Cast concrete, enamel

Originally conceived as a failed public art piece in the early spring of 2009, The Orator was made as a manifestation of the frustration and, at times futility, of expressing ones beliefs. This diminutive and pathetic platform of expression underlines feelings of going unheard and being overlooked. However, in spite of the apparent invisibility of the speaker, the wear of the box, the slight crushing, implies that in the not so distant past, it was used to elevate the speaker, even if just by an inch and half, to proclaim his/her message to the world. In that regard it can be read as an absurdly earnest and optimistic gesture and/or a pathetic, fragile effort.

Dollar bill acceptor, collected money. Dimensions variable.

The $10,000 Sculpture (in progress) visually consists of a standard dollar bill acceptor found in soda and candy vending machines. This device has become a symbol of self-serve retail transactions. In this instance, it is installed seamlessly into a plain white wall with no clues to inform the viewer as to the nature of the piece. Nor does it suggest what might happen if they were to insert a dollar bill. The title is the only thing that provides any insight into conceptual workings.
The functional core of this work is that it is forever ‘in progress.’ The work exists primarily at the moment of contribution by the viewer. It is a continual charity, or more cynically, a form of panhandling. It asks for money, and offers nothing (by way of direct response) in return. The money that it accepts goes into a fund with a goal of $10,000.
This piece is accompanied by a contract which outlines the rules regarding the handling of the money it collects and the continued relationship between the artist and collector. The contract stipulates that the money collected by the piece does is not to affect the market value of the work. Meaning, the money is to be considered a material of the piece, not capital. Also, since the work is meant to always be “in progress” once the work has collected the total $10,000 the amount is to be split 50/50 between the artist and collector. Like the avaricious Sisyphus, the work is reaching towards a goal, only to be returned its starting point upon reaching the goal.

This work is discussed in the catalogue for The Value of Nothing, a 2009 exhibition.
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11"x14"
The artist’s art-related credit card debt, letter press printed receipt on Stonehenge

This is a receipt to record a transaction between the artist and the collector. In this transaction the collector assumes responsibility for the totality of the artist’s credit card debt accrued as part of the studio practice. The debt is not sold, but the balance is transferred from the artist’s credit card account to that of the collector. The receipt remains, not as the work, but as the residue of the transaction.

This work is discussed in the catalogue for The Value of Nothing, a 2009 exhibition.
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12"x24"
Donations Collected online, Polished Brass

In the spring of 2009, donations were collected via the Internet to fund the creation of a donor plaque. The amount received was to determine the size and quality of the plaque and the size of the names was determined by the amount given. The more money a person gave, the larger their name became on the plaque. The names were all scaled to the largest name - so not only would the donor's name become larger, the others would become smaller. The work existed for no other reason than to give credit to those who funded its creation.

A real time mock up was displayed on the website along with amount required to have the largest (or smallest) name. In a total of $168.00 was collected with $22.00 being the largest donation received and $0.01 being the smallest.

This work is discussed in the catalogue for The Value of Nothing, a 2009 exhibition.
Buy or download it.

18"x24"
Geotagged Digital Print, Wall text.

Using UN statistical data, the "safest" place on earth was located and a geotagged image from Flickr was used to represent it.

Dimensions Variable
Purchased goods as per FEMA’s recommended disaster survival kit

Using the FEMA guidelines for a recommended survival kit for a single individual, a line of commercial goods highlight excess, paranoia, and fear in an attempt to maintain safety and security.

1,000 Condoms on Wooden Armature

44"x160"
Custom software, Archival digital print on Somerset Velvet.

Using custom software, the complete works of William Shakespeare were translated into a series of colored squares (each letter is represented by a color and each square approximately 0.5mm), transforming the work into a singular color field.

Three remote controlled cars, inclined planes.

Three Remote Controlled cars set on an inclined plane. They try in vain to climb to the top (only to be met by hitting a wall) but get stuck in the middle and their tires spin fruitlessly. As their batteries wear down,their tires stop spinning and ultimately gravity carries them back to the bottom.

Edited Video, 65min

In this video I have edited out all of the dialogue segments from the 1962 James Bond movie Dr No.

Click to play

Things did not work out well of Ceyx or Icarus. This video tracks their demises and attempts to put things back the way they were.

Video Loop, Found YouTube Video Footage.

Archival Inkjet Print on Somerset Velvet, 24"x44"

I contacted 40 friends of mine and asked them to send my a copy of their iTunes music library file. This is the file that contains all the information regarding the songs, artists, albums, and listening habits for a digital music library. I wrote a PHP program that threw all of the libraries into a database and located each library based on the latitude and longitude of where the person lives. A vague form of the United States can be seen (Seattle in the upper left, NYC on the right). Lines are drawn between the albums that one person has in common with another. Each album is represented by a small dot in the Library graph. The point's grey scale value is determined by the frequency with which the album has been listened, the tone of the line connecting albums is an average of the starting and ending points.

A total of 14,132 lines make up the image.

This video evokes feelings of anticipation, claustrophobia, agitation, and dread. As the video builds, an intensity develops that creates a sense of anxiety, a shortness of breath, and in the end an unsettling feeling of relief. It is a test of patience and strength.

Boiling Point
7min 11sec QuickTime

This is an ongoing and unedited accumulation of messages left by others on my mobile telephone. These messages are private. They are records of the thoughts, ideas and concerns that the caller intended to convey to the recipient. They represent failed attempts at direct interpersonal communication and are left as a sort of "last resort" in the hope that the recipient will listen and respond to the message. Telephone messages are often so heavily reliant on chronological context and personal history that without it the communiqué is made meaningless and rendered obsolete.
This piece is a part of the Accumulation Project, a year long project curated by The Other Leading Brand in NYC. There was an exhibition at LunarBase in Williamsburg in December 2005, and a follow-up show is scheduled for September 2006.

You can listen to the messages at my project page on the Accumulation Project’s website.

AUGUST 12, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Dan Schimmel or David Clayton at 215.966.6188, kleinart@sciencecenter.org

THE INTERVAL SEPARATING

EXHIBITION DATES: SEPTEMBER 12 – NOVEMBER 1, 2008
OPENING RECEPTION: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12TH, FROM 5:00PM TO 8:00PM

The Interval Separating features work by artist, Caleb Larsen. The exhibition utilizes logic-based systems to explore the intersection and divide between digital and physical space.

Larsen approaches this topic obliquely through employment of installation, print, electronics, sculpture and multimedia. His work leverages the effects of language and mapping to translate life, media, and culture into transmedia experience. It is through distortion, reduction, and manipulation that Larsen is able to navigate this space. The diversity, interest and research reflected in his artwork seemingly make Larsen, as much engineer, geographer, or anthropologist as he is an artist.

"The wild toolbox of Caleb Larsen’s activities reveals a spirit much like that of an explorer looking for the unknown. … By extracting information from found sources, whether art, movies, or the web, Larsen is clueing us in to other things we should be noticing and be ready for." –Ian Berry

Larsen’s recent work has been exhibited at the Peacock Visual Arts in Scotland, Los Angeles Center for Digital Art, Detroit International Video Festival, Flux Factory in New York, 911 Media Arts Center in Seattle, and Tjaden Gallery at Cornell University. The artist lives and works in Seattle and Rhode Island.


The Esther M. Klein Art Gallery at the Science Center is a nonprofit exhibition venue that explores the intersection between art, science, and technology. The Esther M. Klein Art Gallery is located at 3600 Market Street. The gallery is opened Monday through Saturday from 9am to 5pm. For more information and exhibit updates, visit www.kleinartgallery.org