When Bernie came to visit our class he told us about this piece. He likes to use a lot of low-tech in his work, this large scale wooden and interactive installation consisted of a complex system of gears, pulleys, cranks, and wheels powered by guests. When you first walk in you see a bench and a television screen displaying what hidden cameras are picking up around different parts of the installation. Above this there were some gears controlling the way a pencil was writing (or doodling) on a long sheet of paper being pulled passed it. Here you can see a trail of wood on the ceiling leading to the contraptions in the next room, a treadmill powered by people walking on it and a bicycle like form that is powered by human pedaling. So when these two parts were in operation together, the pencil began to write on the paper... that is until someone sits on the bench, halting the entire process no matter how hard the others are pedaling and walking.
This piece for Bernie was a commentary on politics, which I think is evident from the title he took from a Marxx Brothers skit. He brought up a serious topic and presented it in a playful way that hopefully made it easy for guests to understand and that is what I really enjoy about his piece.
Also, I remember how much he said he loved the ceiling of the gallery his work was in so I thought I would share this with you. It will give you a better sense of what this piece looks like in person. He really incorporated the whole building.
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