Artist Lives By Martian Time At Open Source Gallery

A new show at Open Source Gallery, 306 17th Street, called “How The Stars Stand,” explores our experience of time particularly in a world where our horizons have expanded beyond Earth and into space.

The show, which derives its name from a Ray Bradbury quote, features artist Sara Morawetz, who intends to abandon Earth time and to instead live by time as experienced on Mars. A Martian day is 24h 39m 35.24s, approximately 2.7% longer than a standard day on Earth.

Morawetz will live according to Mars time for a full (although approximated) cycle – that would see her ‘day’ gradually separate from Earth-bound standards, invert, and then slowly return to synchronicity. This cycle should take approximately 37 days to complete. The performance is being conducted in consultation with Dr. Michael Allison of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies.

Morawetz  is a Ph.D. Candidate at Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney and was a visiting scholar at Parsons School of Fine Art, The New School, NY in 2014. To learn more about Sara Morawetz’s work, visit the project website, How The Stars Stand.

There will be a closing reception for the show on August 22 — when the full “cycle” is complete — from 7-9pm at the Gallery.