Recent dispatches from the outside world...
Molotov Alva may not be going to the Oscars this year, but a portal into the metaverse is currently open at Robert Redford's annual indy film mecca, the Sundance Film Festival. Now showing at Sundance's New Frontier showcase is the mixed reality interactive installation, "Invisible Threads: Sweatshop Jean Factory in Second Life", a multi-layered exploration of labor, virtual worlds, post-industrial capitalism, and more. Two artists created a textile factory in SL, dubbed it Double Happiness Jeans, then invited Residents to become low wage, poorly treated employees working on the line, while a foreman in a top hat oversees them. 
Sundance patrons can order up a pair of jeans created to their specifications and-- this is supremely cool-- get their design printed up on a sheet of cotton, so they can be turned into a real pair of jeans. Salon.com just posted an intriguing video interview of the artists, Jeff Crouse and Stephanie Rothenberg, showing off their installation. Crouse mentions that their "sweatshop employees" enjoy the camaraderie of the factory, and who can blame them? At L$200 an hour, they're actually getting paid better wages to be featured in a Sundance art exhibit, than they would sitting in a camping chair.
Image credits: Doublehappinessjeans.com, Salon.com.
Comments