AUCTION BLOCK:historicalanddigitalmediaartperspectivesofslavenarratives by novel idea

abstract:

Auction Block's intent is to explore institutional slavery and its aberrant effects on a society, with a multisensorial, and digital approach. However diasporic the experience may have been as it relates to African cultures, in this case the main focus will be centered on American slavery. The venomous acts of historical slavery have infected every aspect of the lives of black people. This would include, but not limited to, cultural and technological advancements innovated by them. Particularly, we still see a sort of cultural robbery, as it relates to the historical representation of black artists and their work in general, but also in Dig ital Media Art, with it’s many factions.

This project hopes to address the issues of race, access, and erasure by exploring the root causes so endemic of our natural society, through a self-reflexive lens. By providing the visceral and immersive experience of smell, sight, sound, and touch, auction block hopes to ground each person/audience, who voluntarily steps onto the block, in an evocation of the slave auction reality. Spotlights along with sound (the auctioneer etc) on each block will also be touch activated, (the stepping onto the block) to bring into focus the act of being on display. The lights obtrusive nature, will serve as a forced irritant to the volunteer, as would be the case of the African slave, but of course multiplied.

By including a networked interface within the systems of this art experience, the intention is to address issues of privacy, identity, and modernity as it relates to our consumptive society. We consume/plug into, the idea of slavery by way of a manufactured, networked, environment. It begs the question of relativity and capitalism as it relates to historical slavery and modern day slavery which expresses itself through modes of technological, and “other” programming.

As Digital Media Art is still being treated as “new”, from a historical standpoint, the challenges of finding digital work of this nature, by and of Black artists, has been noteworthy and near impossible. As a result of this finding, I t would seem that A uction Block has the opportunity to break new ground by marrying the slave narrative, however uncomfortable, with the tools of digitized and networked expression in an immersive engagement. 

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