The TRaNsMOGRiFiER changes things in unpredictable ways. Objects dropped off during the day are subject to transmogrification–an overnight process that involves people, found materials, cardboard, electronics, and hot glue. Owners pick up their objectsTR the next day. There is no charge, but Transmogrification is irreversible.

TRaNsMOGRiFiER is a collaboration with Peter Bussigel. Project website at www.transmogrifier.net

The brain is the central transmogrification processor capable of changing any object into any other object, at least in theory. The brain is a simple synthesizer with a motorized mechanical sequencing system. Six capacitor trees rotate, each completing one of six square wave voices on a simple circuit, the circuit extends full-length across the gallery via bare wires to six individual speakers. The brain is sensitive to light so works better at night.

TRaNsMOGRiFiER is an ambiguous idea–an installation, a durational performance, a fiction, an instrument. It is also an educational space for collaboration, experimentation, and learning. By actively reconsidering the fixed objects one often finds in galleries, TRaNsMOGRiFiER provides an alternative performance space that asks for new approaches to documentation. Inspired by the playful nature of the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip, and in an attempt to avoid the problems of artistic taxonomy, the cardboard box is extended to the gallery, to the performances contained within, and to the website archive.

TRaNsMOGRiFiER is a weeklong performance installation. Objects left on empty gallery pedestals during the day are then subject to transmogrification. Overnight, each object is performed, transformed, and returned to its pedestal. Owners pick up their objectsTR the next day. The exposed workspace occupies the back third of the gallery and evolves with the objects, providing a window into the chaotic transmogrification process. The project involves a ritualized documentation procedure which includes process video and a polaroid archive on the gallery wall. The cardboard box serves to clarify the project’s motivations as an uncelebrated container for possibility and improvisation. It offers infinite opportunities for collective (re)interpretation and play, inspiring group performances throughout the week and culminating in a live performance during the closing night.

There are registered TRaNsMOGRiFiERS in Providence, Charlottesville, and Brisbane–if, for some reason, you are not in one of these cities, you can send your object in for transmogrification. The current turnaround time for transmogrification by mail is about two weeks. For address and additional information, email transmogrifier@gmail.com.

 objectsTR: a few favourites

Plasti-dip, expanding foam, balloon, other; beautiful but short-lived….