Volley | Monica Cook | 2011
The Public Art Project for ACPfest in 2011 was a sound-activated, interactive animation (stop motion/claymation) by Monica Cook.
Cook’s first stop-motion animation video Deuce was selected by the Guggenheim Museum as one of 25 works featured in the “YouTube Play – A Biennial of Creative Video”. The global online initiative was a joint venture of the Guggenheim and YouTube, in collaboration with HP, aiming “to discover and showcase the most exceptional talent working in the ever-expanding realm of online video.” Cook’s work was selected from more than 23,000 videos submitted.
Her work “Volley” was commissioned by ACP and co-sponsored by Flux Projects. It explored the human-animal interface including ideas of interspecies communication, animals as totems, and deities in early human cultures..
Cook’s animation was activated by the sound of the audience’s applause. In order for the animation to play, clapping must continue, once it ceases the visuals stop. Participation with the audience was key; yet if something appeared questionable to be applauding, the audience had to decide to continue to applaud or yield, knowing they could be equally judged if their interest overrides their ideology.
