The Institute of Infinitely Small Things

From: Justin Grotelueschen
Length: 08:20

I interviewed the staff of the Institute while they prepared some "unmarked" projects. Read the full description.

Piece Audio

Playing: The Institute of Infinitely Small Things
From: Justin Grotelueschen

Institutelogo_small The Institute of Infinitely Small Things is a Boston-based group of so-called social scientists that conducts creative, participatory research that aims to temporarily transform public spaces dominated by non-public agendas. Using performance and conversation, we investigate social and political "tiny things". These have included corporate ads, street names, and post-9/11 security terminology. The Institute markets dissent through its research reports in the form of maps, books and videos. I interviewed a few of the Institute members on a Sunday afternoon while they prepared boxes for the Unmarked Package project: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SvdlQnNeL0 I was interested in how (knowing or unwitting) audience members reacted to their projects, especially since the group doesn't formally introduce or preface their performances before they launch into them. They also described a recent project called Corporate Commands, their recent published work called the New American Dictionary (language that's been introduced in a post-9/11 world), and an upcoming performance at the DeCordova museum as part of the 2008 DeCordova Annual Exhibition.

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Piece Description

The Institute of Infinitely Small Things is a Boston-based group of so-called social scientists that conducts creative, participatory research that aims to temporarily transform public spaces dominated by non-public agendas. Using performance and conversation, we investigate social and political "tiny things". These have included corporate ads, street names, and post-9/11 security terminology. The Institute markets dissent through its research reports in the form of maps, books and videos. I interviewed a few of the Institute members on a Sunday afternoon while they prepared boxes for the Unmarked Package project: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SvdlQnNeL0 I was interested in how (knowing or unwitting) audience members reacted to their projects, especially since the group doesn't formally introduce or preface their performances before they launch into them. They also described a recent project called Corporate Commands, their recent published work called the New American Dictionary (language that's been introduced in a post-9/11 world), and an upcoming performance at the DeCordova museum as part of the 2008 DeCordova Annual Exhibition.