Phasing the Electromagnetic Flux of Another Shit Moment, February 4, 2020
2020, HD video, 5:41
Phasing The Electromagnetic Flux of Another Shit Moment, February 4, 2020 documents my very first studio experiments of a new four channel phase-controlled electromagnetic cathode ray tube hack. Using video of anti-intellectual racist Rush Limbaugh receiving the presidential medal of honor at Donald Trump’s 2020 state of the union, sequentially phased simple and complex low frequency waveforms are sent to four handmade electromagnets surrounding the electron guns of a VGA computer monitor. Mixing the video feed with electronic and electromagnetic noise and visuals, a shit spectacle is impotently but cathartically processed and disrupted.
Meant to be the first of an ongoing series processing current events in what became my CRT Flux Phaser electromagnetic video synthesizer, my studio practice was interrupted one month later by COVID forcing me to convert my teaching and museum work online. This video is a pre-pandemic time capsule that anticipated a long, ongoing series of shit moments.
Note: opening and modifying a cathode ray tube is a very dangerous process. CRTs store enough volts of electricity to kill you if it accidentally discharges, even if it is unplugged. This monitor was closed back up, the wires to the magnets were insulated, and insulated binding posts were added to send audio signals following the standards I developed for my CRT Flux Phaser project. Do not try this at home.