Exhibition SMILE MACHINES

Exhibition
SMILE MACHINES
by Anne-Marie Duguet
(from the exhibition catalogue)
In !"#-"! Alfre$ %arry in&ente$ a nice exam'le of blac( humour) the $ebraining
machine* +o be 'reci,e) in a ,ong of -bu Cocu (act ) ,cene .) in /hich $ebraining i, a
'o'ular ,'ectacle ,een by the /hole family on a Sun$ay0
Loo() loo( the machine i, turning)
Loo() loo( the brain i, ,'urting)
Loo() loo( the 1en,ioner, are trembling***
Choru,0 Hooray) cuc(ol$-in-the-ar,e) three cheer, to father -bu
In "#2-#. 3eorge, Maciuna, in&ente$ a ,mile machine) a little in,trument /ith a
,'ring to 'ut in the mouth in or$er to ,ho/ the teeth an$ to (ee' the ,mile* 4ithout
'atent or charitable ,tatu, it i, ne&erthele,, &ery u,eful in un'lea,ant time, /hen the
$eclare$ an$ controlle$ form of ha''ine,, become, the /ay of ma(ing one belie&e in
one5, o/n reality) 6e7ually6 ,hare$ by all*
8rom one machine to the other) from 'ata'hy,ic, to 8luxu, there i, the ,ame mental
,tate to u,e $eri,ion in or$er to 7ue,tion e&i$ence) to $emy,tify myth, an$ ,elf-
im'ortant i$iot,) an$ to ,ho/ thing, many 'refer to (ee' hi$$en* +o$ay %arry9, machine
an$ Maciuna,9 in,trument are re'lace$ by 6machine-li(e6 ,tructure, of 7uite another
,co'e) buil$ing the /hole me$iatic an$ technological com'lexe, $e,tine$ to moul$
$e,ire an$ beha&iour) 'erha', in&i,ibly but e&en more effecti&ely* (:)
+he ,mile 'ro$uce$ by the 8lux Smile Machine of 3eorge, Maciuna, i, in fact a terrible
grimace* +he ,mile force$ u'on ,ix young /omen for one an$ a half hour, in Chee,e)
an in,tallation by Chri,tian M;ller) i, tragic* Here) the ,mile-training i, a,,i,te$ by the
me$ia-machine an$ ,u''orte$ by $igital technology ma$e to recogni,e an$ control
ex're,,ion, that at the ,lighte,t $ecrea,e of 6,eriou,ne,,6 emit an alarm ,ignal*
+he 6o&er,miling6 i, a mean, of mar(et economy (in /hich the fir,t one, to bear the
co,t, are the /omen)) an$ a, 3ille, Deleu<e ,ay,0 6no/a$ay, mar(eting i, the
in,trument of ,ocial control6*
+he exce,, in ,ign, of 'olitene,, in the commercial realm) the con,tant greeting, an$
(i,,e, on tele&i,ion) all thi, i, 'roof of the increa,ing mi,ery of human relation,* =ne
ha, to 'lay into thi, $i,'lay of ha''ine,, ,u''orte$ by the 'romi,e, of continuou,ly
a$&ance$ technology* +he irony of Chee,e i, cau,tic) 'itile,,*
Since the ,y,tem i, $etermining ,cientifically an$ ,tati,tically the margin, of free$om
nece,,ary for it, o/n functioning) it i, /ithin the,e margin, that arti,t, are in&enting
&iolation, an$ 'ro$ucing acceleration, of the fun$amental &iru,) by o&erexciting the
force$) calculate$ game or by 'laying it in another /ay* >obert 8illiou 'ro'o,e$ thi,
'rinci'le of 'ermanent creation0 64hate&er you9re thin(ing) thin( ,omething el,e*
4hate&er you9re $oing) $o ,omething el,e*6 A ,tea$y exerci,e in the ,hifting of i$ea,
an$ getting out of the /ay) mo&ing a,i$e) again,t the current) $e&iating) 6going
$o/nhill6 ? that are the 'roce$ure, of humour*
Humour ? thi, term become, generic in the en$ an$ co&er, a /i$e range of $ifferent
beha&iour, an$ 'roce$ure,* Deri,ion) irony) moc(ery) 'aro$y) ,atire) caricature) 'lay on
/or$, an$ image, ? they $o not all al/ay, ,ho/ the ,ame critical $egree or inci$ence)
but they all are /or(ing in the ,ame $i,tance from reality by 'laying /ith it an$ fin$ing
'lea,ure in thi, game* Since thi, i, a ,u,'en,ion from our connection to the cour,e of
e&ent,) the momentary lo,, of emotional in&e,tment) /hich i, tem'orarily nece,,ary in
light of the context an$ the @o(e it,elf an$ ha, a great 'o/er of $e-$ramati,ation) relief
an$ ,timulation*
(:)
+hu,) the fine,,e of humour) the au$acitie, of $eri,ion) the 'oint, of irony charge$ /ith
a 'otential critici,m more or le,, ,ub&er,i&e accor$ing to hi,torical) geogra'hic an$
cultural context,) but they al,o $e'en$ on the /ill to 'u,h further $i,,ent) or ,im'ly to
'lay the game*
(:)
6Smile Machine,6 i, not an exhibition about humour) but it i, tra&er,e$ by a common
,'irit) by an attitu$e of $i,re,'ect an$ 'ro&ocation) an$ abo&e all un$er the trait, of
$eri,ion an$ irony* +he 'ro'o,e$ regrou'ing, $on9t ha&e the &alue of a the,i,* >ather)
they are in,i,tence,) ,ometime, in &ie/ of the target, aime$ at art) me$ia) technology)
$aily routine) ,ometime, /ith regar$ to a certain (in$ of humour0 blac( humour or ro,e-
coloure$ humour*
+he techni7ue, are manifol$0 from embroi$ery an$ the /heel of a bicycle to &i$eo)
robotic, or $igital i$entification ,y,tem,* Since the critical an$ humorou, attitu$e i, not
relate$ to a ,'ecific me$ia) it i, /orth the effort to con,i$er ? in a ,ociety largely
mo$elle$ or 6mo$ulate$6) in the /or$, of Deleu<e) by $igital technologie, ? in /hich
/ay thi, technological $e&elo'ment i, (e't in a $i,tance by the o'erator, them,el&e,*
Deri,ion of technology by it,elf
Nam %une 1ai( $eman$, from technology that it be ,omething el,e than that /hich it i,)
an$ that i, $oe, ,omething el,e than that /hich it normally $oe,* 4hen he ,ay, 6I ma(e
technology ri$iculou,6 thi, ,elf-$e,cribe$ 6techno-i$iot6 mean, /hat he ,ay,* In hi,
/or( 1ai( $e,ecrate, technology an$ ,y,tematically brea(, u' the uniformity of
technology* 4ith an ab,olute i$ea of relati&ity) 'ro&i,ionality an$ &ariability) 1ai(
,crutini,e, the elementary com'onent, of electronic machine,) an$ in fact in contra,t to
the technical ,tan$ar$ configuration, that ,to' the flo/) bloc(, the 'o,,ibilitie, of
tran,formation) an$ force, a ,tate of imaginary un$er-ex'loitation* 4ithout the ,lighte,t
,cru'le he i, 'laying /ith the machine,) an$ abo&e all he i, 'laying /ith un$i,gui,e$
'lea,ure*
4ith a ,imilar attitu$e of $i,tant an$ amu,e$ im'lication regar$ing technologie,)
$e&elo'ing a 'ro@ect out of curio,ity) ex'erimenting) loo(ing an$ learning) ,e&eral
arti,t, here are /or(ing on the $emy,tification of technology* +hey relati&i,e it, heroic
feat, an$ function,) ,coff at the ,alutary 'romi,e, attribute$ to them) an$ thereby
ultimately en$ u' ina$&ertently ,ho/ing it, ca'acitie,*
4hether 'rocee$ing by $eregulation) accumulation) exaggeration u' to the ab,ur$ity
(%o$i)) or by infiltrating ,urre'titiou,ly a controlle$ reality in an illu,ion of the &irtual
(Ai$eogame by StB'hane 3ilot)) all the,e /or(, are an exerci,e concerning the latent
chao, of ,y,tem,) a comment on the ru'ture an$ ra'ture of the em'tine,, of ,ocietie,
rolling in material goo$,*
+he actual technological $e&elo'ment,) than(, e,'ecially to the ,u''ort of cogniti&e
,cience, an$ re,earch on artificial intelligence an$ artificial life) in&ite u, to recon,i$er
the 7ue,tion of the mime,i, tra$itionally relate$ to the image* +he reali,ation, re,ulting
from a$&ance$ robotic, thu, intro$uce, into the $omain of art) a conce'tion of
autonomy that no longer ,ee, the mechanical autonomy of the automaton* Simulating
logical 'roce$ure, ,'ecific to the human) an$ /ith a $egree of com'lexity that it may be
'ro&i$e$ /ith) i*e* the ability of analy,i, an$ initiati&e) the /or( i, no longer
re're,enting an a''earance) an attitu$e ? it 6i,6 beha&iour*
+he 6robot,6 'ro$uce$ by arti,t, ,ince the ,ixtie, (:) har$ly e&o(e that /hich one
u,ually refer, to* +hey $on9t ha&e a function or at mo,t) only a ,ymbolic one) ,er&e no
'ur'o,e) may not re'lace a 'er,on) an$ are neither game, nor toy,* +hey are ,'len$i$ly
u,ele,,) ne&er tru,t/orthy) an$ ha&e only limite$ ca'acitie,*
(:)
1etit Mal by Simon 1enny an$ +he Hel'le,, >obot of Norman 4hite are ex'o,e$ to
$i,turbance, an$ 6ab,ence,6* Ho/e&er) the 'art of in$etermination conferre$ to 1etit
Mal i, no $y,function but rather an element of it, 'erfection) ,ince 6it9, the margin of
in$etermination that allo/, to a machine to be rece'ti&e to an external information6 a,
3ilbert Simon$on ,ho/,*

+he com'lexity of 'roce$ure, an$ the le&el of ab,traction of the 'rogram $o not ren$er
technology an$ han$icraft, a, ,im'ly o''o,ing force,* =n the contrary) humour
emerge, from the ex'lo,i&e con@unction of both) an$ exactly in their confrontation may
in&ent uni7ue an$ ,ur'ri,ing ,y,tem,* Norman 4hite an$ Simon 1enny are the
arti,tCcraft,men of their robot,0 the fir,t one i, recycling a com'uter) the ,econ$ i,
re$ucing the ba,ic element, to tho,e ,trictly nece,,ary for the functioning of the ,y,tem*
+hey $on9t ha&e any anthro'omor'hou, a,'ect,0 +he Hel'le,, >obot loo(, li(e a coffin
an$ 1etit Mal li(e a /heelchair) but /hene&er ,omething come, to life in them) the
agility of the mo&ement or the ,'o(en language) a, ,oon a, a trace of autonomy i,
'erce'tible) all thi, non-re,emblance fall, into obli&ion an$ a 6human effect6 i,
acti&ate$) inciting the &ie/er to 'ro@ect en$le,,ly* +hu,) the ob@ect of humour may
become the &ie/er him,elf inter'reting a ,light ,te' bac( a, fear) an$ a ,te' for/ar$ a,
curio,ity* Sen,iti&e to the en&ironment) ca'able to $i&er,ify an$ to in&ol&e it, reaction,)
the robot trie, to ha&e a relation,hi' to the human being) an$ thi, relation,hi' i,
con,titute$ from the beginning a, a human relation,hi') one of $omination or of
,ym'athy* +he robot i, no longer the ,la&e) it en,la&e, the other* +hi, (in$ of re&er,al i,
a ,atire of human ',ychology an$ of the ex're,,ion of the 'latitu$e of the threat that
re're,ent, the $e&elo'ment of ,uch autonomou, 6creature,6 for the human being*
+hi, $o-it-your,elf creati&e metho$ology i, ,urely one (in$ of re,i,tance to the
technological o&er,u''ly an$ ,imulation) an$ thu, the machine, of %ean +inguely
al/ay, 'ro&o(e a ,mile becau,e of the ingeniou, ,im'licity of a ,ometime, com'lex
functioning that ,eem, again an$ again to be ,ome ,ort of miracle* >emue-MBnage of
%ean-1ierre 3authier elaborate, on the ba,e of the recycling an$ rearrangement of
e&ery$ay ob@ect,) an$ ex'lore, the a,tutene,, of the tran,'arent threa$ to create the
illu,ion of an autonomy of it, element,) tran,forming it,elf in front of the &ie/er9, eye,
an$ /ithout the arti,t5, inter&ention* +he utmo,t con,e7uence of thi, autonomy i,
e&i$ent in the &i$eo Defore +ele&i,ion by Eimena Cue&a, in /hich the arti,t i, $ogge$
by her &acuum cleaner) a com'lete nightmare of the rebellion of hou,ehol$ ob@ect, an$
a 'aro$y on ,la',tic( film,*
Still artF
+hough arti,tic 'ractice, for the mo,t 'art ha&e left the in,titutional ,cene) an$ although
the critici,m of art i, no longer a 'reoccu'ation of young arti,t,) the humour of ,ome
/or(,) e&en of tho,e $ating bac( to the ,e&entie,) ha, not lo,t it, rele&ance* +he +hin(er
by Nam %une 1ai( i, a ,tatue of >o$in contem'lating in li&e-broa$ca,t it, o/n image on
a &i$eo monitor* +hi, me$iate$ intro,'ection ? 'ara$oxically con,i,ting of the u,e of
the clo,e$ electronic circuit to ca'ture the immobility of a ,tatue of the la,t century ? i,
a goo$ exam'le of the humorou, incongruity confronting techni7ue, an$ e'och,* Dut
abo&e all the ,ce'tici,m of the 'o,e characteri,ing e&ery re,'ectable thin(er) i, here
a$$re,,ing the tele&i,ion an$) by exten,ion) technology it,elf*
+he tautology) the ,hort-circuit of the ,y,tem) i, a critical 'roce$ure accom'anying
,e&eral /or(, /ith $ifferent mo$alitie, of ,elf-$eri,ion an$ ,elf-centre$ne,,*
6A''arently that9, not a 'i'e*6 Here) there i, only the /or( an$ nothing el,e*
CelaC+hatCDat by Michael Sno/ (.222) i, $e,cribing in a ,core for three language, an$
on three ,creen, ,im'ly /hat you are ,eeing ? ,im'ly the /or( it,elf) exhibite$) being
about to be ta(en-in or maybe not) here an$ no/) an$ that9, it* 1laying /ith the
e&i$ence an$ the literality of $e,ignation) Michael Sno/ 'rofit, from ,hooting arro/,
/il$ly here an$ there to/ar$, tra$itional metho$,) ex'ectation, an$ co$e, regulating
our relation,hi' to art* Le, Le&ine i, hea'ing ,corn on mo$erni,t 'o,ition, of the ,ixtie,
,tating that the 'roblem, of art ha&e nothing to $o /ith tho,e of the ,ociety0 6I9m an
arti,t) I $on9t /ant to be in&ol&e$6) an$ >obert 8illiou i, $emon,trating mathematically
the 'rinci'le of the balance of force, in art (An$ So =n En$ So Soon) Done +hree
+ime,) in or$er to $eclare that e&erybo$y i, able to ma(e art* +he 'rinci'le, of non-
@u$gement) non-a$miration an$ non-com'ari,on come to ,u''ort thi, irre&ocable
abolition of the criteria of recognition* +hi, 6geniu, /ithout talent6) foun$er of the
6+erritory of the ingeniou, >e'ublic6) creator of the 'ro@ect 6C=MMEM=>C
Commi,,ion Mixte $9Echange, $e Monument, aux Mort,6 GMixe$ Commi,,ion for the
Exchange of 4ar Memorial,H bet/een 3ermany) Delgium an$ the Netherlan$,) al,o
$eri$e, frontier,) flag, an$ nationalitie,* +hi, 8lag i, Meant to Stra$$le*** i, an em'ty
frame) an o'en an$ fragile frontier to cro,, /ithout reali,ing it***
+he rumination in the me$ia
6+he encratic language (the language 'ro$uce$ an$ ,'rea$ un$er the 'rotection of the
'o/er) i,) in it, ,tatutory ba,i,) a language of re'etitionI all official in,titution, of
language are ruminating machine,0 ,chool) ,'ort,) 'ublicity) ma,,-'ro$uce$ goo$,)
,ong,) ne/, ? all of them re'eat al/ay, the ,ame ,tructure) the ,ame ,en,e) often the
,ame /or$,0 the ,tereoty'e) the 'rinci'al figure of i$eology*6
+hu, the /hole fiel$ of me$ia i, ,er&ing a, a reference an$ re,er&oir of figure, an$
me,,age, from /hich arti,t, ac7uire in or$er to $eri$e it, 'roce$ure, an$ to em'ha,i,e
it, ob@ecti&e,* +a(ing out of thi, re,er&oir fragment, of image,) recom'o,ing an$
re'eating them in or$er to let the $i,cour,e ,tutter ,o that it become, ab,ur$) they re&eal
the in,ignificance an$ at the ,ame time the fact of re'etition con,tituting it, 'o/er* Dara
Dirnbaum for exam'le) i,olate, ,hort ,e7uence, from the +A ,erie, 4on$er 4oman)
,'litting them u' to ,till frame, an$ re'eating the (ey moment, ,o that they ,ho/ their
flagrant $i,regar$ of ,tereoty'e,* Deom Jim 'racti,e, a &ery 'reci,e ,urgery in the
$i,cour,e of ,ome 're,enter, of +A ne/, an$ com'o,e, /ith the,e micro-element, a
'aratext con,i,ting of 'er,onal $ay-$ream, of the +A &ie/er) /ithout any relation to the
're,ente$ e&ent,I a con,e7uence of the ,aturation of information* A, for the mirror
machine Slogan, of Antoni Munta$a,) ,o it mo&e, the &ie/er in a uni&er,e of 'ublicity
,logan, in three language, that are reflecte$ an$ multi'lie$ a$ infinitum in a labyrinth of
mirror,* Since bombar$ment by a$&erti,ing i, e&er- 're,ent) it in&ite, u, to e,ca'e from
the $aily routine) to ta(e a $ream holi$ay) an$ to en@oy the $ubiou, 'lea,ure, of
con,um'tion* Dut by the mean, of re'etition an$ inten,ification) the me,,age it,elf i,
annulle$) ab,orbe$ an$ ab,tracte$ in the $igital 'attern, con,tituting it*
Infiltration an$ ,imulation, a, critical ,trategy
+he Ke, Men no longer act /ithin the confine, of the art,-,'here but rather at the ,cene
of the crime it,elf) 'utting on their ma,(, in broa$ $aylight* +heir bag-of-tric(, con,i,t
of u,ing the argument, of the a$&er,ary) an$ in a''ro'riating the i$entity of 'er,on,
ha&ing ,ome criminal or hi$$en re,'on,ibility in or$er to 6correct6 them) ,im'ly
in,i,ting on certain economic an$ hi,torical fact, an$ carrying it, 'rofit-oriente$ /ay of
thin(ing to it, logical conclu,ion* So they 're,ent) /ith great ,eriou,ne,,) in front of an
a,,embly of ban(er, an$ manager, of large cor'oration,) a re&olutionary techni7ue that
ma(e, it 'o,,ible to calculate the 6acce'table $egree of ri,(6 that a com'any ta(e, in
$ifferent countrie,) e,'ecially in term, of ca,ualtie,* +he be,t $eci,ion in thi, regar$ i,
re/ar$e$ /ith a 3ol$en S(eletonL
+he 'erfection of ,ocial an$ 'olitical control by the bureaucracy i, hel$ u' for critici,m
in the 3M-1,ychN=S 3enerator by the arti,t,9 grou' ubermorgen*com in&enting
generator, of i$entity an$ ban(ing $ocument,) authentically forge$) that i,) technically
a, authentic a, the ,u''o,e$ original, ? an in$ication that information technology i,
ine&itably in&ali$ating the conce't of original* An$ regar$ing the Emotional Aen$ing
Machine by Maurice Denayoun) it9, an analy,er of the emotion, of the /orl$ by mean,
of a ,earch machine) of cour,e in Engli,h) that ex'lore, ,y,tematically emotional mean,
of ex're,,ion on the internet* +hi, in&entory of emotion, of /hich one may ,elect the
right $o,age before $o/nloa$ing it in the form of a mu,ical com'o,ition) i, an ironic
comment on the cynici,m of ma,, me$ia*
In ,earch of life form, in the $e'th, of the earth) Agne, Meyer-Dran$i, ex'lore,
,ubterranean iceberg, /ith the hel' of ,en,iti&e interface, na&igate$ by the fingerti', or
at the en$ of a threa$ in or$er to ma(e ob&iou, a combination of ,cientific an$ fictitiou,
circum,tance,* A 'erformance an$ in,tallation) S3M ? Iceberg 1robe come, from
6&ertigo-technology6) a humorou, arrangement aiming to 'aro$y the myth, an$ the
i$eologie, of the con7ue,t of ,'ace (an$ their cinematic re're,entation) for the
technological an$ ,ocial metho$, of ,cientific ex'erimentation*
Dlac( humour &, ,eeing life through ro,e-coloure$ gla,,e,
At one en$ of the ,'ectrum i, the blac( humour* +he humour that aim, at /ar) ,ex)
$eath) religion) chil$hoo$ an$ all that i, holy an$ taboo) an$ that ma(e, light of the mo,t
tragic thing,* Dlac( humour i, an art form mo&ing the $ramatic to the ,i$e of a feigne$
in$ifference in or$er to ,ur&i&e) an$ that more than any other form of $i,tance ma(e, it
'o,,ible) in the /or$, of 8reu$) 6to economi,e the affect, /e are u,ually ex'ecting in an
certain ,ituation6* +he @o(e, of Sul@o an$ Mu@o in regar$, to the Do,nian /ar a,,emble$
by Ma@a Da@e&iO for Dlac( in Dlac() i, a''arently a metho$ to get o&er the horror by
laughing about it* Dlac( humour i, 'ure $ynamite) it allo/, u, to ,ay embarra,,ing
truth,) to tran,gre,, the ,ocial an$ in$i&i$ual re're,,ion by @o(ing /ith total aban$on*
+hu, the &i$eo, of +amy Den-+or about Hitler are a ,uite of cau,tic) bra<en 'aro$ie,
'laying /ith the ,hame of the &ie/er caught at laughing*
6+orture i, ba,e$ on a /hole 7uantitati&e art of 'ain*6 Death i, Certain by E&a Meyer-
Jeller 'ro$uce, a calculate$ $eath execute$ ,lo/ly) meticulou,ly) inexorably* She
tran,fer, the ,a$i,tic col$ne,, of torture onto the 'retty cherrie,* 4ith the hel' of
e&ery$ay in,trument, they are ,corche$) $ro/ne$) hung an$ $e,troye$ /hereby the
arti,t re,'ect, a 'erfectly regulate$ ritual am'lifie$ by the ,trict focu, of the camera on
the $i,,ecting table* +hu,) me$iate$ by the ,e$uction of ae,thetic,) the &i$eo i, built
u'on the meta'hor of ,a$i,tic an$ 'olitical crime throughout all of hi,tory an$ in all
nation,*
(:)
A ,trange humour emerge, from the 'iece by 1aul DeMarini,) 3rin$ Snaxe Dlin$ A'e,)
a tribute to hi, $ecea,e$ frien$) the arti,t %im 1omeroy* +o re&i&e the memory of a $ea$
'er,on /ith a 'ortrait) a 'hoto or a film) i, a common thing that $oe,n9t 'ro&o(e a
@oyou, reaction* Dut if it i, the han$ of a mon(ey tracing out the 'ortrait of the $ecea,e$
/ith a la,er 'en) an$ if there9, a lac( of reali,m in the 'ortrait) an$ if a ,oun$
re'ro$uction ma(e, 'erce'tible the ,nore of the $ea$ 'er,on) then thi, tribute i, not
/ithout humour after all* An$ %im 1omeroy him,elf /a, al,o not /ithout humour* In hi,
text,) 'erformance,) &i$eo,) in hi, often ,o'hi,ticate$ han$icraft, /ith all (in$, of MD
,y,tem,) PD gla,,e, an$ mu,ical hat,) he $emy,tifie, technology it,elf) it, origin, an$
it, economic ba,e,) an$ by thi, he i, moc(ing all form, of authority) 'atrioti,m an$
im'eriali,m* +he /ar in Aietnam an$ the fir,t ,te', on the moon create the context of a
great 'ortion of hi, acti&itie,*
At the other en$ of the ,'ectrum i, the other extreme0 ro,e-coloure$ humour* Here one
mo&e, to the ,i$e of the affirmation of ha''ine,, an$ to the exce,, of $elight an$ /ell-
being by the $eri,ion of the common'lace* C9e,t bien la ,ociBtB G+hat9, /hat ,ociety i,H
of AalBrie 1a&ia i, re,ume$ by it, title*
Annette Me,,ager ha, collecte$ 'ro&erbial ,aying, from century to century that ha&e
forme$ the image of /omen in ,ociety* Here) ,he ha, embroi$ere$ them onto cloth* +he
collection a, ,uch i, alrea$y a humorou, act that confer, onto the nature of the
,tereoty'e another ,'in* E&en if embroi$ery i, a @ob tra$itionally a,,igne$ to /omen
thi, i, no rea,on to ma(e an in,cri'tion of that /hich i, o''re,,ing them* (:)
+ogether /ith hi, 'rinci'al 'rotagoni,t) the $og Man >ay) 4illiam 4egman 'ro$uce$
in the "#2, a ,erie, of ,hort &i$eo ,cene,* Dy mean, of exce,,) ,ur'ri,e an$
incongruity) a ,atire of the common'lace an$ of human beha&iour i, create$0 integration
of the 'ublicity $i,cour,e (Deo$orant)) fa,cination of the &ie/er, of a tenni, match
(Dog Duet)) learning at ,chool (S'elling Le,,on)) etc* +he 'ro@ection of human
',ychology onto the animal) more unfore,eeable in it, reaction, than the robot) remain,
a ,ure thing in term, of arou,ing humour*
All the,e arti,tic 'ro'o,ition, in their extreme $i&er,ity $o not in each ca,e re&eal the
contra$iction, of a ,ociety largely forme$ by technology* Ho/e&er they $o ma(e it
'o,,ible to get out of the 'athetic realm an$ to 'ut into 'er,'ecti&e it, ca'acitie, an$
rethin( it, ba,ic,* +he humorou, attitu$e relea,e, an energy ca'able of ,timulating the
'erce'tion of thing,) an$ mo,t im'ortantly of creating a $e,ire /ithout /hich change i,
not reali,able* +o $efen$ the 'o,,ibility of irony) 'er,iflage an$ humour mean, to
$efen$ our little bit of free$om*