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November 25, 2009
Killing a Work of Art : Jared as Artist
This is a tough one. A couple of years ago I worked with Rita Montlack on an installation called Found in a Crowd. The work was in two parts. First we captured people in various emotional states and then we projected their faces animating on a large display.
When the event was over I put just the happy faces in a modified version of the installation online at: http://foundinacrowd.com/
This begs the question - what exactly IS the installation. At the event the display was a large projector and a window covered in wax paper. That wax paper held no meaning or value and it was easy to throw away.
The box on the other hand - the capture booth - that was different. In addition to being filled with technology (most of it borrowed) the box itself was aesthetically pleasing. Rita covered it with these pop art colored photos and even the buttons had some character.
It was easy to dismantle the box. Well - not dismantle. We gutted the box - the technology got returned and the box remained. It still was very pretty and Rita took it back to her studio where it sits empty but pretty.
Neither one of us ever thought about putting that installation on again and to be honest it was more of an event - the event is passed and an echo of it or a reminder can be found at the website. The record that we did something and that people took part in it.
Now jump forward a year (or back two) - I designed a new installation called Hands-Across. The installation is big - its a box and a platform - this entire stage where a person can capture their entire body. It takes a truck to move it around and several computers to run it and project it all.
I ran it an Ingenuity 2008 and then at Research Showcase 2009 and then again and Ingenuity 2009. In all I collected 3542 bodies which are forever holding hands at: http://hands-across.com/
I keep going back to which part of the project IS the project. With both projects the website was different than the display at the event. They were based on the same data just portrayed differently. In fact the number one difference was that the display at the event catered to the need for the people to find themselves in the installation.
The Hands-Across booth was more functional than pretty. Not to say it wasn't well designed. I felt good about using arcade buttons and a large screen placed behind a frame in a portrait orientation. I like that nothing about my installations screamed "THIS IS A COMPUTER". But Hands-Across was built to work - to get people up the ramp and over - to give them their ticket and to leave.
The black and white linoleum floor was only used because at the last minute I thought it might hold up better than floor paint.
The reason I am writing this post though is because I need to put Hands-Across to rest. I have run it three times and though tempted as I am to take it on the road - I really don't want to run it a fourth. At the last event it was clear that I would need to reinforce the structure - and instead of doing that - I want to dismantle it altogether!
Not to say it already hasn't been apart for sometime. The large display and the computer are in my bedroom - its a monster fast quad core beast that I use for video editing.
The empty core of Hands-Across: the capture booth, the columns, and the capture stage are sitting in my garage taking up a lot of space. This weekend I plan on removing the hardware - the wheels, hinges, handles, buttons, and lights. All that will remain is wood. Painted wood.
I have plans for some of the wood - some is just garbage.
My friend Tom thinks I am crazy - he thinks that this is just inviting me to create Hands-Across 2.0 (and since he helped me build the first one he is a right to moan) and he might be right - but that isn't the next project on my mind and I want my workshop back.
RIP Hands-Across Capture Booth 2008-2009
You live on in our memory and on the website.
Too bad the wood is painted - its gonna be a nice weekend for a bonfire.
Posted by jeb2 at November 25, 2009 05:16 PM
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