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m o [ n u ] m e n t I . 2

The interactive kiosk, m o [ n u ] m e n t I . 2 : M e m o r y &  F o r g e t f u l n e s s, began as an electronic panegyric to the death of print; to herald the rebirth of oral culture via the electric. In 1979, the NY Times sold the rights for on-line distribution of its daily archive to Mead DATA, owner of NEXIS/LEXIS and subsidiary of Mead Paper (which made the purchase because it feared the economic threat of the "paperless office"). The NY Times' 1994 decision to hand its archive of paper clips to the public library - and Douglas' appointment as sole worker in this task - inspired i.e. to devise an appropriate ceremony. Three Muses (daughters of Mnemosyne) were wrapped in cellophane to mummify (in cellophane) the cabinets in the Morgue. Their only witness, several obsolete monitors and the photoelectric video eye of the viewer. The impossible essay, m o [ n u ] m e n t I . 2 : S e c r e t F u n e r a l f o r T i m e s  M o r g u e, is the audio backdrop piped through lengths of rubber exhaust hose. The file cabinets, representing the Muses, include burned in monitors in their drawers, televisions in mid-implosion through the tops, and a surveillance camera that captures the kiosk user on one end and displays the user image in front. The kiosk has been on display at Shirley Fiterman Gallery in New York, Painted Bride Gallery in Philadelphia, PA and Eriksberghallen in Göteborg, Sweden.

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