Carsten Holler

Carsten Holler has also made installations which use drugs as a way to change a persons perceptions, though in his work 'PeaLove room' its simply an offer that is unlikely to be taken up in a gallery space. He worked with the hormone PEA which is the hormone released when a person feels 'in love'. His work creating slides is also to do with the choice to relinquish your control.

Chris Burden II

Theres another work by Chris Burden that I think are relevant to what Im working on just now. It relates to the play between intention and chances of success. In what Im doing I think it works with the fact that its unlikely that anyone will be greatly influenced by the Laughing Gas as they probably wont breathe much in but its still there to be breathed in so it could have an effect. Burdens 'Samson' that I put up a post about previously works this way because of its gearbox. Burdens work '747' does this very succinctly. He shoots at a 747 with a pistol from the ground. What works nicely is the clear intention of shooting at the plain played off against the chances of actually hitting the plane.

Joseph Priestley

I feel that Joseph Priestleys work is worth pointing out as he discovered nitrous oxide in the first place. Theres more details of his experiments in seperating air into elements if you click the picture.

Jeff Koons

I cant pretend that what Im currently working on doesnt takes a lot from Jeff Koons work, particularly the Bear and Policeman. Though through appropriation I want to be able to change the objects context. Theres some writing on Koons artworks if you click on the picture.

The Secret Life of Electronic Objects

Ive recently been reading this book. Its got some fascinating research on how 'placebo objects' can affect people. My favourite is the radiation draught excluder which led to someone feeling exposed when their head wasnt protected by it but the rest of their body is. I think theres a lot more to look into here about how the designation of an object by its name will dictate its use and how the viewer feels about it but Im not sure exactly whether this would translate into a white cube scenario. For more info click on the pic.

Critnics and Tutorials

Ive been engaged for the last couple of weeks with trying to build this cow. I recently had a critnic and even more recently a group tuorial where I found out what other people thought of my ideas. In the critnic it was pointed out that if he has orange pyjamas then he may have connotations of guantanamo bay. I was a little worried by how much of a current affair this subject is but as the reference is far from explicit I dont think its too much of a worry. In both the critnic and the tutorial the confusion about why a happy object had connotations of bad things was brought up but I was happy with the idea that happiness is never a simple thing and can go hand in hand with atrocities and painful issues. Besides I think the hunger strike/ guantanamo bay references go along with the holocaust references of releasing gas in a space. And why not try to remake a sad or abominable thing as a happy thing? Making light of bad situations is just a form of grief.

Other big issues brought up were the relationship the cow had to its space and the question of audience. In the critnic it was said that it looked like the cow was guarding the space and that that made the vast emptiness of the space the focus. This wasnt an effect I wanted so Ive decided to move him to a small space which acts as a thoroughfare, ensuring that hell be viewed from front and back. The door opens nicely so that the engagement with the sculpture (when youre looking directly into his eyes) happens immediately on opening the door.

The issue of audience was addressed at the tutorial with some helpful advice letting me make a decision finally. The way i saw it I had 3 options:
1) Let the audience know they were under the influence of N20 (this could be false to get a placebo effect)
2) I release N20 into the audience without anyone knowing but me. That would leave me as the only fully aware member of the audience.
3) I do as in 2) but I film it and show the resulting film to a new audience with the full context of the N20 known to them.
In the end we discussed all three options in depth but Im now settled that the 3rd option is the best.