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Honey Pump at the Workplace - Jenn Joy asking for dimensions
Edited by Thorsten Scheerer. Published by Athena on http://athena.formstreng.net in February 2002. Athena e-text registration: ath-ep021/joy
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© 2002 by Jenn Joy and Thorsten Scheerer. All rights reserved.
Jenn Joy asking for dimensions
? about Honey Pump at the Workplace
To: "athena@formstreng.net" <athena@formstreng.net>
Subject: ? about Honey Pump at the Workplace
Date: Tue, 19 Feb 2002 14:17:32 -0500
What a fabulous find! [...] I am doing research on a project for The Museum of Modern Art, and was wondering if you could tell me the dimensions for Joseph Beuy's installation, Honey Pump at the Workplace, 1977.
Regards,
jenn joy
From: "Thorsten Scheerer" <thorsten.scheerer@formstreng.net>
To: "Joy, Jenn" <Jenn_Joy@moma.org>
Subject: Re: ? about Honey Pump at the Workplace
Date: Tue, 19 Feb 2002 22:18:05 +0100
Jenn,
this questions is not that easy, because the Honey Pump at the Workplace is not only a work of art built with a variety of materials and performing a particular functionality. Moreover there is this social thing Joseph Beuys always promoted.
But let's have a look at the measurable facts:
In the basement, shaped like a half circle, stood an electric pump. It pumped three hundred-weights of honey from a basin into pipes of 17 meters height and 2,5 centimeters diameter up to the light dome. There the pipes made a U-turn and ended after 6 meters. This kind of bottleneck stopped the honey's circulation.
In order to find its way back, the honey had to crawl slowly through a plastic hose (size unknown) that ended at the starting point of the circulation process.
However, before the honey could get back into the process, it had to crawl the hose upwards once again, and had to flow through a hole in the whole, behind which Beuys' Free International University invited people to discuss about art and social life. The honey had to cross the ceiling and on the opposite wall it was rolled up. From there, the honey returned to the starting point and was re-injected into the circulation process.
In parallel to the pump were two electric motors installed. They were connected with each other. This connection was provided by a large piece of copper, 2,60 meters long and 12 centimeters diameter.
This piece of copper rotated in a hillock of 100 kilogramms of margarine (brand: ROMI). The margarine was supplied in 1/2 kilogramms portions. From time to time the margarine got so hot that it became liquid/fluid.
Three empty bronze jugs stood in another corner of this machinery room.
Thorsten
From: "Joy, Jenn" <Jenn_Joy@moma.org>
To: "Thorsten Scheerer" <thorsten.scheerer@formstreng.net>
Subject: RE: ? about Honey Pump at the Workplace
Date: Tue, 19 Feb 2002 16:40:41 -0500
Thorsten
Thank you for your extensive reply.
Regards
jenn