Home Automation Raises Bonnaroo Festival to the Next Level
By Zach Fenell
The attendance was at 75,000 for this year's Bonnaroo Festival, an annual music and arts festival in Manchester, Tennessee. The Bonnaroo Festival has played host to big name musicians like the Flaming Lips, Tool, and The Police. However, one of the biggest stories to come out of the festival wasn’t any of the bands who played but rather “Home Automation”, a robotic theatre artwork, created by David Karave.
“Home Automation” is an animatronics performance of metal crash test dummies that features pyrotechnics. Karave’s intentions with the piece are to parody Homeland Security’s color-coded advisory system. Two metal crash test dummies and a crash test baby sit on a loveseat watching television. As they watch, news breaks inform us that the alert level is being raised. As the alert level raises the dummies begin to violently shake, eventually bursting into flames.
Ironically, the dummies used in “Home Automation” were molded from actual crash test dummies, used in war excercises by the US Defense Department. David Karave received a loan of the crash test dummies from a defense contractor back in 2005. Karave then molded the loaned dummies to create the robotic sculptures used in “Home Automation”. The dummies are able to react to the alert level changes thanks to a computer interface which allows them to "see" the video based color alert changes, via color recognition programming.
The Homeland Security advisory system parodied by “Home Automation” was implemented in 2002. The system is supposed to communicate to America the current level of safety in the country through five different colors- green, blue, yellow, orange, and red. Green is “low” alert while red is “severe” alert. The government raises/lowers the alert level depending on the risk of a terrorist attack.
The color-coded advisory system is looked at as skeptical by some. The vagueness involved in the supposed terrorist threats can make the advisory system appear to be a tool of fear inducing propaganda. This is the message Karave communicates in “Home Automation”. One potential downside of the presentation was that Karave’s politically loaded message can easily distract viewers from the artistic value of “Home Automation”. Whether you agree or disagree with Karave’s message, the artwork itself deserves respect. The molds of the crash test dummies are very detailed. This detail gives the dummies uncannily human characteristics.
“Home Automation” was made possible due to a group of over 30 artists. The artists collaborated together on all elements of “Home Automation” from the molding and foundry casting, to the interactive programming. But what makes “Home Automation” a respectable piece of art is the work’s ability to make a person think about the possible effects of violent news programming and televisual fear.
“Home Automation” has evolved over the years. In 2006 “Home Automation” received fellowship through the support of playwright Edward Albee. In addition to being a part of the Bonnoroo Festival in Manchester “Home Automation” has been shown in Montreal, Tampa, Memphis, Denver, Austin, and New York. In 2007 pyrotechnics were added to the work, sparking controversy. One Tampa news critic went as far as saying that Karave’s art is a form of terrorism and that Karave should be delivered to Guantanamo Bay.
However, David Karave demonstrates through his art one of the most fundamental attributes America offers- freedom of speech. According to Karave "While we understand that our leaders need a system of communication, we contest any experiment on the civilian population. We simply have no use for the color codes other than as an object of our fears... To truly love, we must be completely free. We must strive for freedom. Peace and liberty will follow."
David Karave will headline the upcoming Austin Future Art Festival, November 1st, the Day of the Dead, in Austin, TX. http://www.futureartfestival.com The newest version of Home Automation, created at the 2009 Art Outside Festival, will include new mechanical turning heads, and theatrical dialogue between the crash test robots.
To learn more about the robotic art of David Karave or “Home Automation” visit http://www.crashingart.com
Writer, Zachary Fennel : www.associatedcontent.com/
