Canned Laughter
2009 - Film & Video (Film & Video)
7:31 minutes
Yoshua Okón
Canned Laughter was Okón’s response to an invitation from Ciudad Juárez , Mexico, where artists were asked to create works based on their experience of the city. Okón focuse d on Ciudad Juárez as a site for many ‘ maquiladoras ’ ( factories) and on its role within the global context. A mixed media and video installation , the work takes the form of a fictitious factory that produces canned laughter for sitcoms. The Factory ’s name, Bergson, refers to a collection of essays studying laughter that were published by French philosopher Henri Bergson in 1900 . Okón’s work Canned Laughter alludes to the dehumanization produced by mechanized processes and slavery in the age of globalization , as well as to the impossibility to translate and reproduce true emotions though technological means.
Working primarily in video, Okón combines the genre of do cumentary with performative elements that together blur the boundary between reality and fiction. His video installations capture improvisational narratives created by the artist and his collaborators—performers willing to participate in a game of social chance that may easily spiral out of control. In them, t he camera acts as a catalyst that unleashes his subjects , empowering them to act out an assumed character and in the process revealing thei r own awareness and perceptions. Characterized by their uncomfortable, somber nature these works deliberately provoke viewers through confrontational humor as a way to achieve catharsis . His videos are used as a device to implicate audiences and also activate them as a participant, pressuring them to consider questions of social conduct and personal behavior within the context of the authoritative nation-state, and to question their own attitudes towards power, ethics, and prejudice vis -á- vis class, status, and marginality. Described by Okón as near-sociological experiments, his works give the audience a unique insight into the subjects he portrays. Most importantly, they also evoke a sense of interconnectivity: deeply implicating us in issues that we may normally consider foreign or removed from our everyday lives.
Colors:
Related works sharing similar palette
© » HYPERALLERGIC
Women Are the Post-Apocalyptic Future Skip to content Dana Schutz, "Civil Planning" (2004), oil on canvas (all photos Ela Bittencourt/ Hyperallergic ) BERLIN and PARIS — In recent years, impending ecological apocalypse has spurred a number of contemporary artists to visualize fears of an environmental collapse...
© » THE JEALOUS CURATOR
Yes, Toronto based Bahamian artist Gio Swaby is back on the podcast! I only had her on seven months ago, but since then her career has exploded… clearly, we need to hear everything! From articles in the New York Times and interviews on oprah.com, to five (FIVE!) museums acquiring her work! Also, can we talk […]...
© » KADIST
Koki Tanaka
2010Tanaka’s unique understanding of objects and materials is reflected in the four photographs that document his Process of Blowing Flour ...
© » KADIST
Sabelo Mlangeni
2019The Royal House of Allure is a name of a safe house on mainland Lagos where members of the queer community in need of boarding, due to various circumstances, live together...
© » BROOKLYN STREET ART
Box Trucks – Some of the Best Graffiti On Wheels | Brooklyn Street Art BROOKLYN STREET ART LOVES YOU MORE EVERY DAY Jaime Rojo has built an impressive collection of photographs of these, capturing the essence of New York’s streets through his lens with an array of box trucks that weave and jolt their way through traffic, often seen opening their gates to load and unload amidst the noise of city life...
© » SLASH PARIS
En d’infinies variations — Centre culturel canadien — Exposition — Slash Paris Connexion Newsletter Twitter Facebook En d’infinies variations — Centre culturel canadien — Exposition — Slash Paris Français English Accueil Événements Artistes Lieux Magazine Vidéos Retour En d’infinies variations Exposition Techniques mixtes Chun Hua Catherine Dong, Skin Deep, 2014-2020 (Détail) Photographie avec composante de réalité augmentée Courtesy de l’artiste En d’infinies variations Encore 4 mois : 7 décembre 2023 → 19 avril 2024 Le monde s’accélère au rythme des révolutions industrielles qui se succèdent et produisent autant de mutations sociétales et esthétiques...
© » ARTS EQUATOR
Asian Arts Media Roundtable 2019: When Asian Critics Meet | ArtsEquator Thinking and Talking about Arts and Culture in Southeast Asia Articles Courtesy of Asian Arts Media Roundtable June 12, 2019 By Akanksha Raja and Ke Weiliang (1,444 words, 6-minute read) The inaugural Asian Arts Media Roundtable (AAMR) took place between 24 to 25 May 2019 at LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore...
© » KQED
SF Composer Andy Guthrie Finds Poetry in the Everyday | KQED Skip to Nav Skip to Main Skip to Footer The Do List With a Field Recorder and French Horn, Andy Guthrie Finds Poetry in Everyday Surroundings Daniel Bromfield Dec 11 Save Article Save Article Failed to save article Please try again Facebook Share-FB Twitter Share-Twitter Email Share-Email Copy Link Copy Link Andy Guthrie performs in Paris in March 2023...
© » SLASH PARIS
En d’infinies variations — Centre culturel canadien — Exhibition — Slash Paris Login Newsletter Twitter Facebook En d’infinies variations — Centre culturel canadien — Exhibition — Slash Paris English Français Home Events Artists Venues Magazine Videos Back En d’infinies variations Exhibition Mixed media Chun Hua Catherine Dong, Skin Deep, 2014-2020 (Détail) Photography with an augmented reality component Courtesy de l’artiste En d’infinies variations Ends in 4 months: December 7, 2023 → April 19, 2024 The world accelerated as one industrial revolution after another produced societal and aesthetic changes...
© » ARTS EQUATOR
The Secret Life Of Haw Par Villa: How tours are bringing the arts to life | ArtsEquator Thinking and Talking about Arts and Culture in Southeast Asia ArtsEquator Viewpoints January 8, 2022 By Dia Hakim K (1,270 words, 4-minute read) Ever since the pandemic hit, the notion of travel in Singapore has manifested in a variety of forms...
© » KADIST
Federico Herrero
2009Federico Herrero’s energetic paintings reflect his experiences on the streets of his native San José, Costa Rica, and in the surrounding tropical landscape...
