NAME A STAR

3 May 2006

Got an email from the artist Paul McDevitt yesterday. He is asking some artists and some scientists to name some stars for a luminous star chart he is making. The star chart is to be part of a larger project called Strategic Questions curated by Gavin Wade (www.strategicquestions.org). Naming stars has never been an ambition of mine and I didn’t really know what the project was about but it seemed easier to say yes than to say no. Hey! Why not? It’s not every day you get asked to name some stars. Last night I found myself lying in bed awake, 2.45 according to my mobile. The curtain was open and from where I was lying I could stare up at the sky. Maybe by staring up into the heavens I would get some star naming inspiration. All that was visible was the orange glow from the street lights reflected on the clouded sky. No millions of twinkling stars to fill me with awe at the wonder of creation. Then an idea hit. An idea for a SCORE. This was it:

When in a pub
And the night sky is starry
Get 17 drinkers out
Ask them to stare at the stars
Ask them to hum in unison
While humming
Ask them each to focus on
A faint, distant star
And give it a name
Once their star is named
They can stop humming
Once all the humming has stopped
Return to the pub
And continue drinking.

Now this didn’t stop the problem of how I was going to approach the naming of the stars for Paul McDevitt but I was able to get back to sleep.

When I awoke this morning and read through the above SCORE another idea presented itself. Each of these lines in the SCORE could be a name for a star. I hope Paul McDevitt goes for it.