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THE CHAMBERS Uncovering various artifacts, the observer becomes
a direct participant in an unusual
discovery as one virtually travels into places such as: The Pantheon of Misinformation, The Double Mouthed Ventriloquist, The
Marionette Room, The In-Security Zone, The Head Chamber, The Addiction
Chamber, and The Fracture Room. The Pantheon of Misinformation The Pantheon of Misinformation is a scaled, wire
frame model of the Roman Pantheon which was completed in 126 A.D. It is a
re-creation of this magnificent structure, with domed hall and oculus, used
as a temple to the gods. Here the pantheon acts as a repository for fetishized technological objects, now defunct, but once
considered to be hugely valuable. There are symbolic models of humans who
tumble endlessly in the echo of obsolesce. It is here where media distortions
masquerade as the truth. Was the technology on exhibit not only recently
considered “essential”? The objects of modern life, now simply wire frame
memories. Were we misinformed about the “value” of these objects? The Pantheon of Misinformation The Double Mouthed Ventriloquist How does the voice of consumption dominate us? Our
language and technological terms and new “knowledge” are endless, quite
inhuman as we try to stay abreast of change, it ultimately can consume even
us. We speak of the technological objects and “knowledge” we constantly
desire, but are we aware of who is feeding us, and who is truly speaking? In
the chamber of The Double Mouthed Ventriloquist we activate technological
text and feed it into the mouths which speak to us about need and desire.
Occasionally the mouths spit back indigestible terms. Finally who is speaking
when we speak about technological desire? The Double Mouthed Ventriloquist Stunt Dummies c. 2003 Kathleen Ruiz The Marionette Room The illusion is who is really in control? We open into
this section and see a marionette dancing and moving, her strings are
attached, but we do not know to where they are attached. Moving outwards we
realize that the marionette is in a box controlled by a large being who is
carefully observing her. As we turn to look around, we see two figures
walking diligently from corner of the room to another. Caught in a scripted
walk path, they are unable to stop. The Marionette Room (motion capture choreography by Lisa Naugle) Stunt Dummies c. 2003 Kathleen Ruiz The In-Security Zone Our private lives are being watched by powerful
institutions without our knowledge. Upon entry we discover …ourselves
in the game. We are made aware of our own presence as we play the Stunt
Dummies game. Our own image turned to bits which float around the room
and become scattered by the turn of a helicopter blade. We venture past a
stick figure only to see it turned to bits which reconfigure elsewhere. The
user is amused, taken aback with his/her own live
moving image, which is recorded into the bits of the contemporary digital
stream.
Stunt Dummies c. 2003 Kathleen Ruiz
The Head Chamber Over loaded and caught in a web of confusion imposed
by special interests, our brains cannot keep up with the information hurled
at us. The loud, compelling sounds of the flute in this section activate a
wire frame head which becomes temporarily obscured. The player travels
through this “networked” terrain until entering a mountain, which is actually
a more formulated head, inscribed with the code from which the chamber is
made. Inside this “mountain” one sees a number of different world views. To
which does one subscribe to? The Head Chamber Stunt Dummies c. 2003 Kathleen Ruiz The Addiction Chamber The
Addiction Chamber illustrates the
seductive nature of technologies. Compelling music and a first person shooter
armature make the viewer become a participator. One can see seizure like
movements of models (dummies), discarded junk food trash, and a model who
collapses into herself as abstracted tetris pieces
fall outside the confines of the wire frame house of addiction.
Stunt Dummies c. 2003 Kathleen Ruiz
The Fracture Room Our spacio-temporal
framework has been shattered. So say cultural historians who study the
implications of this loss. Computer time is always “on” , however, we humans
are creatures of diurnal and circadian rhythms. How do we balance these diverse worlds? The Fracture Room |