I happened to be looking for some stand-up comedy and stumbled upon a series of TED talks that were curated under the "humor" genre. It's funny that I end up watching a TED talk, when I set out to watch some stand-up comedy...I suppose that's a commentary on personal penchants.
Regardless, I stumbled upon the work Ze Frank, an "online performance artist, composer, humorist and public speaker." Frank's subject for the TED talk was his "web playroom." In his talk, he showcased some of his online/collaborative work.
One of his works, Pain Pack, is a participatory work. Frank posted a phone number on his website and "asked anyone experiencing emotional pain to leave a message." He received 53 messages in two days. Frank then sent these voicemails to musicians and DJs, and asked them to manipulate the sounds in a way that they were no longer recognizable in their original forms. He received 138 samples, which can be downloaded on the website. I found the project to be very creative in using the material of emotional pain to create a work of art, and a collective work of art at that. People often say that they "use art to express pain," but this project does this in an innovative and modern way.
What I found very interesting about Ze Frank's work as a whole was the amount of collaboration and public participation that is required. Essentially, without the public, and without people watching and engaging, some of Frank's projects wouldn't exist. I think it is important to privilege feedback, participation, and ideas of cybernetics in art. So, I'm delighted to see that Frank has incorporated these ideas and artistic values into his work.
Regardless, I stumbled upon the work Ze Frank, an "online performance artist, composer, humorist and public speaker." Frank's subject for the TED talk was his "web playroom." In his talk, he showcased some of his online/collaborative work.
One of his works, Pain Pack, is a participatory work. Frank posted a phone number on his website and "asked anyone experiencing emotional pain to leave a message." He received 53 messages in two days. Frank then sent these voicemails to musicians and DJs, and asked them to manipulate the sounds in a way that they were no longer recognizable in their original forms. He received 138 samples, which can be downloaded on the website. I found the project to be very creative in using the material of emotional pain to create a work of art, and a collective work of art at that. People often say that they "use art to express pain," but this project does this in an innovative and modern way.
