PROCEDURE

Procedure is a multimedia performance that was designed for the video wall in the IAC building in New York City. This performance was filmed live before a rowdy audience on December 2, 2011.

The performance takes the form of a hypothetical body modification in which a patient’s spiritual essence is extracted and implanted on their exterior. Two technicians guide a patient through this fictional process with verbal instructions, and dissect her body with a microscope, traveling inside her eye and stomach to hunt down her spirit. In the world of this performance, the procedure exists somewhere between a boob job, a spa treatment, and a permanent kabbalah bracelet.

We are fascinated by new technologies that allow people to modify their bodies. We are fascinated by the people who take advantage of these technologies, and by the impact of plastic bodies on society.

Procedure is a farce, an extension and inversion of plastic surgery. We attempt to provide a surgical and aesthetic solution to a metaphysical lack. Our patient desires to be perceived as a deep and spiritual person, in touch with the universe and her place in it. Rather than taking the time to develop real depth, our patient chooses a superficial shortcut.

TECHNOLOGY
Procedure uses software written in C++. Live video, from three webcams and one microscope, is sent over the network from laptops on stage to the screen. The progression of the show is controlled using a custom bluetooth remote that integrates with the software.

CREDITS
Concept, Direction, Design, Software: Catherine McCurry and Gabriella Levine
Hardware, Sound Design: Catherine McCurry
Performers: Pilar Castro Kiltz, Catherine McCurry, and Gabriella Levine