I.

Each of my pieces explores human perceptions of dimensionality, time, place, space and reality as they relate to the shifting societal systems which Deleuze contemplates in Postcripts on Control Societies. 

My first piece (Commemorate / Record) deals with death and the way that systems within both societies, punitive and the control, relate and respond to death in the context of military service, operations and war.   The QR code below is comprised of the face of a marine who was killed in Afghanistan recently, when his squadron’s vehicle ran over an IED. 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAJzsBZMfv0&feature=related

The QR code is obviously a newer technology of the controlled society, and although the idea of categorizing marines and more particularly dead marines by QR codes (as opposed to the punitive military’s system of dogtags, rank and military IDs ) is certainly an exaggeration of the system, it depicts the controlled societies use of data to see  and sort individuals into “dividualized” systems; to identify, categorize, sort and direct human subjects, their behaviors and whereabouts within modulated systems. 

The video that the QR is linked to epitomizes the older, more punitive style system of the military, one that relies heavily upon the organization of humans into compliant and ordered systems. Using the timing of movements and physical presence, rank, ritual, rules and punishments to control outcomes, these ceremonies epitomize the essence of what the punitive systems strives to attain: aligned, disciplined and directed efforts for the purpose of accomplishing the goals of those who sit at the top of patriarchal / hierarchical type systems.      

The values of interdimensions addressed involve questions of death, time, time continuums, heaven, earth, consciousness, repenting, regret, killing and dying for the sake of war.

 
II
 
My Second (Remember / Rumor) piece, a survelance video, explores inter-dimensional issues of place-time memory, resonant energies, violence, death and suffering; the justice system, crime and punishment as it relates to punitive vs. control societies.

 

In the clip, a man is seen running from a car that he's just set fire to in an attempt to conceal his involvement in a drug related triple-homicide that occurred recently here, in Bangor. The suspect is nabbed with the “all-seeing” technology systems of a controlled society (video surveillance, computer and database systems that sort, arrange and present data to law enforcement, criminal prosecutors and blood thirsty jury pools.  
 
The irony of the situation is that the suspect has already served time within the prior society’s punitive penal systems which apparently, failed to control or deter the suspect’s future criminal behaviors.  Fortunately, the suspect has been identified and apprehended and he is awaiting his final verdict: life without the possibility of parole. 
 
The question for Deleuze in this case is where should we send him?  Should we send him back to the old punitive-style system or forward toward a control-style penal system? Which system would serve up a more truthful sense of justice to the victim’s families and the perpetrator, in this case? Punitive or control?

The rumor aspect of this piece arises and responds to comments that poured into the Bangor Daily News after the triple homicide occurred surrounding the victims’ identities and speculation regarding the number of suspects, cars, and victims involved. The video and what has come to pass since the night of the murder will put a lot of those rumors to bed.
 
Recently, I walked to the spot where the car was set on fire in the parking lot where I work.  The fire was so hot, it literally skortched the asphalt underneath the body of the car.  Fragments of the car still remain congealed into the shadow of the burned car.  I wondered if the victims are reliving, stuck or confused about what has happened to them in this dimension.  We can’t know for sure, the feeling in the parking lot is of a chilly October afternnon; nothing of that August night, besides the scorched asphalt and small fragments of congealed car, remains in this dimension.


III.

My third piece (Value / Collections) represents a redo for the Great Seal on the back of the US Dollar bill. It represents a shift in societal priorities in that we’re moving towards enslavement to debt instead of enslavement at the factory.  Living a lifestyle that relies on credit to acquire more and more wants, and less needs, represents the idea of putting off  the consequences and outcomes of the decisions we make, not only as consumers of goods and services, but as caretakers of this planet, on a daily basis.
 
Here, the pyramid that was once shown to be built of stone (slave or servant society) is changed to show the addiction we have as a society to credit cards. Also 0's and 1's are featured to show how we are moving toward a control society where our identities are being reduced to accounts, codes, passwords and data sets. Meanwhile, Atlas does his best, in the name of capitalism, to bear the weight of a world caught in a societal shift upon his shoulders, leading us to ask, what will happen if he shrugs?

The inter-dimensional aspect of this piece deals with questions concerning the true origin of the ancient pyramids, their symbolic meaning on the dollar bill, and the question of how pyramids might possibly relate to inter-dimensional realms, beings, and/or whole societies, existing all at once in future, past, and present dimensional planes.  Value and collections are addressed in the way they pertain to the fluctuating value of the US dollar bill, and also to hobby of coin collecting.  Finally the terms “value and collections” are also alluded to as they pertain to the era of the pharos, the pyramids of Giza, and the incredible valuables that were found within the tombs of the great kings of ancient Egypt and beyond.