As digital culture becomes more widespread, a way of life is taken for granted at the expense of seeing the processes that created it. With a click here or a click there e-commerce makes it possible to order or experience practically anything from our home. A nicely packaged product reassures us that it is a good product despite our actual knowledge and understanding of its ingredients. The work of Rothenberg and Singer uncover the systems of production that our lives don’t have any contact with. Through their projects we must call into question our acceptance of the digital age.
While it is a fairly obvious understanding that the goods we purchase are produced by people, it is easy to not think about all of the little steps involved in production. Through Rothenberg’s “Invisible Thread” a user is forced to go through the steps of producing a pair of jeans, which is a truly alien process for most people. The user must also contend with the challenges companies face when wanting to make the most money while spending the least amount possible. The virtual world allows the user to bypass all of the “problems” production faces in the real world, such as sweatshop laws or environmental waste concerns. The experience really informs the user about the politics of outsourced labor. People outsource labor to avoid certain laws that require a higher wage or better living conditions. This is exactly what the user is doing in Invisible Thread. They are outsourcing the labor to the virtual world in order to avoid the troubles faced in the real world.
The outsourcing is made more “real” in Laborers of Love because Rothenberg relies on real world workers to find the video clips for the project. Yet, these workers are true specimens of the digital culture as defined by Gere because they don’t have any connection to the project besides finding the clips and sending them on to Rothenberg’s program to be mashedup. Their work is truly discrete. It seems particularly revealing that the final “fantasy” video is “mashedup” and distorted beyond recognition of the material that the customer sought out. Through our attempt to outsource the project and save on time, money, and political confrontations, we end up with a product that is far from what we desired.
But if a clean, recognizable desire or package feels safe and somehow assures us that we made the right choice, we might want to think again. One of Singer’s projects is specifically focused at “undesigning” or reverse engineering. The Demolition Drugstore is a workshop that asks people to bring products so they can learn about what is inside of them, figure out if they actually like that stuff, and then either keep it or tear it apart. She wants to uncover all of the industrial chemicals that are in household products. Another project called “Excess” also continues her mission of undesigning. This time she takes on the landfills. They are filled with food that isn’t decomposing, and this could be food that is either consumable or compostable. Through arrangements with local cafes she picks up their edible or compostable food at the end of the day and redistributes it so that it bypasses the dumpster. It is so easy play into our roles as people who just throw out food and rely on garbage collectors to come and take it away, but when the process is investigated it reveals that it isn’t so efficient or ecological. We must engage with these everyday processes of production that are so routine they’ve become hidden in order to understand their greater impact on people and the environment.
The projects really make me feel like a product of the current digital age. They describe my everyday actions both in relation to technology and the real world. It’s hard not to go for a name brand. It’s hard not to just purchase something online and move on to the next task. If I reverse engineer my toothpaste how do I brush my teeth? I guess I just have to dip my toothbrush into that box of baking soda.
Artists like Brooke Singer are truly trying to show us how the figurative sausage is made even though a lot of people who eat it may not really want to know. Or they do have an idea how the sausage is made but don’t want to have their fun spoiled in eating it.
Well you can have some fun knowing how it’s made. The tongue-in-cheek approach to Laborer’s of Love/LOL shows that social commentary doesn’t have to be always earnest to have some impact. I think projects like these work best by planting a seed of uneasiness rather than confronting us with facts.
The vivid description of Rothenberg’s “Invisible Thread” project serves as a powerful illustration of the alien and often unseen steps involved in producing everyday items. The virtual world, as experienced in this project, cleverly mirrors the real-world challenges faced by companies seeking maximum profit at minimal cost. The user’s outsourcing of labor to the virtual realm provides a stark commentary on the politics of outsourced labor, offering valuable insights into the motivations behind such decisions.