For this project I used a low powered projector to throw an Apple logo onto the Carleton College Skinner Memorial Chapel. I ran extension cords out of the north doors of the building to power my projector and laptop. I situated the projector on top of the small hill that is between the walk (past the Bald Spot) and the chapel. The logo was positioned underneath the stained glass window and dead center.
The positioning was important for a couple of reasons. First of all, visibility was a big concern, so the placement along the most trafficked side of the building made sense. But, equally important to me, was the believability of the logo. Apple’s designers, who deal with product packaging, casing, etc., have a very particular way of placing the logo on products and buildings. I sought to replicate their scheme through both, the central, prominent placement of the logo, and the scale of the logo relative to the rest of the building.
In one sense this projection is meant as a kind of reaction to discursive site-specific art. Instead of seeking to mediate and exhibit the socio-historical meaning of a site, often as a way of clarification and affirmation of community, the chapel projection intends to interpret the momentum of today’s highly global society. Thus, it intends to mediate a discussion of the future, placing emphasis on corporations, the important non-state actors of an increasingly global world.
In Jihad vs McWorld, Benjamin Barber convincingly argues that globalization, which causes the vast destruction of culture and of peoples’ perceived identities, is not oppositional to the forces of ethno-religious fundamentalism. Instead he argues that globalization is complimented and accompanied by that form of fundamentalism. While seemingly accurate, I think this argument is perhaps a bit short sighted. Globalization has increased fanaticism, but only as a response to its nearly universal attack on traditional perceptions of identity.
If globalization has caused a flare in fundamentalism, it is only a part of the broader fire that is destroying traditional identity associations. Religion is one of the strongest of these traditional identifiers. Considering our rate of progress in understanding the natural world, as well as the dynamic (but still youthful) world of artificial intelligence, it is compelling to image a future where the biggest unknowns are not natural, but man-made. Apple users are notorious for their zealotry and evangelism. (Apple consumers find themselves in a closed world in which only Apple products can be used, causing their contentment to be dependant upon the belief that they only want Apple products). This tendency towards fundamentalism in Apple’s following represents an embryonic unity between “Jihad” and “McWorld” and it is this attribute of the company in combination with its ruthlessness and savvy that makes it a compelling candidate for a new type of mega-corporation. This entity would not only be a company but an important global socio-cultural-religious identifier.
The use of a corporate symbol in this site-specific work goes against the largely anti-consumerist tendencies of site-specific art. I recently came across a particularly glaring example of this tendency in the Graffiti Research Labs Laser Tag program. The program is free and open source, but contains a stipulation that it may not be used for “advertising, marketing, or promotion.” It might be reasonably argued that this projection of the Apple logo is at least one of the three. It is important to provide some opposition to this anti-consumerism for reasons pertaining to both the importance of corporations in developing the technology tool necessary for many site-specific works and to the developing notions of corporations as identifiers previously discussed.
In discussions with John Schott about the projection he voiced that it evoked thoughts of original sin. In response to this I considered the meaning of the logo. Regardless of what the company says, I remain convinced that the logo is derived from the story of Alan Turring, a Brilliant British mathematician and in many ways the father of computer science. He was a gay man and was tried and convicted of gross indecency. After his conviction he became very depressed and killed him self by dipping an apple in cyanide and taking a bite.
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