Laura Grisi's Early Videos Measure the Immeasurable

Laura Grisi (Rodi, 1939 – Roma, 2017) created two seminal early videos, The Measuring of Time (1969) and Wind Speed 40 Knots (1968), which explore the measurement of infinite and invisible natural forces. In The Measuring of Time, Grisi performs a ritual of counting grains of sand in a desert, using her hands as a measuring tool and the sand grain as a unit, while the camera spirals around her. The black-and-white video contemplates the infinite through a concrete, rational gesture. Wind Speed 40 Knots, shot in 16mm, uses an anemometer to measure wind speed and pressure, and includes footage from various locations: the Sahara Desert, Florence, tropical zones, and the Pacific. The work is structured as a notebook of brief sequences, each titled with location and wind type. Grisi described it as a study of natural and mechanically produced air movements. Both works reflect her interest in the immaterial and the ineffable, avoiding romantic or sublime aesthetics. A major retrospective of her work was held at Muzeum Susch in Surpunt, Switzerland, from July to December 2021.