FEAR is a public art work that uses a common object as a focal point of emotional interaction.
Situated in the middle of a lobby, a table is illuminated from within, surrounded by sound producing chairs; all of them “breathing” peacefully. When this calming point of attraction is approached, the soothing light gradually becomes aggressive and the chairs start howling in agony. When left alone, the objects resume their peaceful existence.
FEAR is part of a new series of works titled EMOTION. This series aims to evoke emotive states through common objects (furniture, plants, other familiar things). The overarching desire for this series is for these objects to take over a public space, blending in innocuously with the everyday.
FEAR was featured in the main lobby of The Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC) as part of Uncertain Spectator, November 18, 2010 – January 29, 2011.
Interview: Emily Bercir Zimmerman, Interview With Marie Sester, Uncertain Spectator, 2010
Article: Pau Waelder, ’El arte de la conversacion aumentada.’ Arte, cultura e innovacion. 2010
Video
FEAR Video, Dec. 2010
FEAR: What the computer sees, Dec. 2010
Credits
Marie Sester, Concept and Direction
Scott Fitzgerald, Project Manager
My very special thanks to:
Neil Thiese, M.D., Departments of Pathology and of Medicine, Beth Israel Medical Center of Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Emily Bercir Zimmerman, Curatorial Assistant, Media Arts, EMPAC
Kathleen Forde, Curator, Time Based Arts, EMPAC
Johannes Goebel, Director, Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC)
Special thanks to:
Ian Hamelin, Project Manager, Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC)
Eric Brucker, Lead Video Engineer, Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC)
Mick Bello, Video Engineer, Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC)
Todd Vos, Lead Audio Engineer, Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC)
An EMPAC Commission, Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY
Supported by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States.
