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Small
Kindnesses, Weather Permitting, 2004 In collaboration
with Scharff Weisberg,
Steven Johnson of Rainville-Carlson, XYZ Audio Visual, Joseph Scala, ParallelDevelopment,
and over 100 Minnesotans. This public project is an interactive artwork for 11 stations of the Light Rail. There are three or four small kiosks at each of the stations, 35 kiosks in all. There are 11 different kiosk designs: 7 audio designs and 4 video designs, made in editions of 3 or 4 each. Designs include a windshield wiper, a doorbell, a telephone, a curtained theater, a revolving snow-globe, a pinball game, and a "thanks a million" machine. Each unit has a mechanical initiator (like a hand crank, a push button, a lever) and a digital output -- either audio only or video with audio. Each unit is weather-proofed, protected behind tamper-proof glass and enclosed in a steel box attached to a station column. The LCD monitors are heated for the cold Minnesota winters. In the winter of 2003-4, we held a competition for Minnesota filmmakers, videographers, singers, storytellers, comics, etc, to provide content for the kiosks, all on the theme of weather or courtesy ("Minnesota Nice"), the two cliches about Minnesota. The collection of 114 audios and 78 videos were made by over 100 Minnesotans, the result of an open competition and ongoing solicitation of talent through suggestions from arts professionals in Minnesota. The clips last from 30 seconds to 3 minutes. They range from the comedic to the serious, from professional to amateur. On an ongoing basis, this content is delivered to the 39 units, activated when someone on the platform discovers the unit and activates the mechanical initiator. All content goes to every kiosk, providing visitors with always varying artwork while waiting for the trains. The audio/video
system was engineered by ScharffWeisberg, Inc. The industrial design
and fabrication was done by ParallelDevelopment, Ltd., and installed
and augmented on site by Steven Johnson of Rainville-Carlson, Inc. in
Minneapolis. |