The Robotic Chair by Max Dean

     On Tuesday I was thrilled to see the Robotic Chair in action! It was on display at the Red Deer Museum and Art Gallery, and was followed up by a talk given by the artist Max Dean. The chair was funny to watch, rolling around the stage, puting it's self back togather. But the most dramatic part of the performance, has to be when the front legs start to slide forward, then BANG! It clatters to the platform in pieces! It was rather startling the first time you see it.
     After we watched the chair a few times, we were directed to a nearby room for the talk. He was then introduced by Tanya Zuzak a former art teacher of mine, who curated the exhibit. She told us that Max Dean was invited to the Venice Art Biennale, twice! And just so you know, the Venice Art Biennale is like the Olympics of the art world. It's a really big deal. Then he started his talk by asking us "What do you think? What do you feel?" As he later explained, he is interested in how people react to his work, and how it interacts with people. That's is why he started with those questions, and also to give people the chance to change the whole direction of his talk. He told us that some people wonder why his chair is so simple in design. He said "I wanted something not spectacular", something we can all relate to. His chair looks quite ordinary, much like the typical chair you could find almost anywhere. Something that is quite a part of our everyday existence. Something I liked, is that he thinks it is boring to make wall art that you just look at, in fact he finds it to be "lame". And he also really got me thinking, is it the experience of looking at what's in a box? Or is it the concept of discovering what's inside, opening it, that's more interesting? I myself am not as found of wall art, as I am of something that offers more of a experience to the viewer. I was so inspired by him! And as tired as I was, I didn't fall asleep while he was talking, I was joting down notes as fast as I could (and I'm not much of a note taker) it was just that riveting! I really would like to hear another lecture by him if I ever got the chance. You can watch the video here, or a video done by a local newspaper about the exibition here.