Kasper Ostrowski, Dept. of Communication and Culture, Aarhus University, Denmark
Boston 2017: Open
“Printing like this is a fun process – My earphones came out like an erotic picture” (EP participant)
Discover the surprisingly aesthetic qualities of marooned everyday objects. In this display participants can explore sensibility, inscription and estrangement by having mundane objects turned into empirical prints – unique, artistic monotypes.
“What happens when we slow down the process of printmaking to a hairdryer?” (EP participant)
In order to facilitate the collection of printable materials and expand the analytic potential, a new setup will be implemented in the Boston 2017 edition of ‘empirical prints’. The day before the printing session I will randomly challenge (up to 32) 4S participants to be enlisted in the EPP(Empirical Printing Program). They will be invited to the print display, given a simple collection challenge, rewarded with a special EPP tag and payed 25 cents for the trouble. If they play along, they can subsequently buy their own prints back for the 25 cents. A number of “instant challenges” will also be provided at the display. In order to investigate the prints more thoroughly a ‘postrequisition-form’ will be provided for the participants to fill out. A tiny photo booth like set-up will also be added to the “drying station” in order to collect better documentation. The mobile printing concoction functions as a contrapuntal inscription devise, which simultaneously blurs and displays the connection between input and output. It turns marooned materials into objects of inquiry, making us re-consider the naturalness of the natural and exploring the potential otherness in and of the mundane.
