Space invaders

Artist David Horton introduces us to Dr. Tinker

by Leon Nigrosh

THE NOTEBOOKS AND INVENTIONS OF DR. THELONIUS TINKER, COSMIC ARCHAEOLOGIST. At the Hammond Art Gallery, Fitchburg State College, 160 Pearl Street, Fitchburg, through December 10.

Dr. Thelonius Tinker lived and worked in Orange County, New York, studying and practicing anthropology,archaeology, and oral tradition, and he was one of the leading proponents of Cosmic Archaeology. To further his cause, he invented a number of mechanical devices that could enhance an individual's creativity. After Tinker "passed over" in 1990, it was left to visual artist/teacher David Horton to sort through his notebooks and drawings in an attempt to organize the doctor's writings and to replicate several of his machines. A selection of these hand-written reports and their accompanying original drawings and photographs, along with five interactive reconstructions, are currently on display in the Hammond Art Gallery at Fitchburg State College.

In his unceasing quest to discover methods to harness subtle cosmic energies and to improve his own abilities, Tinker attempted to re-create Ben Franklin's famous kite experiment, but with a different intent. He wanted to see if a close connection to the electromagnetic field in a lightning storm would enhance creativity. As Horton's re-creation of the equipment shows, Tinker sat in a non-conductive chair of rough wood and woven rope; attached to the chair was a wet-cell storage battery and a long string to a kite that had a metal coil on the end. Wearing a "creative vibration meter" of his own design, Tinker monitored his brain activity to see if there would be a jump in his faculties at the moment of a strike. (Fortunately, a lightning bolt shattered a nearby rock instead, and Tinker decided to pursue safer avenues.)

Still working with his theories about instantaneous-creativity enhancement, Tinker developed his Psychic Pop Machine, a large, silvery contraption with dials and randomly flashing lights. At the appropriate moment, the percussive sound of a 12-gauge shotgun blast would provide immediate psychic insight. (In this exhibit, for safety reasons, this activity is simulated by a bright flash of light.)

Tirelessly, Tinker attempted to stretch out his moments of insight. One reasonably successful machine, invented in 1957, appears to be little more than an old, stuffed green armchair placed in front of a 1950s-type salon hairdryer. But when activated (and visitors are invited to do so), this Creation Vibration Booster emanates ethereal sounds and electromagnetic vibrations that amplify the sitter's ability to become more creative. In fact, Tinker had calculated that the duration of enhancement is directly proportional to the square root of time spent under the hood -- namely, one minute under the booster equals eight seconds of enhancement.

The most satisfying and compelling invention on display is the Cosmic Dream Enhancer, which is little more than a bed with a canvas, pyramid canopy. Visitors are invited to lie down, put on the attached earphones, and look up into the canopy. Soothing music and sounds add to the feeling of relaxation as you gaze at changing overhead images of stars, trees, and fractals. Through the use of this machine, Tinker was attempting to find the relationship between sleeping dreams and waking life.

The last and probably the most cosmically important portion of the current exhibition is a meandering display of Tinker's original notes regarding a race of aliens that populated earth long before humans did. Dubbed the Pyramidians, because that was their apparent physical shape, these creatures were obviously advanced in their thinking and capabilities. It is, in fact, Tinker and Horton's 1979 accidental discovery of an abandoned Star Factory in Amity, New York, that led the doctor to decipher plans for a cosmic flying machine, thus giving him the opportunity to make several visits to the world of the original star makers. Notes, drawings, and sketches give us the hint of what wonders Tinker must have observed.

Through this exhibition, Horton and his alter ego, Dr. Tinker, offer a rare, pleasant, and wryly humorous glimpse into the relationships between the worlds of science and art -- and the imagination and creativity required to make discoveries in both.

The gallery is open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday from noon to 6 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 9 p.m. Call (978) 665-3163.