A few snapshots from 01SJ

Was in bay area last week and checked out several projects from San Jose Biennial that interest me. Here are some (chopped pieces of) fruit:

1, Ken Gregory‘s wind powered musical installation “Wind Coil Sound Flow”, what caught my attention is the wooden benches scattered around the installation. At first we thought this was part of the project but actually they are for the audience, because Ken wants people to have somewhere nice to seat when they enjoy the music. I think few artist and designers have reached this level of proficiency. And this also maybe a mark of difference between people working with their computer and people with measuring tape and dirt. The benches have 60 degree legs, the same aesthetic of the installation itself.

2, I’ve been a big fan of Garnet Hertz and his Outrun project is an example of his great dedication in what he loves. The idea is behind a reminiscent kind of wish tracing back to 1984 that if one is able to drive SEGA’s arcade game to the real world. Amusingly enough, some top gear like car magazine wrote to him asking if they can have a test driving on it and give a review to their readers. Seems like the result will solely depend on how much spirit of entertainment they choose to have, for essentially this is a car that prevents you from seeing anything in front of you and a car that can reach a maximum speed of some 20 mph due to the power load of a golf cart and 6 battery packs that will exhaust every 2 or 3 hrs.

Photo credit: Garnet Hertz

3, The Empire Drive-in is a drive in theater for most screening events taking place during the Biennial. The highlight is that they used junk cars as the seating environment instead of real seats. But I am very curious how they got to modify the junk cars or just leave them in the way they are, then I would wonder if the artistry of the idea will finally affect the usability of the theater. A builder was caught shot lying on the floor between the cars instead of in the cars, a place he rejected to sprawl out his body at. The scene also mixes the feeling of crimes and comedy.

4, Finally this one I found pretty lovely: an electrician working next to an art piece with his jacket hung neatly on the interpretive information furniture.