White Trash (the rice experiment) on Vernissage TV

[imomus]

Vernissage TV has covered White Trash (the rice experiment), the performance I've been making for the last couple of days at the Bridge Art Fair (separately covered by Vernissage here).

At 5pm today there's a Q&A session in which we reveal the results of the experiment and break open six two-litre cartons of sake rice spirit, so come along if you're in Berlin (Schonhauser Allee 5, Mitte).

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Actually, November sundays are best spent in bed.


Alex P.

[(Anonymous)]

Quite inspriring. I've decided to try praising my increasingly thinning hair in the
hope that the diminishing will abate. Sadly though I lack a twin brother for use
as a control... I'm assuming hair qualifies as an inanimate object?

[shadowshark.livejournal.com]

Poor white trash. If the experiment doesn't turn out, you can blame it on me feeling sorry for it!

[shadowshark.livejournal.com]

PS - While some molds prefer colder temperatures (like the one killing all the bats in America http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/38207/title/Bat_syndromes_telltale_white_nose-mold_new_to_science ), most grow most rampantly in warmth. So be sure your nasty rice gets equal exposure to that hot lamp!

[cap-scaleman.livejournal.com]

You could've mentioned what they do in Japan to get the high quality of the well known Kobe Beef. Though the response of praise/criticism is different depending on the subject being either an animal or vegetable.

Did you let the rice stay at the exhibition overnight or did you bring it back home between sessions?

[count-vronsky.livejournal.com]

Great stuff momus. Though I was hoping to hear a bit more of the dialogue with the rice. I had imagined there would be thick streams of Scottish invective directed at the white trash rice, and I think that is one thing that scots do rather well, second only to the Italians maybe?

[obliterati.livejournal.com]

Such an excellent idea. Something tells me that you're too nice a person though to properly make rice feel bad. I can totally see the rice listening to what you have to say and changing its habits around instead.

[imomus.livejournal.com]

That's a kind thought!

We found that a lot of people felt too sorry for the "bad" rice to say really horrible things to it, and I agree that this goes against our "parental" wish to treat siblings fairly and equalize their chances by equalizing their treatment. But there's a conflict between egalitarianism and diversity -- you have to treat things differently to foster difference. You have to allow and accept that different treatment really will have different outcomes. And it's a cop out to say "different but equal: everyone is different, but worth the same". In the real world, you really can't have difference without there being different values assigned to things. Those different values may be discouraged, legislated against, hidden (and that may be the right thing to do), but they'll keep popping up despite that. And they'll be -- oh god, what's the opposite of "incremental"? The curve will accelerate -- the advantage or disadvantage will become overwhelming and feed a sharply rising curve. (There's a word for this, it's on the tip of my brain...)

[obliterati.livejournal.com]

parabolic?

[imomus.livejournal.com]

Exponential!

[obliterati.livejournal.com]

exponential?

[obliterati.livejournal.com]

Brilliant!

[(Anonymous)]

Oh! deary me.

[(Anonymous)]

[subalpine.livejournal.com]

i'm eagerly awaiting the results..
how refreshing it is to see this framed and carried out in the (parallel) worlds of animism and art!
my prediction is that your approach will bring about results more stimulating and insightful, whatever they turn out to be, than the new age bookstore commodity version we've seen before.

speaking of sake, maybe next time you ought to try a version of this experiment with batches of home-brewed sake.. (or just stick with the praise version alone and stay clear of the vicious-cycle hangover altogether, i suppose)

you'll find that home-brewing sake is easier than you expect it to be (can be done in an apartment with not much more than a couple big pots and mesh strainers) and with tasty results, at least if you like your sake milky and chilled.

when i find time to actually start posting entries in my blog, i think i'll post something on that anyway.

[imomus.livejournal.com]

Well, the result (and I have to say this surprised me) is that the cursed rice really was in a worse condition than the praised rice. It was harder, had started yellowing, had dark flecks and odd impurities on the surface, and smelt slightly bitter. The praised rice stayed white and smooth. We invited the audience to check this out themselves at the Q&A, and everyone agreed there was a difference.

[hindlip.livejournal.com]

Bull!
heh heh...

I was there, For I am Hindlip.
Both Rice Smelt weird.
And when I was taking the (Good) rice outta the pot, it too had brown flakes appearing.

The Lamp wasn't helping...

[imomus.livejournal.com]

This is pure insubordination, Nephew Robbie!

Next thing we know this "Hindlip" alter ego of yours will have started a LiveJournal (http://hindlip.livejournal.com/) weirder than Bart the General!

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[crowjake.livejournal.com]

Robert was almost about to say something into the microphone for a moment, I was looking forward to that! Oh well lol.

Surely the lamp would make some sort of difference to the development of mould, as would the obvious difference in quantity and container (cooking pot vs ricecooker bowl)... I bet you never confirmed the water content either.

Are you partly trying to imply that willing something to happen, effects how you aid it to happen, even if you attempt to set up a "fair test"(you cheat)? And does that prove the Japanese theory right?

[hindlip.livejournal.com]

This is Robbie, Signing off...