In 1992 MTV broadcast the first installment of The Real World and Reality TV was born, ushering in a flood of voyeurism and narcissism that has so permeated our pop culture that we no longer even feel the humidity.
In Domesticated a group of Snow College art students are exploring voyeurism and the mundane in a performance that lasts until Friday. In the college’s humanities building the artists have created a performance space that has the basic facets of a college apartment. They will be living in it this week, putting their lives on display to the casual passerby as well as a larger audience via a live internet feed.
Their press release situates the performance thus:
The piece is a statement on voyeurism, stereotypes, and the beauty of mundane life, putting the average (and often boring) daily acts of a college student on display to the public. Mirroring the ever-shifting nature of human life, the exhibit is continually changing and developing along with the artists. The audience is invited to interact with the inhabitants of the space, or to simply watch their lives unfold from behind the fence, creating disconnect between viewer and artist. This raises questions about our roles, as voyeurs and as the observed."
Here’s what we’ve seen so far from the live feed: a group of newly minted adults sit around a small space talking about bodily functions while they check on the status of how many viewers are watching them check on the status of how many viewers are watching them . . . you get the idea.
If the first seasons of The Real World had redeeming moments it was when, amidst a barrage of immature behavior, they occasionally explored issues of contemporary young-adulthood. Whether this performance takes on some form of meaning or stays a tableau vivant of checking one’s Facebook status remains to be seen. Will you be watching?
The live feed can be viewed here.
Domesticated
Amanda O’ Grady, Becky Phelan, Katelin Jensen, Kimberly Smith, Mark Burns, Matt Tervort, Stephen Boettcher, and Trishelle Jeffery
Snow College, ALTSPACE Gallery. Humanities Building, room 123B
February 14th-18th 2010
Event: February 17th at 5:30 P.M.
UTAH’S ART MAGAZINE SINCE 2001, 15 Bytes is published by Artists of Utah, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Categories: Exhibition Reviews
