Crutch : (Reinterpreting Mass Media)
Multimedia Environment
Michael Diebner (left), Stephen Anderson (middle)
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Front gallery: mock storefront: nothing for sale, no brands |
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Main gallery: 25 crutches: spotlit 4 tvs, running same video, various source images, overlay with text text on ground (answers) overhead audio (questions) |
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Sentences on floor: Earn the living you've dreamed of...right in your own
dream home! |
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Back gallery: 2 facing monitors: left monitor-chaos, quad split screen showing info-mercials, commercials, ads, cosmetic surgery, news right monitor-order, earth as seen from space shuttle slowly rotating sand filling gallery, except for path leading into a circle text on wall: The grains of sand within this room is estimated to be .00021% of the total number of stars in the observable universe |
view quicktime movies:
Crutch: a multimedia installation. by Stephen
Anderson & Michael Diebner
There is a phenomenon which is pervasive
throughout our current American culture. This phenomenon is comprised
of a seemingly infinite array of external stimuli, which dictates to
the populous, an insurmountable laundry list of problems and questions,
both personal and societal, as well as presenting the "solution" to
those problems and questions. From magazines and books, television
and movies, radio and 'workshops', every presentable form of media
is used as a soapbox from which to present to us these problems that
we sometimes didn’t know we had. But, just as important as the
questions, are the answers that are handed out with them. In some cases
it’s free, but in most cases it comes at a cost. It is the proverbial
medicine show on a continental scale.
Of course, this information in and of itself is not necessarily problematic.
The danger arises when we as individuals become unquestionably accepting
of these ideas, in addition to becoming dependent upon this information
in order to lead our lives. It is the elimination of individual thought
and self-diagnosis that is the real danger. The exercise of freewill
should take precedence over the reliance upon the thoughts and actions
of others.
It is our intention to visually interpret these ideas with the comparative
and symbolic utilization of a "crutch". The iconographic use
of the "crutch", both as a psychological and a physical support,
helps to reinforce the idea that our modern society is unnecessarily
reliant upon the external input of others. It is also our hope that the
viewer leaves this exhibit with somewhat of a clearer understanding of
the physical, economic, and psychological ramifications of relying upon
this "crutch" in order to live what is considered to be a fulfilling
life.
As artists, we are the conveyers of information. The language we choose
will be that of a sight and sound installation. Our aim is not to become
preachers upon the pulpit, even though we are aware of the fine line
we are walking. In the end, it is ultimately the decision of the audience
whether to follow or be followed.
