Etienne-Jules Marey: A Passion for the Trace PDF
Preview Etienne-Jules Marey: A Passion for the Trace
Etienne-Jules Marey A Passion for the Trace Google Original from Digitized by UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Zone Books • New York • 1992 Trensl ated by Robert Gelete with Jeeni ne Herman Google Original from Digitized by UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Etienne-Jules Marey A Passion for the Trace Fran1yois Dagognet --:::- Google Original from Digitized by UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN oat 1K 8''-11 Roben G•le11 would like very much to th•nk M•nin Joughin and Raymond Rushforth and especially Anne-Marie Cervera, ~1J1 Jane Sh•w •nd the students of the Veterinary School of Lyon. , D331 Cl 1992 Un.one, Inc. 611 Broadway, Suite 608 {1qL New York, NY 10012 All rights reserved. No pirt of this book m1iy be. reproduced, stored in a retriev.1.I system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, lnclud• ing elecnonic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording. or otherwise (except for th.J.t copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press) without wriucn permission from the Publisher. Originally published in Frincc u EtienM-jules .4forc:r: Lo Ponion de la tract, 0 1987 by Editions Maun. Printed in the United States of America. Distributed by The MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and London, England Libr.uy of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Dagognct, Francois. Eticnnc•Julcs Marcy : a passion for the trace/ Fran~ois Oagognct. p. cm. lndudcs bibliographical rc:fcrcncr-s and index. ISH~' 0"'942299-""64•7 - 1S8!'1: 0•9·2299•65•5 (pipt-r) 1. Marcy. Edcnnc-Julcs, 1830-1904. 2. Chronophotography. I. Title:. TR84q.MJ7DJI 1992 770'.92- U(lO Google Original from Digitized by UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN - -- -- - -· ,,.q,qL :;;' s //,??? /",><;'I Contents J.;;~93 Fore,vord 7 Preface 11 Early Principles 15 The Second Adventure 65 Repercussions and the Culture Industry 131 Conclusion 175 Notes 187 Bibi iography 199 Index 201 Google Original from Digitized by UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Google Original from Digitized by UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Foreword This book aims to present the main features of the work of Etienne-Jules Marey and to elucidate his methodology as well as his philosophy as a scientist. A few words are needed, however, by way of a prologue, about Marey himself, as his life is something of an enigma. Only particularly striking or odd aspects of Marey's life will be mentioned here, along with anything that provides a better approach to the scientific work itself. Marey was born in Beaune (Cote d'Or) on March ~. 1830, and from the outset was an intriguing man. At birth he was registered with only the first name Etienne, and was bap tized on May as Jules-Etienne. His parents and friends called him "Jules," as would the 2 plaque on the street named after him in Beaune: "Rue Jules-Marey, Physiologist, 1830-1904." J. When Marey later went to live in Paris, he al ways used the signature "E. Marey" or, on rare occasions, "Etienne." Marey the scientist seems to separate himself from the Marey whose origins were in Burgundy. The young Jules Marey, only child of the bookkeeper Claude Marey (today he would be called a "manager" or "sales manager") of Bouchard wines ofBeaune, received a careful, religious education. It was his mother's fervent wish that he become a priest. He himself wanted to be an engineer; this desire can be seen in the "Mr. Punch robot" he made as a child with his lifelong friend Julien Bouchard (the son of his father's employers). His father's advice was to triumph in the end: he dreamed of the Beaune hospital for his son and thus pointed him in the direction of medicine. Google Original from Digitized by UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN A PASSION F"OA TME TAACE The son ,vho had ahvays shown true and loyal affection for his parents, as their letters reveal, was a rapid and dazzling success. First in his class of student residents at the Paris Hospital (in 1854), his medical thesis later won immediate notice in the highest circles: at 39 he succeeded Pierre Flourens at the College de France. His ordination was complete but it is striking that he nonetheless returned, by way of biology, to his first inclinations: engineering, invention and mechanism. Out of the field of medicine that was advocated for him, he was to become the physicist that he ,vanted to be. In 1870 he bought a villa near Naples. Recluse that he was, Marey stayed there for part of the winter, spending the rest of the year in Paris or Beaune; more precisely, from 1874, in the Domaine de la Folie, near Chagny. This Italian exile cannot be ignored; it was to mark his work as his work would mark its period. In Paris, where (after 1870) he would reside from spring until autumn, Marey often changed residence: rue Cuvier, then rue de l'A ncienne Comedie and, finally, 11 boulevard Delessert. In his various apartments, filled with homemade machines and appliances, includ ing a merry-go-round, visitors were struck by the "science bazaar" in which the scientist lived. He spoke of himself as a "physiologist working at home," "curio-hunter" and "medi cal engineer." Jean-Baptiste Chauveau wrote, "Who, in the world of physiology of the time, French or foreign, did not know of this curious and picturesque equipment?" In fact, boulevard Delessert was ,vhere he was finally able to put an end to this cumbersome life because he found himself close to the Physiological Station in the Pare des Princes where he could devote himself unhindered to his experiments. His situation was not unusual. Scientists in the nineteenth century often had to set up their own school, equip their laboratory and work independently of any institution, even if they became part of one at a later date. Marey did not escape this rule of"comparatively amateurish beginnings." Google Original from Digitized by UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN F"OAEwOAO Was his life dedicated solely to disinterested scientific research? Was it his only passion? His biographer has been neither able nor willing to say; his existence remains impenetra ble: "There is a totally unknown life of Marey, the thread of which I have been able to guess through certain confidences I have caught. This private life which Marey adamantly concealed shall not be entered into. ... Marey had to deal with many problems, jealousies and accusations," writes Henri Savonnet. I shall leave the subject there, except to note that •s, in his will (he died on May 1904) Marey requested cremation and a civil funeral. Moreover, it is not necessary to know about his life to understand his ,vork. I have nonetheless tried to underline the constant dual track that it follo,ved: two distinct first names indicating him; two homes between which he divided his time, Italy in winter and France (Paris and Beaune) in summer; and two workplaces - an interior scientific or bio logical space that quickly overflo,ved the laboratory walls to incorporate the flight of birds in the air, the racing of horses on the track and, above all, the lapping of ,vaves on the beach. His apartment was certainly transformed into a laboratory, but he worked just as much outside in nature itself, where he was intent on recording the s,viftest of movements. If his ,vork is likewise steeped in the same regular and thorough ambivalence or duality, it also leads from one surprise to the next: logical, yet metamorphosing as it ,vent along, its development would remain distinctly unforeseeable. Google Original from Digitized by UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
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