This is the third and final program in the On Time: Giving Form to the Fleeting exhibition lecture series. 

Antiquarian Horologist Brittany Nicole Cox traces the origins of her craft across time and objects, tools and stories.

This talk delves into a chronology of subjects that have profoundly influenced the objects the artist has created and worked on throughout her career. The context in which these objects were made fostered a unique archetypal knowledge that has shaped various crafts. For instance, the ornamental turning of kings led to the development of engine turning or guilloche, a style primarily employed by craftsmen on a diverse range of objects, including horological ones. Similarly, the invention of automata by the Greeks for entertainment and pleasure eventually found their way into scenes of wonder or spectacle. This evolution led to the emergence of technologies that paved the way for the first programmable computers and later contributed to the development of mechanical detonators in bombs and timers for space exploration. This rich history is intertwined with profound philosophical insights into humankind's vulnerabilities and nature. As a historian, Cox aims to illuminate this knowledge, as a conservator, she strives to protect the objects born from it, and as an artist, she aspires to resurrect and share this heritage.

HYBRID PROGRAM 

This lecture will be presented in the theater in the Ellen MacNeille Charles Visitor Center and will be livestreamed via Zoom. Visitors can submit questions for the speaker from any location. 

IN-PERSON TIMELINE

5:30–6:30 p.m. | Explore Hillwood

• Enjoy Hillwood’s mansion, gardens,  greenhouse, and exhibition, On Time: Giving Form to the Fleeting, on view in the dacha
• Find the perfect memento from your visit at the museum shop.

6:30–7:30 p.m. | Lecture 

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Brittany Nicole Cox is an artist, scholar, guillocheuse, and antiquarian horologist. Her lifelong passion for horology has seen her through nine years in higher education where she earned her WOSTEP, CW21, and SAWTA watchmaking certifications, two clockmaking certifications, and a Masters in the Conservation of Clocks and Related Dynamic Objects from West Dean College, UK. Her work has been shown at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York and was featured in National Geographic and two feature-length documentaries.  She has written for Vanity Fair and is the Curator for the Horological Society of New York. She opened her studio Memoria Technica in 2015 where she teaches, makes original work, and specializes in the conservation and restoration of fine singing bird automata and other mechanical objects. Her practice looks at the relationships between nature, memory, time, and the sublime, with a focus on handcraft.

All images are courtesy of Brittany Nicole Cox.