Slovenian Mediterranean Metre
Report

Vuk Cosic
Alenka Pirman
Irena Wölle


At its regular meeting on 24 December 1994, the Geo-Art Statistics Research Institute of the Republic of Slovenia reached the following conclusion:
“One of the main objects of RIGUSRS is the substantiation and promotion of the new international measurement unit, ‘Slovenian Mediterranean Metre’ (henceforth, the SMM Project). The task has been assigned to Vuk Cosic, Alenka Pirman and Irena Wölle, authorized researchers at RIGUSRS. The researchers are obliged to document the course of the project, and to inform regularly the corresponding bodies of the Institute and the expert public (if this complies with the interests of RIGUSRS).”
The researchers undertook the task with attention and all due respect for a number of enthusiasts whose long-lasting altruistic work enabled the institutionalisation of the endeavours for international recognition of the new measurement unit. When we accepted this important task we knew that we will be turning a new page in the history of Slovenian - and also international - metrology. Here we would like to present the first steps of the SMM Project for the consideration of international public, and we can only hope that in the future our work will be as fruitful as before. 25 Dec. 1994 - 1 Jan. 1995: Preparation of the strategic plan for the SMM Project.
1 Apr. 1995: Mr. Borut Brumen, an amateur historian, MA of ethnology, and BA of fleeceology, is invited to cooperate in the project.
1 May 1995 - 1 Apr. 1997: Mr. Brumen conducts a research resulting in the essay “Genesis and the Structure of Fleece”.
1 Nov. 1996: The ŠKUC Association makes contacts with the direction of RIGUSRS. The direction of the Institute finds that the participation at the Biennial of Young Artists of Mediterranean and Europe to be held in Turin, Italy, in 1997, is of special importance for the SMM Project. The group of researchers (Cosic, Pirman, Wölle) starts to prepare the promotion material in cooperation with the ŠKUC Association.
Nov. 1996: Researcher Cosic comes across an astonishing essay (Luther Blisset, L’artista sloveno) in the Italian press, which provokes the group to start the research on Slovenian Mediterranean Artist (the SMA Project) in addition to the SMM Project.
10 Nov. 1996: Following the intervention by representatives of the ŠKUC Association at the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia, the executive council of RIGUSRS grants financial means for the SMA Project. The realisation of the SMA Project is assigned to the researchers working on the SMM Project, which causes a certain delay in the latter.
Until 31 Jan. 1997: Experimental measurements and examinations carried out on the selected sample of possible Slovenian Mediterranean artists.
Since 1 Feb. 1997: A critical comparative analysis of the acquired data is carried out. The research group witnesses the origin of the new Theory on Slovenian Mediterranean Artist.
14 Feb. 1997: Researcher Pirman meets Mr. Mirko Kocuvan, Adviser to Director of Inspection, to initiate the procedure for the authorisation of Slovenian Mediterranean Metre.
24 Mar. 1997: RIGUSRS, in cooperation with the ŠKUC Association, addresses “A Proposal for the Introduction of the New International Measurement Unit” to the Office for Standardisation and Metrology of the Republic of Slovenia.
3 Apr. 1997: Researcher Cosic prepares the paper “Attributes of Slovenian Mediterranean Artist, Preliminary Report (The SMA Project)”.
The interests of RIGUSRS dictate that the planned further development of the SMM Project only figures in internal documents of the Institute. We believe that the procedure for the authorisation of Slovenian Mediterranean Metre will not take very long, and that soon we will be able to report from Paris about the negotiations between the Office for Standardisation and Metrology of the Republic of Slovenia and the corresponding authorities at the Systeme International d’Unités.

Ljubljana, 5 April 1997