Erin Hael
Experimental and Media Arts
hael0002@umn.edu
I am interested in the "elimination of the audience," in the words of Allan Kaprow. My interest in participatory work and constructed situations is to create a social interaction among people. I look to create a situation in which the viewer becomes the performer, not out of feelings of obligation, but of a certain instinctual notion.
Chroma Key Karaoke
On a visit to Japan last year, I took note of the videos that had played in the background of the monitors while a performer would sing in a karaoke room. Often times, the same videos would play for different genres of music; metal, folk, disco, pop etc... I thought
a lot about the personalities of those choosing the songs. Often times, these videos would fit with opposing genres of music. I began to play with green screen and wondered what might change if the singer was able to transform through experimentation with video. Here, the subject was asked to wear either a blue or green sweater if they wanted to sing. A video playlist was run through the program and the sweater was keyed out, revealing the video underneath.
