This short public talk – ‘What is a Player Piano?: The Media Archaeology of Torsten Lauschmann’s Art’ by Professor Ryan Bishop and Dr. Jussi Parikka from Winchester School of Art, University of Southampton, will provide a lively introduction to the Torsten Lauschmann exhibition at the John Hansard Gallery. Free, all welcome and no booking required. Concludes with a Q & A session.
The mass-produced player piano offers a unique take on technology in the late 19th and early 20th century. A parlour novelty that reflected the larger mechanisation and automation of society, the player piano brought into the home the de-skilling of workers, the punch card of looms that became the basis of computers, and the push-button satisfaction of entertainment and art.
A player piano – along with a snow machine, film projector and a mechanical monkey – also figures centrally in Torsten Lauschmann’s exhibition at the John Hansard Gallery. It provides a useful entry point for looking at Lauschmann’s serious, yet whimsical works and their wider historical, social and cultural contexts. Exhibition continues until 11 August 2012.
This talk is repeated on Saturday 28 July 2012, 11.30am-12.30pm in the Performance Hall, Winchester Discovery Centre (Professor Ryan Bishop only).
For further information visit www.hansardgallery.org.uk