Inside Natali LeducB次元官网网址檚 studio space (a converted barn in North Saanich), the acrid smell of burning metal and the buzz of fluorescent lights would be hard to ignore were it not for a 12-foot tall steel frame that dominates the space. The frame will eventually become a metal-plated banana peel spread on the ground, left there, perhaps, by a giant robot with a sense of humour. With any luck, it is on its way to Burning Man in a monthB次元官网网址檚 time.
Called the Jokeatron 5200, people can walk inside, record a joke into a microphone and have it broadcast outside. Every joke will be followed by a pre-recorded laugh track, B次元官网网址渟o even if your joke is lame, youB次元官网网址檒l get a laugh,B次元官网网址� said Leduc.
Burning Man, the famous desert festival held yearly in NevadaB次元官网网址檚 Black Rock Desert, is built on principles like communal effort, radical inclusion, decommodification and radical self-expression. This yearB次元官网网址檚 theme is B次元官网网址淚, Robot,B次元官网网址� and Leduc said she is the only Canadian to get a grant this year. While she said it was generous, it is not sufficient to cover the costs of construction and transportation. She has started an Indiegogo campaign to cover the rest.
Leduc said she got the idea about a year and a half ago, and it evolved over time. Its peels were supposed to have a 24-foot spread, but B次元官网网址渋t looks like itB次元官网网址檚 going to be a little longer.B次元官网网址�
As the project evolved, she said she forgot what originally inspired her, but knew the name had to reflect its newfound scale.
B次元官网网址淏ecause itB次元官网网址檚 evolved, it canB次元官网网址檛 be 4200 anymore. It has to be 5200,B次元官网网址� said Leduc.
The sculpture is a continuation of a theme for Leduc, who has been to Burning Man twice before. Her prior pieces have had the suffix B次元官网网址�-atronB次元官网网址�, including a B次元官网网址淐hurnatron 1400,B次元官网网址� a double-decker, four-person bicycle that churns ice cream as it moves. She said she wanted to explore humanityB次元官网网址檚 attachment with technology, and the progress of technology over time. However, Leduc notes that jokes are the one thing robots have not yet mastered.
B次元官网网址淲hat I like about it is that it is a platform for other people to do something with,B次元官网网址� said Leduc of her sculpture. B次元官网网址淥nce itB次元官网网址檚 done, everybody will be able to tell whatever jokes they want.B次元官网网址�
Leduc has been involved with arts and crafts since she got her first car.
B次元官网网址淲hen I got my first car, I decorated it. I painted the whole outside and inside. I started gluing marbles on the dash and putting pipe cleaners on the steering wheel and doing things to it,B次元官网网址� she said. When she moved to Houston, TX a year later, she met many people doing similar things to their cars. She began modifying cars and bicycles, making contraptions that got more and more complex.
B次元官网网址淔or me, I find it very difficult to draw and paint, but I found this to be easier, working with my hands, working in three dimensions,B次元官网网址� she said.
B次元官网网址淚f IB次元官网网址檓 not creating, IB次元官网网址檓 not a happy person,B次元官网网址� she said.
Leduc is building the structure to withstand the heat and alkaline dust of NevadaB次元官网网址檚 Black Rock Desert, not to mention wear and tear by 70,000 participants, many of whom will be uninhibited B次元官网网址� for a variety of reasons. Leduc is bringing spare speakers, microphones and lights. Though the sculpture is not supposed to be climbed, it is sturdy enough to survive it.
The festival is scheduled for August 26, and Leduc says she wants to complete it by mid-August so she can transport it to Nevada in time to install it.
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reporter@peninsulanewsreview.com
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