Self Directed

Kristopher Brunelle
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Thought drone

The inspiration behind my performance piece is taken from a show called "Trigger
Happy TV”. The premise of this show was to do things in a public space that would draw the
attention of the passing crowd. I have always found the activities to be hilarious and wanted
to be one of the characters. Most of the performances were very silly and I liked the idea of
making people laugh, while also drawing their attention away from the outside world. Some
of the pranks made a commentary on issues of the day. I can remember one skit where a
man is carrying an enormous cell phone and after it rings he yells into the phone in the most
obnoxious tone possible.The intent here is to make the audience aware of the annoying
aspects of everyday life.
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For my self directed project, I will be walking around a public area with a drone that has a
tablet attached. On the screen of the tablet, a messaging app will display text large enough so
that most people in the area can see it. There will be someone assisting me, controlling the
drone and writing out messages in real time that will be relevant to the current situation.
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The messages on the screen will be a simulation of my thoughts as I go about my

business. This is akin to a real life thought bubble as I have named the project. I have
constructed a few scenarios exemplifying the intent. I plan on starting innocuously doing
everyday tasks like purchasing food. Completely ignoring the fact that I have a drone following
me. I would then move on to more thought provoking, entertaining, and attention grabbing
behaviors, eventually becoming aware that I am being followed by the drone that is reading my
thoughts.
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This piece will be done in large open areas where lots of people gather for maximum
exposure. Parks or outdoor sporting events are good examples of types of places that will be
used. This piece will be recorded and live streamed on Youtube so that people around the world
could experience this in some form.
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The intent is to entertain, as well as make a commentary on how technology is always listening
in on us and can read your thoughts by actively tracking your behavior to create advertising
profiles.Something along the lines of “Big Brother” is here. I do not plan on explicitly publicizing
the intent during the performance in anyway. If anyone ask about the drone or the piece, I will
pretend to be unable to perceive its existence. I will not communicate the intent because I feel
that it will undoubtedly lead fewer people to truly understand the implications of the piece,
however the ones that do understand will get a better understanding if they believe that they
imposed their own ideas on the meaning of the piece. This will also leave people to make their
own decisions about the intentions of the piece that was never intended. Who am I to say what
the piece means to the viewer? I’m just the artist.
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