(2002)
For Lenin: BUSTed, Barristers' Gallery, New Orleans, Louisiana

In this instance, invited artists from around the nation were given a plaster bust of V.I. Lenin and a pedestal upon which the piece would be done. My work would play upon the influences of Dadaism and Constructivism in the time of Lenin, as well as the industrial aesthetic of the early Soviet state.This is juxtaposed with the irony of Russia's future by playing with the concept of the Magic 8-Ball and fortune-telling machines such as the classic Zoltar machine as seen in the American movie, Big metaphors of an uncertain future, then or now.

In interacting with this sculpture, the visitor gently presses the button on Lenin's forehead, at which time the bust issues forth a series of Cold War computer sounds from the ear-mounted speakers, while brilliant red (of course) LED's flash in Lenin's pupuls.

Below, the alphanumeric display, which originally beconed the patron to get their fortune in the first place, tells them that he is considering their future, which after a time, he states that he has come to a decision! The display then randomly shows one of the classic 8-ball messages or a snippeet of a Leninist manifesto.