Jay Tyrrell: Wind Army
Harvey Milk Terminal 1
We know that in the early years of the twentieth century this world was being watched closely by intelligences greater than man’s and yet as mortal as his own.
—H. G. Wells (1866–1946)
War of the Worlds
Jay Tyrrell: Wind Army
H. G. Wells's novel The War of the Worlds was published in 1898. Other well-known works by Wells, such as The Invisible Man, The Island of Doctor Moreau, and The Time Machine, followed this sensational work of science fiction. Many believe that this novel was the birth of the literary genre. For over one hundred years, The War of the Worlds has had an impact on radio, print, movies, and television.
Intended as a Halloween prank in 1938, the infamous radio adaptation, based on Wells's novel, written and created by Orson Welles, caused a panic during television network CBS's "Mercury Theater on the Air" broadcast. Incorrectly assuming the interruptions to the regularly scheduled musical broadcast were actual alien landings, listeners flooded phone lines and the streets, wearing towels as gas masks to protect against poisonous vapors.
During his childhood, Jay Tyrrell read many science-fiction stories. He remembers Christopher Robin and superheroes of all disguises and abilities, but it was the utopian worlds with light from two suns and aliens found in science fiction that captured his imagination.
It is not surprising that the first wind farm Tyrrell saw did not conjure thoughts of an ideal alternative energy source but that the alien tripods from The War of the Worlds had landed and were marching across the landscape. As Tyrell photographed the wind farms, he saw, in his mind's eye, alien-shaped structures rotating in the light, capturing his imagination. Later, he began an exploration and retelling of this classic story through the medium of photography.
Tyrrell admires and reveres H. G. Wells and Orson Welles—two icons that inspired him and influenced literature with their daring creativity and innovation. Wind Army, a fantasy and homage to H. G. Wells's novel and Orson Welles's radio broadcast The War of the Worlds, is a photographic essay composed of landscapes and abstract forms that rekindle memories of childhood.
[top inset image]
Sergeants 2005
Jay Tyrrell (b. 1944)
inkjet print
Courtesy of the artist
[bottom inset image]
Veterans 2005
Jay Tyrrell (b. 1944)
inkjet print
Courtesy of the artist
Photography is not permitted.
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