Performance Art Piece

But my project in "Questioning the Role of Technology in Our Lives" was to push the question "What do we use it for?"

I took the most simplistic and general answer I could come up with for myself - I use it as an escape. But while I know I have my own motives and reasons to use it as an escape, I was wondering how others might use it in the same way.

I took an old pair of sunglasses, taped my iTouches onto them and played two different music videos - Poker Face and Bad Romance - to symbolize how I use technology to blind me from what I do not wish to see. I duct-taped my mouth with the most popular and brainwashing of the technology brands - Apple - to show how you cannot disturb the paradise I have escaped to with mere words. I then stood out in very publics spaces with my shirt saying, "Technology is my distraction from ?", and held a marker out for people to answer.

I filmed this in Chicago, first at Navy Pier and then again at Union Station. In Navy Pier, I got the most responses and the most feedback, mostly because the people there were there for leisure, aka their own escape, and understood the message and were more keen to engage themselves in it. It didn't take long for people to catch on and brainstorm their own interpretations of what my shirt's message meant. I was highly pleased with the amount of enthusiasm I received from my audience there. Because of my excitement, the time flew and I wanted to keep standing there for more feedback, but had to leave because we were running low on footage, and I had been wanting to test it at Union Station as well.

At Union Station, most people either ignored or disregarded me, as at a train station people have places to go and people to see - there's no time for any sort of distractions. I stood there for over twenty minutes with no participation from anyone, despite the large crowds of people filing past as trains arrived. After about fifteen minutes, one of my friends went to demonstrate and write on me, to let those watching know that this is what they're supposed to do. Even after that, I didn't receive anyone stepping up until the very end. In fact, those girls annoyed the hell out of me. They had been standing there for nearly five minutes, giggling and whispering to each other as if I couldn't hear. They kept asking each other "should we ask her?", "what's this?", "do you think she can hear us?" They were lucky I had my mouth duct-taped. However, there was one kid who really amused me at Union Station - the little boy in red. He came dancing up to me, wanting to hold my hand and join me, asking what I was doing and why. His father pulled him away, though.

The funny thing was that even though the iTouches were covering my eyes, the metallic backs on them acted as mirrors and allowed me to see behind me. So even as some people thought they could stop and stare and point fingers without me knowing, I could see them behind me.

This was an amazing experience, and I'm so bummed I couldn't have stayed longer.