New Spring Line
(2003-2004)
In New Spring LIne (2002/03), a series of focus group studies were conducted to find out what consumers really wanted. A Rorschach test was developed using images from online stock photo databanks and 3D wire frame models from the product design industry. The stock photo images were downloaded using queries based on age, gender, race and ethnicity. These photographic images of individuals in their everyday environment were then composited with the 3D wire frame models to create a new visual narrative. The composites were used in the Rorschach tests. Participants were asked to pretend they were a product developer and to describe the narrative. How would this new product enhance one’s lifestyle? Responses were recorded and made available to the general public through a listening “lounge”. The installation provided comfortable lounge chairs and headsets. Audio responses played on a continuous loop while the composited images, set on a random cycle, were projected overhead on the walls. Pedestrians were also able to access the projected images as well as view the inside listeners through a large storefront window.
The video Today, Tomorrow, Everyday (2004) reflects on the spectacle of useless technologies as ambiguous and absurd “devices” are inserted into the daily narratives of everyday people.