an artSpa energy assessment of the Hammer
conducted as part of the Machine Project artist-in-residence at the Hammer Museum

Davis & Davis Research Labs

Although we are perhaps best known as Davis & Davis, fine art photographers, under the guise of Davis & Davis Research Labs we employ appropriate technology and the scientific method in our art-investigations of such fringe sciences as ufology, parapsychology and sexology. We have exhibited our research work at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, the LAB and the Catherine Clark Gallery in San Francisco, the Black Dragon Society in Los Angeles and The Huntington Beach Art Center, among other venues.

 

 

+ Ghost Hunting at the Hammer: video | report
a search for earthbound spirits (ghosts) and other unseen entities, and an attempt to communicate with any such entities we detect.

 

 

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Ghost Hunting at the Hammer (video)

recorded Monday, August 30th, 2009, at the Armand Hammer Museum

 

 

 

 

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Ghost Hunting at the Hammer (report)

an artSpa Energy Assessment Report by
Davis & Davis Research Labs
download report as pdf

 

 

Introduction: "I ain't afraid of no ghosts," Ray Parker Jr. sang famously in the popular, 1984 movie, "Ghostbusters." But shouldn't he be? Shouldn't we all be? Are ghosts the earthbound spirits of nineteenth century Spiritualism or are they really spectral warning signs, urging us to avoid certain hazardous locales?

 

Methodology: On Monday, August 30th, 2009, Davis & Davis Research Labs visited the UCLA Armand Hammer Museum in Westwood for the purpose of conducting a Ghost Hunt, i.e., a search for apparitions of the dead and other non-corporeal entities. We examined this location from 11:00 am to 1:45 pm, using the following, portable equipment:
1. Bi-locational thermometer to read air temperature differences between two sensors spaced 70 inches apart.
2. Cassette tape recorder to record field notes and possible EVP (electronic voice phenomena).
3. Multi-spectrum digital still/video camera to record visible, infrared and ultraviolet light.
4. Magnetic compass to check for variations in the local magnetic field.
5. Bevelled mirror for viewing the unexpected.
6. Microwave detector.

 

We examined secured areas, accompanied by security staff and unsecured areas, unaccompanied, in the following order:
1. Galleries 4 & 5
2. Galleries 3, 1 & 2
3. Gallery 6
4. Billy Wilder Theater
5. Green Room
6. Video Viewing Room
7. Bookstore
8. 3rd Floor Perimeter
9. Eyebrow
10. 3rd Floor Restrooms
11. 3rd Floor Perimeter
12. Armand Hammer Bust
13. Courtyard
14. Lobby
15. 3rd Floor Perimeter
16. Eyebrow
17. Parking Garage Level 4

 

As we went about the building, we checked the temperatures frequently. The microwave detector was always turned on. The cassette recorder was turned on and recording most of the time as we repeatedly called out, "Is anyone here?" in an effort to prompt an EVP response. We checked the bevelled mirror often and the compass less often. With the multi-spectrum camera, we shot hundreds of still photographs and about eight minutes of video.

 

Results: In open areas, such as the Courtyard, 3rd Floor Perimeter and Eyebrow, temperature differences were on the order of .5 to 2 degrees Fahrenheit, while in the galleries, theater and other enclosed areas, we commonly noted temperature differences of 1 to 6 degrees Fahrenheit. We ascribe this variation to unevenly distributed air conditioning in the enclosed areas, something we had been forewarned about by Museum staff.

 

Repeated listenings to the cassette tape have revealed only recorded field notes. The cassette recorder appears to have recorded no electronic voice phenomena.

 

Compass readings were everywhere normal (correctly indicating magnetic North), except when the compass was held too close to the cassette recorder and it was affected by the speaker magnet. We noted this effect early on and took steps to avoid it.

 

The still photographs and video show only what we recall having seen with our naked eye.

 

We did not see anything unexpected in the bevelled mirror.

 

The microwave detector was silent for the first 90 minutes of our Ghost Hunt. When we arrived in the Eyebrow area, the microwave detector sounded weakly at first, but soon sounded at full volume. When we left the Eyebrow several minutes later in the direction of Galleries 4 & 5, the detector once again fell silent. We again heard the detector as we approached the Sam Durant light box from the direction of Gallery 1, near the bench and the floor drain. Then, more silence until we reached the Eyebrow again where the microwave detector sounded in the same area as before. (See Figure 1.)

 

 

 

Figure 1. Gallery Level Plan - Red stripes indicate possible microwave hotspots.

 

 

Conclusion: While we did not see or hear anything overtly ghostly during or after our Hammer Ghost Hunt, we did detect something related to ghosts. Our microwave detector sounded in two distinct areas on the 3rd floor perimeter. This suggests that there may at times exist microwave hotspots in those areas.

 

Though it's not widely advertised, cell phones send and receive their signals via microwaves (.8 - 1.9 GHz) - not exactly the same wavelength as is used for cooking (2.5 GHz), but microwaves nonetheless. It happens that Verizon owns a cell phone tower on Hilgard Avenue, a few blocks North Northeast of the Museum. (See Figure 2 for map.) When Verizon customers in the building make or receive calls on their cell phones, microwaves are beamed from the Hilgard Avenue tower to the Museum. This is not to single out Verizon as the sole source of cell phone microwaves, (there are several towers owned by other carriers a mile or so to the West ) but Verizon's tower is the closest to the North side of the Museum, where the Eyebrow is located.

 

 

 

Figure 2. (A) indicates location of Verizon cell phone tower.

 

 

Ideally, cell phone towers blanket a small geographical area (cell) with comparatively weak, evenly distributed, microwave radiation. However, direct and reflected microwaves from the Hilgard tower and other towers can theoretically combine in additive waves to create hotspots of microwave radiation. It bears mentioning here that WiFi signals are also in the microwave range (2.5 GHz). We don't know whether the Museum is operating a wireless network in the North end of the building, but, if so, it also could play a part in the creation of a microwave hotspot.

 

What do microwave hotspots have to do with ghosts? UFO researcher Albert Budden has theorized that electromagnetic hotspots created by nearby radio antennae can give rise to UFO close encounter experiences in "EM-sensitive" individuals. UFO researcher Jacques Vallee, meanwhile, has pointed out that UFO close encounter experiences are essentially the same thing as ghost sightings, but viewed through a different cultural lens. We propose that "sensitives," i.e., psychic individuals who deal in unseen energies, may be identical with Budden's "EM-sensitives," who tend to encounter aliens or, alternatively, ghosts with uncommon frequency.

 

Now consider what one local sensitive recently said about the Eyebrow area of the Museum: "I actually felt some rather threatening vibes going on there - the sense of some energy coming up really close to me in a confrontational way." Could it be that seeing ghosts/aliens is a survival adaptation? An EM-sensitive individual encounters an electromagnetic field, sees or senses a ghost/alien, is frightened and leaves the area. Setting aside the question of whether electromagnetic fields cause or allow EM-sensitives to see ghosts/aliens, it is possible to view this as a simple case of a person sensing and avoiding danger.

 

Recommendations: How to deal with the apparent microwave hotspot in the Eyebrow area of the Museum? First, if there is WiFi in the Eyebrow area, it could be turned off. Second, the Museum could ban (Verizon) cell phone use in the building. If either or both of these options seem impractical, we suggest the following:

 

Davis & Davis Research Labs proposes to construct a 512 cubic foot Faraday Cage (8' x 8' x 8') in the Eyebrow area in which the Museum can hold meetings and receptions. (See Figure 3.) Research shows that a Faraday Cage made with standard, aluminum, window screening will effectively block all microwave radiation, incoming as well as outgoing. It will also keep out flies. Museum staff and visitors can then convene within the cage with electromagnetic neutrality and peace of mind.

 

 

 

Figure 3.

 

 

Note: Because cell phones and WiFi will not work within the cage, the Museum may wish to bring in hard-wired phone lines and computer connections.

 

 

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Davis & Davis Research Labs wishes to thank the staff of the UCLA Armand Hammer Museum for their assistance in the preparation of this report. We hope you find it both informative and useful. If you have any questions about the foregoing, please contact us at davisanddavis(dot)geo(at)yahoo(dot)com.

 

 

 

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