ISSUE 01 Length explores the awkward teens of the measuring units we use today, and the fine tuning done over thousands of years, “perfected" (depending on how you define perfect) into the measuring standards of today, and how we misuse them.
Consider that we’ve had the word thermometre a century and a half earlier than the invention of the metre. Even if this inaugural issue is all about length, meter ( metron in Greek – μέτρον) first meant “to measure”, and only after became a dimension.
Shock yourself at the incredibly recent imprecision of things we consider to be done at the highest calibre since forever, such as flight and marathon record setting. And look up at the moon and know that you are at one thumb, or two clicks away to finding out how far it is from you.
What is in ISSUE 01 Length?
Together with a very observant group of contributors, we were able to bring together essays, photo-features and illustrations. Just to give a snippet:
- Maggie Oran shares her curiosity for how measuring lengths is surprisingly imprecise in aviation
- Ioana Goția-Ciurea takes us on a trip down memory lane, into the childhood memories of measuring and being measured
- An interview with Belgian artist Willem de Haan measures out many of his projects related to the ruler and his take on truth and fiction in relation to the built (and measured) world we live in.
- Boey Wang showcases “Immeasurable Range”, a series of objects for flexible measurement which are inspired by human errors and the emotional aspect of measuring.
- Joanne van der Wal explores how we went from measurers (using our palms and bodies) to being the object of our measure, putting smart watches on set palms.
- And so! much! more! The magazine pulls its weight at 96 pages of stories, awaiting the careful gaze of measurement nerds.
