Chatroulette. You’re either confused, or you winced at the very mention of the website. For those of you not in the know, Chatroulette is a website that allows anyone with a webcam to be paired up with another random user. Users can chat for as long as they want, until one party hits the disconnect button. The website is notorious for users prominently displaying their genitals, but could it be art? Pittsburgh artist T. Foley seeks to answer that question in her piece “The Dummy Is Present”, a re-interpretation of Marina Abramović’s The Artist Is Present. (She spoke a little on the impetus of this piece in our previous interview with her). If you’re in Pittsburgh tonight, head to the Andy Warhol Museum to see this unique combination of art and technology, as Hector the Dummy responds to ChatRoulette users before a live audience.
The Dummy Is Present will be a part of the Andy Warhol Museum’s performance series Easy Pieces, Friday, January 6th, at 7:00 pm in Pittsburgh, PA.