Voltaic Pile / Transistor / Silicon Chip (Three Memorable Moments in The History of Electronics)
Glazed ceramic tile. 39" X 39" 1988. Three computer screens in tile. The central tiles depict the early electron tube-based ENIAC computer (photographs used by permission of the Smithsonian Institution). Further details: This work was exhibited in the computer art show at the International Association for Computing Machinery SIGGRAPH convention in Boston,1989. This tilework honors some of the major landmarks in humanity's relationship with the phenomenon of electricity. The first "computer screen" image at the top left depicts the first documented experimental effort towards the production of electricity (by Allesandro Volta in the sixteenth century). The caption is very hard to read in this photo, but it simply states Volta's name for his device, "The Voltaic Pile."

The second monitor view in tile represents the invention of the transistor at Bell Labs in 1947 (shown is the first tiny device, which consisted of polystyrene, gold foil, and a Germanium crystal.) The caption in this second (middle) screen reads "The First Transistor, 1947." This work was done by three talented Bell scientists who later won the Nobel prize for their work: John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Schockley.

The image in the third computer screen view at the top right is captioned "Silicon In Plastic-1958" and refers to the invention of the silicon- based micro-chip at Texas Instruments in 1958 by Jack Kilby, et al. This screen view shows a cross-section view of a single integrated circuit.

The following images can also be seen in this tilework: two areas of simple geometric computer graphics designed by the artist on an Apple Macintosh SE computer, mirror-image photographs in tile of ENIAC (the first all-electronic computer), vacuum tubes from the ENIAC computer, and, at the bottom right, the cover of the very first book devoted to electricity, which was written by Robert Boyle in 1675. All photos are used by permission granted from the Smithsonian Institution.

This entire work weighs about 130 pounds, has a heavy-duty custom-built wooden shipping crate/storage case, and it is easy to display, since it is equipped with aluminium panel clip bars for secure wall mounting.