Human Machine

Another inspiring meeting with my teacher Kathleen...

I have been thinking about the loose ends in my piece and it wasn't till my meeting today that I was able to realize what I was missing. The project has now evolved into a series of steps that will eventually lead to the machine breaking up -or the Human aspect of the employee finally taking over the machine.

I intend to have three levels of response:

1- Fill out form. Basics. Multiple choice.

The response will lead to a more elaborate form.

2- Answer simple questions. Once sentence maybe, no more.

The response will lead to a third form, much more profound and more in touch with Human nature.

3- The response this time will be human. The effort of those who filled out the forms, took time to think, asked questions and went through the process WILL be rewarded. The reward is still being thought of, it does have to point out at the Human condition; what exactly makes us Human and how we can rejoice on it. This idea is brand new so it needs to be further develop.

Summery of the process, so far:

1- The project will be advertised as a marketing campaign. The Machine represents the corporate world as one. Possible names for this made-up corporation IUTU (It's Up To You) Playing also with the reading of the word as: You Too. The company will be promoting a chance of winning freedom of mind. Bring coupon to participate?

2- Machine set up. Line up. Fill out a form and place it on the conveyor belt. Each form will have a reference number to be able to keep track of the process, in case people don't come back till later.

3- Machine's response requires another response. This time the form gets a bit more complex. It is open for people to continue participating or not.

4- To the second response there will be a third and more profound form. Those who respond will obtain the reward.

I will ask for contact information in the first form, in order to keep in touch with those who follow through and are interested in more. This might develop into something else in the future.

All at Once

Today's song:
All at Once, by Jack Johnson

All at once the world can't overwhelm me
There's almost nothing that you could tell me
That could ease my mind

Which way will you run
When it's always all around you
And the feelin' lost and found you again
A feeling that we have no control
Around a song some say
There's gonna be the new hell, some say
It's still too early to tell, some say
It really ain't no myth at all

Keep asking ourselves
Are we really strong enough?
There's so many things
That we got too proud of
We're too proud of...
We're too proud of...

I wanna take the preconceived
Out from underneath your feet
We could shake it off

Instead we'll plant some seeds
We'll watch em' as they grow
And with each new beat from your heart
The roots grow deeper
The branches will they reach for what
Nobody really knows
But underneath it all there's this heart
All alone

What about is gone and it really won't be so long
Sometimes it feels like a heart
Is no place to be singing from at all

There's a world we've never seen
There's still hope between the dreams
The weight of it all could blow away with a breeze
If your waitin on the wind
Don't forget to breathe
Cause as the darkness gets deeper
We'll be sinkin
As we reach for love
At least somethin we could hold
But I'll reach to you
From where time
Just can't go

What about is gone
And it really won't be so long
Sometimes it feels like a heart
Is no place to be singing from at all...

Finding the missing links

Definitions of dehumanize

Oxford English Reference Dictionary:

v.tr. (also -ise)
1. deprive of human characteristics.
2. make impersonal or machine-like.
Derivatives:
dehumanization n.

Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner\'s English Dictionary

dehumanize (dehumanizes, dehumanizing, dehumanized) Note: in BRIT, also use 'dehumanise'. If you say that something dehumanizes people, you mean it takes away from them good human qualities such as kindness, generosity, and independence. The years of civil war have dehumanized all of us. VERB: V n

Nov. 26 - Post curatorial group presentation

Today our works were presented by the curatorial group as if they were presented to the media. I separated myself from my own project and tried to understand it from a different angle. The person who presented my piece successfully conveyed the concept and idea behind the machine, however what I heard from her was mostly what I have written in my proposal, so I didn't get a chance to hear her own perspective or interpretation of it. In spite of this, I did take a couple of notes of the missing bits and pieces that would make my piece make sense on it's own:

-how to motivate the question?
-what's the question?
-number?
-performance
-how will people submit questions? typing machine? handwriting?

I need to connect the "Why" of the questions.
missing links.
Ridiculous machine...

MISSING LINKS

Why to ask a question?
what question?
what exactly does the machine represent? CORPORATIONS?

interview people:
-what is a corporation?
-how do you feel about them?
-any personal experience? neg? pos?

performance:
painted smile,robotic attitude.
confront audience.

Offer service? coupons? invite people?
what's the process???

At this point I feel I'm in the right track. The concept is strong and I'm expressing a real concern in a creative way. The problem is that I'm lacking the element that will motivate people to use the machine. To be able to ask a question is not tying the project together; there are still to many broken links. Steve talked about process. What's the process in submitting a complaint? what's expected? what's the outcome? Let's imagine that my machine represents all corporations. I'm not sure I want this to turn into a complaint machine. I'd much rather get people excited about being given the opportunity to ask questions. But which questions and for what purpose? THAT'S THE QUESTION IN QUESTION...

Definitions of corporation

InvestorWords.com:
The most common form of business organization, and one which is chartered by a state and given many legal rights as an entity separate from its owners. This form of business is characterized by the limited liability of its owners, the issuance of shares of easily transferable stock, and existence as a going concern. The process of becoming a corporation, call incorporation, gives the company separate legal standing from its owners and protects those owners from being personally liable in the event that the company is sued (a condition known as limited liability). Incorporation also provides companies with a more flexible way to manage their ownership structure. In addition, there are different tax implications for corporations, although these can be both advantageous and disadvantageous. In these respects, corporations differ from sole proprietorships and limited partnerships.

I read this and I laugh. Basically corporations are allowed by law to screw their customers and not be responsible for it. It all makes sense now!!

The tittle of the piece might need to be changed. DeHuman might be too literal:
-InCorporate
-InCorporation
-Don't sweat it!!!

Response of a response to a response

Yesterday I've received a second response from the ADR office which is basically a copy and paste of the first letter. I'm thinking of responding once again, this time stripping all BS apart. Maybe a more direct and honest question...

First Proposal - DeHuman Machine

The DeHuman Machine is a kinetic sculpture/performance piece that reflects the loss of human values required to fulfill specific roles in society. To be more specific, the machine points at the automatization and devalue of the human spirit in order to accommodate the current economic system, oriented towards profit gaining and consumerism.

The structure:

As the idea developed recently, the machine structure is not entirely planned out as of yet. Its structure consists of an office cubicle run through by a crank-activated production line. The worker (performer) is inside the cubicle performing his or her duty; which is answering to written questions from the audience in a semi-automatic manner.

How it works:

The participant will write a question in a piece of paper (provided by the machine) and will place it on the conveyor belt going into the office. To get the paper inside the machine, he or she will have to crank a handle that will activate the "production line". Inside, the worker will receive the question, place it in a box and dispense the automated answer in the same manner as it was submitted -there will be a crank on the inside which runs the conveyor belt going on the opposite direction. No matter what the question is, the answer will be a non-answer and will be the exact same for each question.

Performance:

This piece does not intend to just get people frustrated when realizing they will not receive a straight answer, it is also meant to have the audience experience both sides of the machine. The functional side was mentioned previously but the performance piece is what is going to get the audience BE the machine. At given times, the worker-performer will take breaks and will ask of people passing by to run the machine for the time he or she is gone off duty. The working of the machine would be explained in such a way that will enable the audience to become active participants of the process and inner workings of the machine.

Intention:

The piece was inspired by a set of correspondences between myself and a banking institution, which resulted in merely burocratic responses from the employees I have contacted. After a mistake made by the Royal Bank of Canada, which jeopardized my financial situation, I decided to write an extensive letter in which I asked of the reader to step outside their role as an employee of the institution and give me a response from their "human" perspective. Up to this date, I have not been able to bend the rules and regulations which prevents the employee from being a person. My question can only be answered by a human being who has values and emotions. A human being, by simply fulfilling the role of an employee, is sacrificing their human values and becoming no different than a machine that has been programmed to execute a specific duty.

With this piece I intend to demonstrate that what holds the economic structure together is in fact a person becoming desensitized from human emotions and fulfilling the role for which they have been trained. How much are we willing to sacrifice our moral values in order to do the job? What is our real job as human beings? How far will we get as a civilization by denying our hearts and free will?

"The mediator between head and hands must be the heart..."
(Metropolis, Fritz Lang - 1927)