The Hawthorne Effect
Digital happening, 135 min., 2011
People often change their behavior when observed. Researchers refer to this feedback as the Hawthorne effect. As an “art professional,” one is often under observation, for instance, by the press.
Two singers dial into the exhibition space via Skype, their video portraits beamed from their living rooms onto opposite walls. At a distance, they improvise duets based on the score of Bon Noir Alien. Under the gaze of the exhibition visitors, they sing the “professional preview small talk” of the Venice Biennale – from the digital into the physical space.
Digital happening, 135 min., 2011
People often change their behavior when observed. Researchers refer to this feedback as the Hawthorne effect. As an “art professional,” one is often under observation, for instance, by the press.
Two singers dial into the exhibition space via Skype, their video portraits beamed from their living rooms onto opposite walls. At a distance, they improvise duets based on the score of Bon Noir Alien. Under the gaze of the exhibition visitors, they sing the “professional preview small talk” of the Venice Biennale – from the digital into the physical space.
4 webcams, two beamers, sound system; score: Jeremy Woodruff. Video conference: mezzo-soprano Laura Copiello was transmitted from Padua, flutist Erik Drescher from Angers, baritone Peter Kubik from Hanover, performer and composer Laura Mello from Vienna, and soprano/actress Anja Dreischmeier and singer/artist Ina Viola from Berlin.
All images: Nikolai Wolff | Fotoetage, courtesy of AD.