; if there is any notion of “skin” at all it is one of
pure geometry. And of course the entire form is black, through and through.
Unlike form in any other color, this one resists even the most ardent attempt at
objectification by the subject...or at least shrugs it off. In this way, Mathilde’s
estrangement from our intrusive impulse for colonization through measurement
remains intact.
Physical Description
Vaguely hemispherical in plan and elevation, the object measures roughly
fifteen feet across its longest diameter and is approximately twelve feet tall.
The interior void, created by an offset surface at higher geometrical resolution
than that of the outside, measures approximately twelve feet across its longest
diameter and rises to eleven feet at its highest point. Entry is possible through
an irregularly shaped aperture currently set at five feet high by six feet wide.If
necessary these dimensions may be adjusted to MOCA’s satisfaction pending
project approval.
In keeping with the monolicity principle, a single material of construction is
used throughout: high density, coated foam block. As described above, the
object is built in the manner of an igloo using cnc wire-cut blocks stacked in an
ascending spiral. This material is very strong yet lightweight, making assembly
in the gallery quite simple. All fabrication occurs offsite and final installation
occurs quickly over a day or two. This material coating achieves necessary fire
resistance and is one or more shades of Pantone Black.
The preliminary budget estimate below assumes the simplest version of this
project in which inside and outside surfaces are identical as described above.
For us, this is the purest expression of the conceptual principles articulated
above. However, pending project approval we will explore two other options
for interior treatment. The first involves covering the inner surface with black
acoustical foam panels commonly found in sound studios. This amplifies the
acoustical dimension of the project, already latent in the object itself, producing
a profoundly silent interior with almost no sound reflection. This would
likely be relatively inexpensive. The second potential elaboration of the project
moves it toward a decidedly more optical direction, lining either the interior
surface or floor with mirror. A mirrored interior would contrast sharply with the
deep black exterior and would expand and complexify the reading of the inner
volume dramatically.