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December 24, 2004

Power to the People

p2p_.jpg

Public Play

"P2P" by Matt, Susan, and Robert Gorbet, is a performative installation consisting of a marquee of light bulbs installed on the face of a public building and a switch panel on a nearby sidewalk. Each switch controls one corresponding bulb on the marquee.

The switch panel is an open invitation of expression extended to the general public, and each time it is installed it creates a new social experiment. Some members of the public engage in competitive games with each other, "chasing" each other around the marquee; others choose to write their name, or word slogans ("Peace," "H", "F U", "Weed", etc.), or draw small pictures. Some messages are indecipherable or benign, others cause a few raised eyebrows.

This installation is fun to interact with, and it is just as fun to watch others interacting with it, which is a rare experience indeed. Past installations of P2P include one on the face of Kitchener City Hall, in Kitchener, Canada, and on the face of the Drake Hotel, in Toronto, Canada. Check out more work by the Gorbet Design collective at their website. (Posted by Michelle Kasprzak)

Posted by at December 24, 2004 11:02 AM

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