Tuesday, August 16, 2011

To each, their own De-Programming chamber







We're in between phase I and II now and us Chamber collaborators (Helen, Johanna, Christy, Cybele) are excited to connect with John-Mark and Nicholas. They're #2 in the chain, and we're just one installation to the left. Seeing that our De-Programming Chamber doubles as a cardboard bomb shelter with all necessities of life (tv, microwave oven, popcorn, comfortable easy-chair) and theirs involves hosting artisan beer, our diy approaches will probably link up together pretty well.

Here's a description of the De-Programming Chamber, which Cybele wrote.

“The De-Programming Chamber assists the viewer in expelling years of negative messages surrounding one’s choice to pursue art professionally. Come in, sit down, and enjoy some popcorn while the channels take you through a series of de-programming videos. Walk out on the other side.”

There are seven films screening inside....

Perfect Parents.

Artist Meditation.

Passage.

Soul Searching.

Cheering Section

Emergency Theme Songs for Artists.

The Non-Starving Artists Channel

One of the funnest parts of the collaboration was building a cardboard house to put our films in. I've always liked art that shows the transparency of the effort, rather than hiding the work that goes into it. The De-Programming chamber is intentionally unpainted, leaving bare and vulnerable the screws, fasteners, glue and bindings used to hold it together. During moments of the opening Saturday night, the house even shook as gallery visitors sometimes learned too hard against 1.5 inch layered cardboard.

In thinking about the original call from the gallery, Cybele, Helen, Johanna and I felt that the vulnerability and fragility of the creative process is what makes it so interesting, and within our own artist community, it is often a dinner and conversation topic.

The kits we fabricated to give away at the gallery have samples of the materials that were used to build this chamber. (cardboard, wall paper, dvd of videos, screw), plus a map if you want to make this your own diy project. If you happen to pick up a kit, please feel free to trample, revise, improve the instructions and send it back to us. Like an Ikea furniture building manual, the instructions leave a lot to your imagination.

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