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"In this video, I participate in an on line therapy session
directed by the system operator of a streetside multimedia kiosk.
The system operator is capable of multi-tasking like a computer:
moderating the flow of traffic over the Internet, simultaneously
monitoring all aspects of the broadcast. As I indulge in a virtual
conversation about a troublesome relationship, the session instantly
becomes an amalgamation of daytime television and tabloid, wherein
the surveillance camera becomes the eye of the media.
I play the roles on both sides of the screen,
user and system operator. The system operator is the customer
service technician and/or 'host' of an online/advice column/talk
show which is broadcast over the World Wide Web. Throughout this
session, it is difficult to tell whether the 'user/caller/patient/contestant/player'
is describing technical problems with her own body or with that
of her computer.
My script dismantles the concept of the modular
data body with dry humour, satirizing relationships between body
and machine that are inherent within technical language (ageing/obsolescence,
implants/upgrades, amnesia/memory loss). The ending parallels
the mundane routine of a bank transaction, yet with the seriousness
of religious propaganda, ‚If you would like to save your
life ... enter your initials. To exit this program ... use the
escape button‘ " (Kristin Lucas).
Script, production, and performance by Kristin
Lucas. Additional technical support by Joe McKay. Special thanks
to Neil Goldberg. Production assistance for Host was provided
by The Experimental Television Center which is supported in part
by The New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), The National
Endowment of the Arts, and by private contributions
[ click on thumbnail to view detail ]
born 1968 in Davenport/Iowa, lives and works in New York. Exhibitions
a.o. 1997 Zonen der Verstörung, Steirischer Herbst, Graz;
The 1997 Whitney Biennial, Whitney Museum of American Art, New
York, Young and Restless, The Museum of Modern Art, New York;
1998 Windows, Brussels; 1999 Screening Room, Kunsthaus Glarus,
Glarus; 2000 commandN, Tokyo, Toys n‘ Noise, O.K. Centrum
für Gegenwartskunst, Linz; 2001 Avatare und Andere, Edith-Ruß-Haus,
Oldenburg, SI/NY, Swiss Institute, New York
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