'Souvenir Maker’

The contemporary Indian artist L.N.Tallur, who is currently based in Korea, discusses his monumental work, ‘Souvenir Maker: Designed in America, Conceptualised in India, Made in China, Sponsored by Korea, Yes we are Conditioned to think under flags…’ that was exhibited for the first time in 2005 at Arario Gallery, Beijing.

If I get a chance of change the purposes of all the ‘war machines,’ and turn them in to sculptures, I will be the happiest man. This work is one starting point for these thoughts. I don't need any patent for this, if this happens.

The Barbed wire machine has a history of some 30 years of legal fighting for the patent. Since I have practically changed the purpose of the machine now, I too have joined the fray by applying for the patent. I am yet to get the answer from patent authorities. May be, I may have to fight against ignoring my application too.

When you enter this space of this installation, you can hear a looped sound track, that plays the national anthems of around forty countries. Viewer can march on the ramp, towards the machine and can operate it by turning the switch on. It gets noisily engaged in producing Souvenirs (barbed wire). The national anthem merges with the noise.

Other side of the ramp has a table, on which, pieces of gold-plated wire rest in glass bottles, arranged in neat rows, like a souvenir show room.

The fist version of this Machine was made in 2005, at Arario Gallery, Beijing, China. As a Museologist, I tried to show the process of wire making visually – it is like a doctor opening the body to explain to the students. The gallery was an old liquor factory. So, the atmosphere was perfect. Still, converting the gallery space in to an aged factory was quite tough. On the opening day, Souvenirs were given away to the viewers. Interestingly, since it was free, viewers started claiming the bottle. So I started charging for these souvenirs, when I showed it the second time. Second version was in 2009, at Chemould Gallery, Mumbai on the 3^rd floor in an old building, and then Devi Art Foundation in New Delhi showed it too.

The Barbed wire Patent Dispute:

Prior to 1863, several individuals created fencing designs that could be considered as barbed wire. None of these creations ever reached the mass market. In 1863, Michael Kelly developed a type of fence with points affixed to twisted strands of wire.
Had his invention been properly promoted, he could have gained distinction as the Father of Barbed Wire. It wasn’t until ten years later that another inventor filed a patent that would spark the development of the barbed wire industry.

At the county fair in DeKalb, Illinois in 1873, Henry M. Rose had on exhibit a new idea in fencing. It was a wooden rail with a series of sharp spikes protruding from the sides of the rail. The fence rail, patented earlier that year on May 13, was designed to be attached to an existing fence to ‘prick’ an animal when it came into contact with the rail and keep livestock from breaking through.

This fence attracted the attention of each of the three men, Joseph Glidden, Jacob Haish, and Isaac Ellwood. Each man had the idea to improve upon Rose’s fence by attaching the spikes (barbs) directly to a piece of wire. Each went their separate ways to work on an invention that would soon bring them together.

Legend states that Glidden’s wife Lucinda encouraged him with his idea to enclose her garden. Glidden experimented by bending a short wire around a long strand of straight wire, by modifying a coffee mill. Two pins on one side of the mill, one centered and the other just enough off center to allow a wire to fit in between. When the crank was turned, the pins twisted the wire to form a loop. The wire was then clipped off approximately one inch on each end at an angle to form a sharp point. Barbs were placed on one of two parallel strands of wire. The two strands of wire were attached to a hook on the side of an old grinding wheel. As the barbs were positioned, the wheel was turned twisting the two strands of wire and locking the barbs in place.

During this time, Isaac Ellwood, a hardware merchant, had been unsuccessful in perfecting his own version of barbed wire. When Joseph Glidden was awarded a patent on November 24, 1874 for his creation known as ‘The Winner,’ he and Ellwood formed a partnership to establish The Barb Fence Company.

Jacob Haish also had patented his own wire by this time, but had not made a serious attempt to promote and sell it. Haish, wanting the credit for barbed wire himself, didn’t like the idea of Glidden and Ellwood forming a partnership and strived to bring them down. When Haish learned that Glidden had applied for a patent in late 1873, but was denied, Haish filed a patent for his creation, the ‘S-Barb’ in July of 1874. A few days later he filed interference papers against Glidden and an intense legal dispute ensued. Even though Haish was awarded a patent first, Glidden won the dispute because he had filed his patent before Haish. Unwilling to admit defeat, Haish claimed the title of “the inventor of barbed wire.” Nevertheless, it was Joseph Glidden who became known as the “Father of Barbed Wire.’