Inspiration:
Through the lens of my culture, Saudi Arabia, I created the "Sexist Machine" as a way to articulate the disparity in how society interacts and receive men and women differently. This device reacts to the user based on gender, by engaging the audience in conversation.
The spark of the piece was the "useless machine" by Bruno Munari which was inspired by his childhood memories inspired. Munari created these “Useless Machines” using cardboard, thread, and glass. They were “useless” because they “cannot produce any kind of material good”(Munari, 22) more here
Through the lens of my culture, Saudi Arabia, I created the "Sexist Machine" as a way to articulate the disparity in how society interacts and receive men and women differently. This device reacts to the user based on gender, by engaging the audience in conversation.
The spark of the piece was the "useless machine" by Bruno Munari which was inspired by his childhood memories inspired. Munari created these “Useless Machines” using cardboard, thread, and glass. They were “useless” because they “cannot produce any kind of material good”(Munari, 22) more here
Concept:
The "sexist machine" is a robot that symbolizes society. A faceless, race-less, gender neutral head that spoke to men followed their movement with facial recognition and ignored women completely.
Experience:
1- While the machine is inside a room. The user declares gender with a click. (I chose the button vs. using a gender recognition I had to respect my users' own definition of their gender)
2- When entering the room:
a. If the user chose the gender (male): the machine says hello and starts a pleasant conversation with the user.
a. If the user chose the gender (male): the machine says hello and starts a pleasant conversation with the user.
b. If the user chose the gender (Female): the machine is more aggressive. Scolding the user with sentences, I heard growing up as a woman. e.g. (Dress properly!, it is inappropriate that we are in the room without a guardian, .., etc.).
Video of user response At the DMI Fresh Media Gallery:
Installed as part of http://www.dmifreshmedia.org/
