"Stupid Machines Exhibition" Tsunehito Tsuchiya, Hiroto Hayakawa, Masatoshi Uchida, Mizuki Kisaichi January 2013, 1 - January 15, 2013
Venue: Art Gallery T+
Date: June 2013, 1 (Wednesday) - June 15, 2013 (Friday)
Exhibitors: Tsunehito Tsuchiya, Hiroto Hayakawa, Masatoshi Uchida, Mizuki Kisaichi
(3rd year design major)
Happy New Year. We at the Screw Club Festival are pleased to announce that with the support of T+, we will be holding the first physics exhibition, the "Stupid Machines Exhibition." What we are announcing this time is "stupid machines." You will get to interact with dedicated machines. We will be careful not to cause a fire. (*There will be no actual fire.)
T+review
The empty gallery was bustling. Wherever you were in the room, you could hear the sounds of the tightly packed machines lined up inside. The hum of a swinging electric fan, the voices on the television as the screens switched one after the other, the thumping of a treadle sewing machine, the faint vibration from the questionnaire box. Some of the machines moved on their own, while others began to move when we initiated something from them, such as pressing a switch. Their functions were varied, but they all had one thing in common: their movements were in accordance with human needs and desires, and they could only move in those ways.
These fools try to dutifully answer the demands of humans, and act calmly according to the roles they are given. However, their answers are not always perfect. This exhibition gives a glimpse of that imperfection. For example, there is the unnatural conversion of words, such as "Kosetsu" and "Tatsumaki Papers." Also, after the phrase "Even Kurumi" that appears in the exhibited "Kosetsu," there is a polite but completely absurd explanation inserted: "'Kurumi' is a noun, 'desu' is polite language, and 'ra' is their ra." There are many "Quiet" signs posted on the wall, persistently.
Their earnest yet somewhat off-kilter appearance makes us laugh. But doesn't it also feel unnatural and creepy? Because their mistakes are so inhuman and emotionless. They are doing their best as machines. They carry out the mission they have been given without any consideration. But of course, they don't think about what job they are doing, or whether they are failing. That's why they make ridiculous, incomprehensible mistakes. But it was humans who created them. The things humans have created make mistakes that humans cannot understand...
Of course, the failures of the machines in this exhibit are probably staged intentionally. We can laugh at these "minor incidents." But deep down, we are probably remembering all sorts of problems, big and small, with machines in our daily lives. We may be overlooking them, or pretending not to notice them, but we are usually not giving much thought to the incompatibility between machines and humans. (Okano Emiko)
