Diana Burgoyne: Stuck To The Wall

Title:

Stuck To The Wall

Artist(s) and People Involved:

Creation Year:

1985

Artist Statement:

Diana Burgoyne, renowned for her intensive durational work, is considered a pioneer in the electronic media art community. For Lively Objects Burgoyne performs Stuck to the Wall, animating the museum and enlivening the site itself. On entering the gallery the audience is confronted with high frequency sounds emanating from circuits mounted to the wall. Two performers attempt to silence the incessant din by pressing on predetermined points. They hold their respective poses until fatigue causes them to release the switches and the sound. As they repeat the performance several times the viewer becomes distinctly aware of the co-dependence of machine and body. Like a hungry animal the wall cries out for interaction, for attention in order to cease its relentless chorus. Stuck to the Wall is one of two historical electronic media artworks incorporated into this exhibition. Its inclusion is intended to demonstrate the long commitment of Canada’s media art community to the investigation of human-machine interaction. Burgoyne’s use of sound to implicate her audience has come in numerous forms, but always through the most efficient electronic circuitry. Her performance art is grounded, embedded in the everyday, whimsical, and terrifyingly accurate in its implications regarding our collective relationship to technology.