Comments (0) Best Use of Old Sonys - 2003
Brian Heiss
TV boldly goes where it's never gone before in the artwork of Brian Heiss. An amalgam of architect, sculptor and tinkerer, Heiss is on a crusade to change the way we look at television. Heiss changes both the forms and the electronics of new and vintage sets, creating art objects that also function as innovative design. His show at Lawndale Art Center last spring featured Mercury, an obvious attempt to get people's asses off the couch. Its ergonomic shell of sandwiched plywood requires the viewer to tip, tilt and turn the television over to control volume, change channels and turn it off and on. The similarly interactive TV of Lazy is housed in a tower of opaque Plexiglas. Moving back and forth in front of its motion sensor keeps it on; sitting down changes it into a reading light. But Heiss's Dakkomakura (Nurture Pillow), enhances the couch potato experience with a tiny TV housed in a long blue pillow. Now you can literally curl up with Letterman.
